During Thursday’s LIFE assembly, the freshmen and sophomores listened to speakers explaining Facebook’s privacy settings, while the seniors learned about mindfulness.

Facebook policy communications associate Krista Kobeski explained how to change Facebook privacy settings to the freshmen and sophomores in order to limit and show information to the public. Additionally, she explained some features that students did not know, including the activity log, and the “view as” function. Jane Keller, math teacher and head of the Wellness Board, hoped that the talk would help “students be aware of their digital footprint and have them understand that what goes on the Internet stays there.”

Many students plan on changing their privacy settings in light of what they have learned.

“I thought it was really interesting, and I feel like it’s good information to have because privacy is a really important thing,” Michaela Vachev (10) said.

Additionally, students learned about some of the settings that they did not know existed on Facebook.

“It really opened my eyes to some parts of Facebook that I didn’t know about,” Sarah Bean (10) said. “ I thought that a lot of the things I did on Facebook were always public, so I’ve been kind of afraid of it for a while, but now that I know that I can control it more. I’m kind of more comfortable with it.”

However, some students were already aware of Facebook’s privacy settings and did not learn much new information.

“Initially, I listened to [Assistant Director of Instructional Technology Diane Main] and changed most of the privacy settings on my Facebook,” Jonathan Trinh (9) said. “[Kobeski’s speech] didn’t impact [me] too much, but I guess I [already] knew about Facebook and its additional [security] features.”

While the underclassmen were learning about Facebook privacy, JoAnn Bibb, specialist on balanced and mindful living, spoke to the seniors about mindfulness and how it pertains to their lives.

“[I hope] that students can find a way to be in their life with more ease [and] be just points of space where you can take a deep breath and really have a chance to make a choice about how you want to be,” she said.

Though she has not worked with high-school students in the past, she believes that the Upper School is the perfect place to start because of “its interest in supporting the self-growth [of students].”

Several seniors believed that the speech connected with their daily life and incorporated some of the things they had learned from their teachers.

“I thought [the speech] was pretty good,” Ilsa Zhang (12) said. “I know in some of my classes we use those mindful moments right before a big test. I think it’s helpful for people who put their mind into it and try.”

Similarly, other students believed that inviting speaker was beneficial because the talk was especially relevant to seniors.

“I thought it was really helpful, especially now because we’re doing college apps and have a lot of stress, and we don’t really take time for ourselves,” Neelima Gadagottu (12) said. “Honestly, in our grade, I think a lot of people do take it to heart because they think it’ll help especially to empty your thoughts and be able to be calm for at least a minute a day.”

The Wellness Board hopes to bring such speakers back for future classes. In particular, Keller wishes to “bring in different ways of looking at things, different ways to relax, de-stress, mediate, to help [students] find the best approach for themselves.”

The next LIFE session will be held once students return from break, on January 18, 2013.