Sporting a pink blazer on her shoulders and a handgun on her belt, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Bridgette Trela strode into the gym of St. Francis of Assisi School in Triangle Dec. 11.
The students had been gathering for the previous 10 minutes, but had no clue why they were summoned.
“I came today for a very special reason … to talk to you and congratulate you, because you guys won an FBI award,” Trela said.
The students erupted into cheers.
Led by teacher Jodi Salley, 81 fourth through sixth graders participated in the FBI’s national Safe Online Surfing Digital Citizenship Exam. The exam is open to grades 3-8.
“There’s a game that they can play, asking digital citizenship questions, and following that, there is a 30-question exam,” Salley said. “Not everyone is taking the same exact test. It’s 30 randomly generated questions based on age.”
The school was then notified that it placed first in the nation.
Trela presented the award to Assistant Principal Elizabeth Rayhel as a new round of cheers rose from the students.
Trela commended the students on their accomplishment and encouraged them to continue practicing online safety — and to teach others, too.
“If you have adults in your life like my age, maybe your parents, maybe your grandparents, maybe some of your teachers — we might need to learn from you,” she said. “Sometimes you can learn things that you politely tell the adults in your life about what you learned and keep them safe.”
She explained that educating older online users such as grandparents can help protect them from online scams and financial fraud, which she said the FBI investigates frequently.
Assisted by FBI Community Outreach Specialist Rebecca Ravitz, Trela gave a demonstration on FBI equipment used in the field. Trela held up each item and described it to the students before handing it to Principal Liz Orille to model as an “FBI agent.” The items included a hard hat, FBI rain jacket, credentials, badge, holster — without the handgun — and bulletproof vest. As Orille donned the items, Trela reminded students of the importance of gun safety. She also described agents’ procedure for investigating a crime scene.
The students were thrilled with the presentation. Orille’s sixth grader Jack said his favorite part was “seeing my mom put all the FBI gear on.”
Sixth grader Charlotte Cannizzo emphasized the need for all kids to learn basic online safety skills. “When you grow older, you need to know this stuff, and you need to be safe on the internet. Otherwise, bad things can happen,” she said. “You should tell your parents everything you learn.”
For Salley, the award reminds her of her pride in her students. “We were thrilled for them,” she said. “It’s not only just the accomplishment, but also just the sense that they’ve learned what would keep them safe and making good choices when they’re online.”
Donofrio can be reached at [email protected].
