COOKIE POLICY: THE SAMS SALMON
Effective Date: February 4, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how The SAMS Salmon uses them, and how you can manage your preferences.
1. WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. These cookies help us make the website function properly, make it more secure, and provide a better user experience by understanding how the website performs.
2. HOW WE USE COOKIES
As an online student publication, we use cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons for our website to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” or “strictly necessary” cookies. Other cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our readers to enhance the experience on our site.
3. THE COOKIES WE SET
A. Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics)
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our newspaper. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.
- Data Collected: All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
- Provider: Google LLC.
- Duration: These cookies vary from “session” (temporary) to “persistent” (lasting up to 2 years).
B. Functional Cookies
These cookies allow the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization (such as remembering your login details if you are a student contributor or your preferred text size).
C. Security Cookies
We use these cookies to help identify and prevent potential security risks to the Shaler Area Middle School web environment.
4. TYPES OF COOKIES WE USE
| Cookie Type | Purpose |
| Strictly Necessary | Required for the website to function. Cannot be switched off. |
| Performance/Analytics | Specifically for Google Analytics 4. Helps us see which SAMS Salmon stories are being read. |
| Targeting | We do not use third-party advertising or targeting cookies on this site. |
5. HOW CAN YOU CONTROL COOKIES?
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies.
- Browser Controls: You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our website, though your access to some functionality and areas of our website may be restricted.
- Google Analytics Opt-out: To provide website visitors the ability to prevent their data from being used by Google Analytics, Google has developed an “Opt-out Browser Add-on.” You can download it here.
6. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Please re-visit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email the SAMS Salmon Faculty through our emails, found in the “About The SAMS Salmon” page.
