October

Posted on October 7th, 2009 by patreed

Junior High

8th graders are working on a TIME Magazine project.  They have replicated the cover of TIME in Powerpoint, with themselves featured at some point in the future, and reference to those future events that have earned them world-wide fame.  They will be interviewing one another to develop an “On The Cover” story/biography of the famous SJF Class of 2010 Graduate.  These completed projects will be on display at Just Desserts. 

 

The 8th graders are also constructing a VERY LARGE periodic table of elements.  Each student is responsible for 2-3 element tiles that provide name, symbol, atomic number and average atomic mass, in addition to a visual depiction of the element.  These will be displayed in the junior high hallway. 

 

The 7th graders are working on a powerpoint presentation for science, fine-tuning their research skills in their exploration of a range of science topics in categories including erosion, water, and the ocean.  They will also prepare an oral presentation, which will be given in science, and graded by Ms. Grabowski.

 

Sixth Grade

Students will be responsible to research a randomly selected European Country. Students will have three full class periods to compile their research. After which, they will create an eight-slide PowerPoint project on their chosen European country. The title of the project is “Can you guess my country?” Only on the eighth slide will students “give away” their answer. Other students watching the presentation will have to guess, given clues like surrounding countries or bodies of water, languages spoken, major cities, etc.

 

Fifth Grade

Students are studying Native Americans in Social Studies and we will be working on various Native American Projects.  Students will be learning the paint program and drawing an Indian Pottery piece.  We will then move into Microsoft Project and creating a post card from their exciting visit to an Indian reservation.  Finishing the lesson with a PowerPoint presentation of their knowledge of the Native Americans. 

 

 

Fourth Grade

The fourth graders are excited about finishing up their “All About Me” PowerPoint presentations.  They learned how to copy and paste pictures, animate slides and change slide speed. Students will begin to present projects by mid-October. The last class of the month will be spent playing Halloween-themed math games.

 

Third Grade

Students are busy learning to type papers using Microsoft Word; learning to change size and type of font, as well as how to double space their papers. We will use these skills for a Halloween project. Also, we will be working on a Christopher Columbus assignment before Columbus Day.  On Wednesdays, students continue to improve their typing skills.  We have moved from “home base row” to the top and bottom rows of the keyboard.

 

Second Grade

We will begin the month by working on an assignment about Christopher Columbus.  Move into learning new software that will enhance their Math Skills.  Finally, we move to Halloween, where we will explore great Halloween websites, draw pictures using Kid Pix and Kid Works, type a scary Halloween poem and play a lot of fun games.

 

First Grade

We will also begin the month by working on an assignment about Christopher Columbus.  And move right into celebrating Halloween drawing fun pictures using Kid Pix, exploring great Halloween websites and learning to insert text into our Kid Pix creations

 

Kindergarten

We will start off the month working with our Kid Pix program, learning how to use the stamps and stamping out our names and numbers 1-10.  We will move into working on a project to celebrate Columbus Day.  We will end the month with some exciting Halloween projects using Kid Pix. 

 

Preschool

What fun the preschoolers are having! Students are still becoming familiar with how to use the mouse confidently. Students will be making fall pumpkins, using the KidPix Program.

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August/September

Posted on September 9th, 2009 by patreed

Tech Blog Intro:

 

SJF Faculty, Staff, Students and Parents will be pleased about the many improvements to the technology facilities at St. John Fisher this past summer.  All computer equipment in the O’Neil South Lab was replaced over the summer, and we now have brand new Dell Desktops with flat screen monitors.  We’ve transformed five additional classrooms into “Smart Classrooms” bringing our number of Smart Classrooms up to 12.  The Smart Classroom has a ceiling mounted projection unit wirelessly connected to either a tablet PC or a MAC laptop.  We plan to continue until all classrooms are equipped.  In addition to the new equipment in our classrooms, teachers have been participating in extensive professional development in educational technology, so look for many improvements in your child’s educational experience!

 

Students will come to the computer lab weekly and meet with Mrs. Maxwell, Mrs. Alfultis or Mrs. Reed depending on grade level.  Our three labs are also available to classroom teachers, so technology will be utilized to enrich and enhance the curriculum across all subject areas.

