This website is intended solely for members of the Wyoming Valley Montessori School (“WVMS” or “School”) community. Community members include parents, guardians, administration and staff, but may also include other individuals, such as grandparents and donors. By using this website, you represent and warrant that you are a member of this community group and have a real, identifiable connection to the School.

This site is operated by WVMS for the purpose of building a strong community that is committed to delivering the School’s mission and vision. Membership to our community site is limited and must be approved by the Head of School, or the Head’s designee. All members must be at least 18 years old.

COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY

Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us and we want to make your experience online satisfying and safe.

Because we gather certain types of information about our members, we feel you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we gather and how we use it.

The School gathers two types of information about users:

1. Information that members provide through optional, voluntary submissions. These are voluntary submissions to receive our electronic newsletters, to participate in our blogs or forums, and from participation in polls and surveys;

2. Information WVMS gathers through aggregated tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views throughout our sites. This information allows us to better tailor our content to members’ needs. Under no circumstances does the School divulge any information about an individual member to a third party. WVMS requires that all user submitted content be connected with the person who submits the content. You may not participate as a member without disclosing your identity to the website community at large.

The School will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental consent.

The School tracks user traffic patterns throughout the site using Google Analytics. However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users. The School does not track what individual members read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps the School continue to build a better website for you. The School may place a text file called a “cookie” in the browser files of your computer. The cookie itself does not contain personal information although it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have specifically and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can’t read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites.

You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. If you’ve set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. The School uses any information voluntarily given by our members to enhance their experience on our websites, whether to provide interactive or personalized elements on the sites or to better prepare future content based on the interests of our users.

As stated above, we use information that users voluntarily provide in order to participate in polls, surveys, blogs, and forums.

We will not disclose any information about any individual member except when the School in good faith believes that it is required to do so to: (i) comply with applicable law or legal process; (ii) protect and/or defend its rights or property, or that of other users, or members of the general public; (iii) enforce theses terms of use, and/or (iv) address service, security or other technical issues relating to the administration of the website, including any interruptions to or improvements in the Web Site.

By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by the School. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

Do not sent confidential or proprietary information to the School through the website. We do not want to receive such information from you. Any information or materials sent to the School is deemed to be not confidential.

You may not reproduce any content from our system, either electronically or in print, without our permission. You may not copy, modify, adapt, reproduce, translate, distribute, reverse engineer, decompile or dissemble any aspect of the website or content management system.

NETWORKING FEATURES

The website platform includes discussion forums and commenting features (the “Networking Features”). The Networking Features are enabled and disabled in the School’s sole discretion. As a cyber-water cooler, the Networking Features offer an opportunity for parents and guardians to pose questions, offer advice, and share information. The Networking Features are designed to allow participants to determine the topics for discussion, within the limits described below. The Networking Features are not designed or intended to be a “complaint box” or an alternative to speaking directly with the School (or another community member) about a particular situation a member may be facing!

Again, the Networking Features are designed as a place for parents to share advice and information. While many topics may relate to the School and its operation, the Networking Features are not the proper mechanism for resolving an individual issue or dispute that you may have. The School cannot possibly innumerate each and every issues that may arise or pre-determine what is acceptable for posting, and, accordingly, you must err on the side of dealing directly with the School or the parties involved.

The Networking Features are a monitored by designated moderators, but forum postings are not pre-approved. This means that list members are expected to self-police and responsibly participate. Postings or comments may be removed by the School’s administration, in its sole discretion.

Here are some simple rules which reflect the School’s expectations:

1. All participants must post using their actual name so that the poster can be identified by first and last name (e.g., Jane Doe). No one will be allowed to register with the website by using a screen name that shields the person’s identity (e.g., Supermom123).

2. In forums topics, use the “subject line” to concisely identify the message topic for the other also-busy members.

3. Do not post messages or comments of a political or partisan nature. If you are not sure whether the topic is appropriate for the Forums, please consult with the Head of School.

4. The Networking Features are not designed as a means for shameless self-promotion (e.g., “I give free massages with every purchase “). That said, please feel free to post your product or service, or promote another’s, if you believe the posting will assist someone who has asked a question to which your response would apply (e.g., “The best pizza place in town is Acme Pizza”).

5. Occasionally, members have questions which they would like to post but for reasons of privacy prefer anonymity. The Head of School may post those questions on behalf of the member. This is a narrow exception to the general principle that all posters must be identified. The exception exists to assist those who may have a difficult or embarrassing question to ask (e.g., “Can someone recommend a good divorce lawyer in town”). All anonymous postings will be identified as such.