 

Seventh and Eighth Graders will begin the year with a unit on Internet Safety.  They will also be given time during computer class to work on various writing assignments given in English class.    We are transitioning to MS Office 2007, so they will become competent on the more recent versions of Word, Powerpoint and Excel over the course of the year.  It is important that every junior high student have a portable flash drive in their possession throughout the school day.  We are emphasizing the importance of backing up all documents, and using the flash drives to transport documents between home and school.  These can be purchased at school for $8.

 

Grade Six (Monday)

We will review the Acceptable Use Policy and focus on Internet Safety (Ways to Combat and Avoid Cyberbullying, Proper “netiquette” and Protecting Privacy Information). Students will start with a science unit on the Biomes of the World, using Microsoft Publisher.

 

Grade Five

We will review the Acceptable Use Policy and focus on Internet Safety (Private Information, Safety with Cyberpals, Safe Talking with Cyberpals, and Cyberbulling).

 

Grade Four (Wednesday)

Students will cover the topic of Internet Safety (Privacy Information, Preventing spam and viruses, Proper “netiquette”, etc.) I’m very excited to teach these students again this year! We started learning Microsoft PowerPoint at the end of last year. So we can begin our next project with ease. We’ll start the “All About Me” PowerPoint Project. Students will make their own slides which will include animation and personalized clipart and text.

 

Grade Three (Monday/Wednesday)

Mondays: Students will begin with a science lesson, focusing on insects.

 

Wednesdays: Students will have Keyboarding Instruction and Practice. Students will identify “Home Base Position” on the computer keyboard.  They will then have practice and lessons on the letters A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, ; and spacebar.  After students feel confident finding the keys, they will have practice tests and complete “Adventure Challenges”.

 

Grades One and Two

We will review “Rules of the Computer Lab” and the use of computers.  Internet Safety will be a main focus for the month of September, “Going Places Safely, Private Information, Who’s Property is this” and many other topics.  We will continue with Internet Scavenger Hunts using a number of different websites.  This will teach our students how to locate information using the internet.

 

 

Kindergarten

We will begin the year discussing the rules of the computer lab and the use of computers at great lengths.  StarFall and Enchanted Learning are two different websites that will be used throughout the school year.  I will introduce the two in the month of September which will strengthen your child’s letter recognition and will help them maneuver around using the mouse.

 

Preschool

Students will become familiar with the parts of the computer, rules of the lab and begin with the Starfall website. This website helps children with letter recognition, sounds and learning how to read!

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April/May Blog

Posted on April 22nd, 2009 by patreed

Preschool: Students will use the “Learn to Read” and “It’s Fun to Read” sections of the Starfall website.  I’m very impressed with the youngsters’ navigating abilities at this site. It’s great to see the students so excited about computers!

 

Kindergarten:   April has come and gone and we had so many exciting activities to work on in computers.  With the Lenten season, our students expressed what Lent meant to them using our Kid Pix program and ended the season with a beautiful Easter Basket filled with colorful eggs.  We celebrated Earth Day by discussing and drawing what we can do to help save the Earth.   During the month of May, we will do a couple fun projects for Mother’s Day and a lesson on Butterflies.

 

First Grade:   During the month of April, our topics in computers were the Lenten Season, Easter, Earth Day and Dinosaurs.  We will complete our school year with lessons on the Solar System and Mother’s Day.

 

Second Grade:   Our students continue to build their skills on Microsoft Word, learning how to include a border and pictures on their documents.  Some of them are quite the typists also.  We will continue working on Microsoft Word throughout the month of May.  One week typing a paper on what was there most memorable moment of their Communion Day. 

 

Third Grade: Students will continue using Typing Instructor Deluxe, but as a challenge they will be using keyboard covers. This will encourage students to focus on accuracy and proper finger placement on the keyboard.  Check out the SJF website (3rd grade) to see the new typing website your child is using in class, Dance Mat Typing. We will also begin our Chicago Unit in computers; starting with Chicago history, highlighting the World’s Fair and infamous fire.

 

Fourth Grade: Besides earth day activities, we’ll begin our research and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations on NASA’s historic space missions throughout the years. Students are also busy working on their second drafts of the letters to President Obama. Many are excited to ask questions or tell the President things they’d like to see changed in our country. We are also busy working on the “Faces in the Crowd” activity using Microsoft Word.   

 

Fifth Grade: Students have been preparing for their trip to Springfield by researching many important facts about our State Government.  They have visited the Lincoln Museum on line to see what they have to look forward to.  We will move into the month of May to celebrate Mother’s Day.  And towards the end of the month Microsoft Excel will be introduced to the group.

 

Sixth Grade: All month, students will be using the Environmental Protection Agency’s website www.epa.gov/earthday  for various research activities and games. Students will research water conservation, the water cycle, recycling, garbage, history of earth day, etc. After research is completed, students will design an Earth Day poster in Microsoft Publisher and we’ll post them throughout the school. 

 

Seventh Grade:  We are wrapping up our study of the holocaust by creating a “wiki.”  This is a shared body of 7th grade knowledge about the holocaust, within a private place on the web, where everyone has something unique to contribute.  We will wrap up the year with some creative activities including cartoon design, fun with words, and academic challenges.

 

Eighth Grade:  Eighth graders are demonstrating their well-developed skills in writing a well-organized research paper on the holocaust.  This group will leave St. John Fisher well-prepared for research and writing in high school thanks to an excellent junior high language arts curriculum.  Like the 7th grade, 8th graders will have an opportunity to express themselves creatively using technology during their final weeks at St. John Fisher. 

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March Blog

Posted on March 4th, 2009 by patreed

Preschool: Students will continue with the Sesame Street programs, as well as some from PBSkids.com.  As St. Patrick’s Day gets closer, students will designing their “shamrocks” using the KidPix program.  Look for those soon!

 

Kindergarten:  It’s another busy month to celebrate many festive events we have on our calendars.  We’ll start the month discussing our Lenten promises and drawing a picture of what we can do for others during Lent.  We’ll work on a St. Patrick’s Day project by typing a short St. Patrick’s Day poem using the typing feature in Kid Pix and then finishing up the project by drawing a picture that relates to that poem.

 

Grade One:  We will start the month introducing the Jumpstart Spanish Program and have the students identify different Spanish word.  With St. Patrick’s Day upon us, we will type a St. Patrick’s Day poem using the typing feature in Kid Pix and draw a picture relating to their poem. 

 

Grade Two:  Students have done such a great job over the past two months working with Microsoft Word. We will continue our lesson through the month of March.  We will type up a St. Patrick’s Day poem, draw a picture in Kid Pix and bring the two together.  Adding onto our typing skills, we will learn to change the font size, use the Bold and Italics functions and much more.  We will also touch on Women’s History Month by researching some of our famous women using the Enchanted Learning Encyclopedia.

 

Grade Three: As we enter the final trimester of the year, students will be taking their third keyboarding test of the year (the others were in September and December).  I will mini-conference with the students about their progress in Words per Minute and Accuracy Percentage.  Students have been steadily improving all year long!

For library class, students will be typing their “Strega Nona” papers in Microsoft Word, inserting and formatting clipart designs. 

 

Grade Four: For Women’s History Month, students will also use the Enchanted Learning website to research women who changed history. Famous entrepreneurs, astronauts, inventors and first ladies will be some of the featured women in history.  Students will use their information for an activity with Mrs. Sullivan in Social Studies.

 

Grade Five:  Our students continue to use computer time to work on finalizing their Science Fair Projects.  We have introduced Microsoft Excel to show how graphing is done.  Students will graph their results of their experiments.  You will be so proud to see their final products.

 

Grade Six: Students are still working hard on their science fair projects.  Students are given time to complete their “works sited” and “proposal” portion of the project. In honor of Women’s History Month, sixth graders will be busy researching women who changed history, using a variety of websites, including www.scholastic.com.