6. Remember that all comments and posting exchanges become property of WVMS. Remember that all comments and postings potentially can by read by anyone. Do not post anything that you would not want posted on the front page of the New York Times. Membership is limited, but this does not mean that postings are private. This is a cyber-soap box, so make sensible choices.

7. The School will not tolerate abusive or otherwise inappropriate content. The School is the sole arbiter of what is acceptable! Your membership on the site is at-will and can be terminated at any time.

a. Do not insult, berate, or personally attack other members. Jokes which are prurient in nature, offensive or contain profanity shall not be posted. Do not post inflammatory messages or messages containing personal invective. Profanity, vulgarity, or derogatory, defamatory, abusive, threatening, offensive, and illegal remarks are inappropriate. Do not post any message, data, information, text or other material that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, harassing, harmful, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive or otherwise injurious to third parties. Do not impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity or interfere with other users of the forums.

b. Commercial solicitations are prohibited. The Networking Features shall not be used to advertise products or services unless such product or service is specifically approved. Commercial solicitations include, without limitation, messages offering or seeking any kind of business relationship, soliciting contributions, membership or subscription to any resource not offered by the School. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this paragraph, you may post commercial messages in response to a post or comment, so long as the message is intended to assist the initial poster. That is, you may offer your product or service to the extent another poster has requested information regarding the type of product you sell or service you offer. Any scheme to provide such a posting exchange will result in the user being banned from the forums.

c. Do not post personal information about another person without the express permission of the other person. Personal information includes, but is not limited to email addresses, telephone numbers, and social networking profiles.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: NEVER POST INFORMATION ABOUT ANY CURRENT OR FORMER STUDENT (INCLUDING YOUR OWN CHILD OR CHILDREN)!

We are extremely sensitive to maintaining the security and privacy of the children under our care and supervision. Again, it is impossible for us to enumerate what is unacceptable! You must take exceptional care to avoid any violation of this rule!

8. The School reserves the right to impose sanctions, which include moderating a members comments or posts, suspension of posting privileges, and deleting membership for violation of rules. Violators will be privately warned. If the warning is not headed, they will be publically warned.

9. Any requests regarding administrative or technical tasks should be made to the appropriate area, not the forums.

10. The School provides the facilities for the Networking Features and no approval or endorsement by the School of any messages posted or comment made should be implied therefrom. The School does not review the background of any member.

And now for the legal stuff:

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

You may be held individually liable for any communications you post on or through the website or forums, including but not limited to defamatory, discriminatory, antitrust, anti-competitive, false or unauthorized information.

Users of the site and forums must comply with all state and federal copyright, trademark and patent laws and regulations. By posting material on the site or forums, the posting party warrants and represents that it owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. Do not post information that is not original unless it meets the ‘fair use’ guidelines of copyright law, or unless the user has received permission to reproduce such information from the original source. If there is any question as to whether a particular transmission contains information in violation of federal copyright law, the user should not post that information to the Forums.

By using the site and forums, users agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless, WVMS, its trustees, faculty and staff from and against all loss, claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs arising from any claim arising out of or resulting from in whole or part any breach of these guidelines by the user or any omission or act taken by the user. In no event will WVMS be responsible to the users for any indirect, consequential, special or punitive damages or losses users may incur in connection with the site or forums or any of the data or other materials transmitted through or residing on the site or forums, even if WVMS has been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss.

WVMS ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OPINIONS AND/OR INFORMATION POSTED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR FORUMS BY MEMBERS.

WVMS may, but does not assume the obligation to, monitor discussions taking place through the forums. WVMS reserves the right, but does not assume the obligation, to investigate any violation of these guidelines. WVMS may remove any user from the site or forums for violation of these guidelines.

MODIFICATIONS

The School reserves the right to modify this website or the terms of service at any time. Information may be changed or updated without prior notice. Continued use of this website by you shall be deemed to indicate your acceptance to be bound by any changes to the Web Site.

Such amendments, modifications, additions or deletions shall become effective upon notice thereof, which may be provided to you by posting on the website, via email or any other reasonable means. Continued use of this website by you shall be deemed to indicate your acceptance to be bound by any such amendments, modifications, additions or deletions.

GENERAL DISCLAIMERS; DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTY

THE SCHOOL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT USE OF THE WEB SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING ALL PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY OBTAIN FROM THE WEB SITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS OR TROJAN HORSES. THE INFORMATION HEREIN MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS OR OTHER LIMITATIONS. THE SCHOOL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE CONTENT CONTAINED ON THIS SITE, REGARDLESS OF THE REASON FOR OR CAUSE OF ANY ERROR OR OMISSION. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE ORIGINAL FORM OF THE INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTS MADE AVAILABLE DIFFERS FROM THAT PRESENTED ON THIS OR ANY LINKED WEB SITE BECAUSE OF ALTERATION, MECHANICAL FAILURE, ERROR IN TRANSMISSION, FAILURE IN REPRODUCTION, OR FOR OTHER REASONS.