 

 Junior High:  The 7th and 8th grade students are learning a little bit about “multitasking” as they are currently involved in two projects.  They are midway through the Holocaust project, and will begin their research papers soon.  Two weeks ago, they began participation in the Stock Market Game.  Students have selected their own groups of three or four students, and each group started with $100,000 cash in their portfolio.  They have established online accounts, learned what a stock is, and the types of events that can affect the price of shares.  They have learned how to use the finance section of google (http://finance.google.com) to research companies, find the ticker symbol and the current price and track the price history over time using graphs.  This is certainly a challenging and turbulent time to be investing in stocks!  Each week, students will have the opportunity to buy and sell shares, and along the way learn a little bit about how the market works.  This week, the students will learn about “Socially Responsible Investing” (SRI), or investing in companies whose goals and primary business practices work toward the benefit of society.    This is often called “green investing,” and might be quite profitable in the coming months because of Obama’s recent pledge to provide more money for conservation and renewable energy.  If you have any stock tips for your son or daughter, be sure to share them!

 

 

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January/February Blog

Posted on February 4th, 2009 by patreed

January

 Don’t forget our Catholic Schools Week Open House on Sunday, January 25th after 10:00 mass.

 

Preschool:  Using the KidPix program, students will create winter scenes.  They will also continue practicing using the mouse and navigating through Starfall “Learning to Read” activities.

 

3rd Grade: On Mondays, students will be completing activities on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including a time line, “I Have a Dream” sentence and picture in KidPix.  On Wednesdays, students will continue with the Typing Instructor Deluxe Program. Lessons will include using the Right and Left Shift Keys and Number Keys.  I’m pleased with the students’ keyboarding progress. Most are steadily improving accuracy and increasing speed, while keeping their two hands on the keyboard.  For extra practice, encourage your child to type in Microsoft Word, starting in “Home Base Position”. 

 

4th Grade: Students will be introduced to the Free Rice website at www.freerice.com, sponsored by the World Food Program.  For each correct answer, students can donate 10 grains of rice to a hungry person in need.  Students are eager to “fill their bowls” and race one another to see who has the most grains at the end of the period. 

 

6th Grade: Students will continue using computer time looking for science project ideas and developing their plans in Microsoft Word and Excel. Students will continue with their world culture studies, by researching traditions, significance of customs and playing games relating to the Chinese New Year. 

 

7th and 8th: The junior high is working on the holocaust project.  They made memorial tiles for children of the holocaust, which you probably saw at Open House on display in the junior high hallway.  They have written a journal, entry, conducted some research, and will be starting a research paper on the holocaust topic their choice.  We will go through the entire process of writing a five-paragraph essay with a thesis statement and proper citations and bibliography.  This project will culminate with a visit from a Holocaust survivor.  Parents will be welcome to attend; more information will be coming closer to the date.

 

February

 

Preschool: Students will get to view two short computer programs in the media lab, complements of United Streaming.  One will complement the students’ study of penguins and the other is “Animal ABCs”.  Students will also be working with different Sesame Street activities, designed to introduce the keyboard.

 

Kindergarten:  We have so many great events to celebrate this month, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day and 100th Day of School.  We will create some great pictures using our Kid Pix software to help in that celebration. Students will also get to view two short computer programs in the media lab, complements of United Streaming.

 

1st Grade:  The first graders will start the month doing a Scavenger Hunt using the Little Explorers Online Encyclopedia about some of our Presidents and discuss some interesting facts.  We will continue with creating Valentine Cards for that special someone.

 

2nd Grade:  After completing a spectacular writing paper on Microsoft Word about a “Snowy Day” for Open House, our 2nd Graders will continue learning some of the easier functions of Microsoft Word.  They will type a story about Clifford, the Big Red Dog.  Draw a picture using Kid Pix about their Big Red Dog and insert that picture into their story.  We are so exciting that our wee folks are capable of doing such awesome tasks.

 

3rd Grade: Students will be making predictions and designing a Groundhog Day poster in Microsoft Word. Also, they will be researching and playing games related to dental health, as February is Dental Health Month.  I will also be introducing the students to Microsoft Publisher in order to make a Valentine’s Day card, using a basic template.  Finally, students will be researching contributions from great African-Americans to celebrate Black History Month using the Enchanted Learning website.

 

4th Grade:  Students will be typing their Haikus in Microsoft Word, which will be entered in a contest sponsored by www.HaikuFest.com. Students will also be challenged to create a Valentine’s Day card from “scratch”, incorporating design, clipart and text. In honor of Black History Month, students will research contributions from great African-Americans using a variety of approved websites.

 

5th Grade:  Students will choose a President and research interesting facts and significant accomplishments about that President.  They will summarize by typing up a short paper on Microsoft Word.  Most of our computer class time this month will be dedicated to the research and development of their Science Project.  We will cover Microsoft Excel this month and create a graph for their project with the results of their experiments.

 

6th Grade: Students will continue designing Lenten Calendars in Microsoft Publisher.  Ask to see your son or daughter’s calendar and make sure that he/she is keeping up with their Lenten promises.  What a great way to communicate the importance of Lent!  Students are also busy with their science fair projects.  We will take time to learn how to enter data and graph using Microsoft Excel.  

 

7th and 8th: Junior high will also be participating in the Stock Market Game.  Student groups will be formed, and each group will begin with $100,000, and build their own portfolios, learning a few things about finance and economic along the way.  This should be interesting with the current market situation!

 

Students are really working hard!  You can be proud!

 

 

 

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December Blog

Posted on December 3rd, 2008 by patreed

Preschool: Students will get the opportunity to play Christmas themed games at chosen websites. Students will also play on the Literacy Center Education Network Site, which highlights Letters (both Upper and Lowercase), Colors, Numbers and Shapes.  Finally, students will also create and print their own Christmas pictures using the Kid Pix program. 

 

Kindergarten:  The month of December, the Theme for Computers is Christmas.   We will visit Jan Brett’s website and read the “Gingerbread Baby” Story.  There are a number of activities available on that website, such as, creating our own Christmas Card.

 

First Grade:  We will begin the month with an activity discussing the Similarities and Differences between a Farm and a City.  Then move into our Christmas Theme by visiting Jan Brett’s website; reading the “Gingerbread Friend” Story, creating our own Christmas Card and visiting the other activities that are available to us on that website.

 

Second Grade:  We will begin the month by completing a Scavenger Hunt about Spiders.  The Second Graders have spent a number of weeks learning how to search for answers using the Internet.  We will move onto brushing up on our Map Skills and tracking Santa’s steps through the United States.  We will finish up the month creating our own Christmas Cards. 

 

Third Grade: This month Christmas is the theme in computers. Activities will include “Christmas around the world”, Reindeer Trivia and Pictures of Christmas. As a treat this month, some of our keyboarding lessons (Wednesdays) will be done using a variety of typing games online. 

 

Fourth Grade: Students’ activities will center on Advent.  After writing their own Advent Cinquain, a five-lined poem about this special time of year, they will type it in Microsoft Word.  Students will be able to choose their own font, add color and clipart from selected sites.

 

Fifth Grade:  In coordination with Miss Grabowski’s science class, students will use computer class time to find and develop plans for their science fair projects.   The students will also create their own Christmas Cards using Microsoft Publisher.

 

Sixth Grade: Students will write an Advent Cinquain to put on a holiday card, that they will design using Microsoft Publisher.  Also, in coordination with Miss Grabowski’s science class, students will use computer class time to find and develop plans for their science fair projects. 

Merry Christmas to All!

 

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November Blog

Posted on November 5th, 2008 by patreed

Preschool: Students will listen to and follow along with “Living Books”. Favorite Dr. Seuss classics and new favorite characters, like Arthur, will be featured.

 

Kindergarten:  We will continue working with KidPixs by creating various Thanksgiving projects throughout the month.

 

First Grade:  We will introduce Kid Works to our first graders.  This software helps them get familiar with the keyboard.  We will begin by typing a short poem and drawing a picture.  We will also create some fun pictures for Thanksgiving using Kid Pix.

 

Second Grade:  Students will learn a new software package called KidWorks, which allows them to type and draw.  We will begin typing a short poem and move into short stories.  This helps our little ones familiarize themselves more with the keyboard but keeps it fun because they can draw a picture of what they are writing about. 

 

Third Grade: On Mondays, students will research for their animal project and will make a cover in Microsoft Word. A map skill activity using Enchanted Learning website will also be done. Students will continue Keyboarding on Wednesdays, focusing on using the shift keys to capitalize letters.