HYPERTEXT LINK DISCLAIMER

THIS WEBSITE CONTAINS LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES, WHICH ARE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. THE LINKS CONTAINED ON THIS WEB SITE LET YOU LEAVE THIS WEB SITE. WHEN YOU ACCESS A LINKED WEB SITE, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS INDEPENDENT FROM THE SCHOOL, AND THAT THE SCHOOL HAS NO CONTROL OVER THE CONTENT ON THAT WEBSITE. THE SCHOOL MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS WHATSOEVER ABOUT ANY OTHER WEBSITE WHICH YOU MAY ACCESS THROUGH THIS SITE. THE CONTENT ON THESE SITES AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED, VERIFIED OR COMPLETELY REVIEWED BY THE SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL DOES NOT CONTROL OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, VALUE, INTEGRITY, AUTHENTICITY, RELEVANCE, TIMELINESS, CURRENTNESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS CONTENT OR INFORMATION. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON LINKED SITES IS BELIEVED TO BE TRUE BUT NOT GUARANTEED; IT SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED BEFORE BEING RELIED UPON. AGAIN, THE SCHOOL IS PROVIDING THESE LINKS TO OTHER INTERNET SITES AS A CONVENIENCE TO YOU AND FOR REFERENCE ONLY. ACCESS TO ANY OTHER LINKED INTERNET SITES LINKED IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SCHOOL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY CONCERNING THE QUALITY OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF THESE SITES.

THESE LINKS MAY LEAD TO SITES OR LINKS THAT CONTAIN OFFENSIVE AND OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT OR WHICH MAY CONTAIN DANGEROUS COMPUTER VIRUSES. IT IS UP TO YOU TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT WHATEVER YOU SELECT FOR YOUR USE IS FREE OF SUCH ITEMS AS VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES AND OTHER ITEMS OF A DESTRUCTIVE NATURE. YOU ASSUME, AND WE HEREBY DISCLAIM, ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF THE CONTENT ON THESE SITES OR FOR ANY DAMAGE SUSTAINED BY USERS OF THESE SITES.

THE SCHOOL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRIVACY PRACTICES, LIMITATIONS, OR TERMS OF USE OF ANY LINKED SITE.

You should contact the site administrator or Webmaster of the linked-to site if you have any concerns regarding a linked site.

YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE SCHOOL, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, LICENSORS, PARTICIPATING PUBLISHERS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS, OR AUTHORS IS NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY USER OF THE WEBSITE. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND YOU. THE INFORMATION AND SERVICES PROVIDED FROM THIS SITE WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS.

IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE WEBSITE, SERVICE OR INFORMATION PROVIDED, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE WEB SITE.

LICENSE

Nothing contained in this website shall be construed as conferring any license or right, expressly, by implication, by estoppel or otherwise, under any of our intellectual property rights, or under any third party’s intellectual property rights, and no part of this website may be reproduced, republished, copied, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

If you believe that any material on this website infringes on any copyright which you own or control, or that any link on this website directs you to another web site that contains material that infringes on any copyright which you own or control, you may file a notification of such infringement with the School to have the material removed or otherwise blocked from access.

CHOICE OF LAW

This Agreement shall be treated as though it were executed and performed in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (without regard to conflict of law principles). The language in this Agreement shall be interpreted as to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against any party. All legal proceedings arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought solely in the Court of Common Pleas for Lackawanna County and, if appropriate, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and you agree and expressly submit to the personal jurisdiction and venue of said courts and consent to extra-territorial service of process.

INTEGRATION; SEVERABILITY; GENERAL

These terms of service incorporates by reference any notices contained on this website and constitutes the entire and only agreement between the School and you with respect to your access to an use of this website and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous agreement, representations, warranties, and understandings with respect to the website, the content, goods and services provided by or through the website, and the subject matter of this Agreement.

Any provision of this Agreement which is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall be severable in that jurisdiction without in any way invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement. The unenforceability of any provision in a given jurisdiction shall not make that provision unenforceable in any other jurisdiction. Any litigation arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or your use of this Web Site must be commenced within six (6) months after the cause of action arose, or it will be permanently barred.

The website is managed by WVMS. Please contact School administration if you have any questions about the site or terms of service.