 

Fourth Grade: Students are researching famous explorers using the Enchanted Learning Website. They will use their research for a social studies project with Mrs. Sullivan. In addition, they will examine the three branches of government and the responsibilities of each.

 

Fifth Grade:  Students are researching famous explorers using a number of different websites.  The information that they find will be typed into a powerpoint presentation using pictures to enhance their presentation and finalizing it with animation for every bullet point and picture.  They will finish with typing up a speech to prepare to present to the class.

 

Sixth Grade: We are putting a hold on the biome webquests, to give the sixth graders extra time to work on components of the Egypt portfolio and the Monument narrative essay. Students may use the time to research and/or type these assignments. If time allows, students will finish their biome brochures in Microsoft Publisher.

 

Seventh Grade:  The school was the recipient of a grant for two MacBooks, two digital video cameras and a variety of video editing software.  The students are working on a project in which they will research an environmental problem and propose a scientific solution for it.  Each student group will create an “artifact” (video) documenting their findings.  Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Shannon and the seventh graders are all quite excited about this opportunity to explore some new technologies.

 

Eighth Grade:  The 2008 National Cyberconvention Project is wrapping up, and students are very knowledgeable about the candidates and issues in the upcoming election.  Following the election, time will be spent preparing for the high school placement test in January.  There are some very valuable preparation materials available online to help the students review and gain confidence. 

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October Blog

Posted on October 1st, 2008 by patreed

Junior High

Students are well into their study of the upcoming election through their participation in the 2008 National Cyberconvention Project.  They have learned about the presidential, vice presidential and congressional candidates, how the electoral college works, and the difference between popular vote and electoral vote. Most recently, the students explored women’s suffrage and the importance of all citizens exercising their right to vote.  In the coming weeks, we will explore media literacy, defense and the economy.  After hearing the stands of the various candidates on these and other issues, the students will decide which candidate best supports his/her own personal interests.  We will vote and compare our vote to the national results on November 4th.

 

Sixth Grade

Students will be responsible to research a randomly selected biome, compile their research and create a three-panel brochure in Microsoft Publisher, using text, pictures and graphs/charts.  Students will then display their brochures outside the computer room. Check out the World Biomes WebQuest link found at the SJF website for more information.

 

Fifth Grade

Students are studying Native Americans in Social Studies and we will be working on various Native American Projects.  Students will be learning the paint program and drawing an Indian Pottery piece.  We will then move into Microsoft Project and creating a post card from their exciting visit to an Indian reservation.  Finishing the lesson with a PowerPoint presentation of their knowledge of the Native Americans. 

 

 

Fourth Grade

The fourth graders are excited about finishing up their “All About Me” PowerPoint presentations.  They learned how to copy and paste pictures, animate slides and change slide speed. Students will begin to present projects by mid-October. The last class of the month will be spent playing Halloween-themed math games.

 

Third Grade

Students are busy learning to type papers using Microsoft Word; learning to change size and type of font, as well as how to double space their papers. We will use these skills for a Halloween project. Also, we will be working on a Christopher Columbus assignment before Columbus Day.  On Wednesdays, students continue to improve their typing skills.  We are moving from “home base row” to the top row on the keyboard.

 

Second Grade

We will begin the month by working on an assignment about Christopher Columbus.  Move into learning new software that will enhance their Math Skills.  Finally, we move to Halloween, where we will explore great Halloween websites, draw pictures using Kid Pix and Kid Works, type a scary Halloween poem and play a lot of fun games.

 

First Grade

We will also begin the month by working on an assignment about Christopher Columbus.  And move right into celebrating Halloween drawing fun pictures using Kid Pix, exploring great Halloween websites and learning to insert text into our Kid Pix creations

 

Kindergarten

We will start off the month working with our Kid Pix program, learning how to use the stamps and stamping out our names and numbers 1-10.  We will move into working on a project to celebrate Columbus Day.  We will end the month with some exciting Halloween projects using Kid Pix. 

 

Preschool

What fun the preschoolers are having! Students are still becoming familiar with how to use the mouse with confidence.  The Starfall website has the kids enthralled.  I have let the students explore the ABC and Pumpkin icons at that site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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September — 7th and 8th grades

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by patreed

This week, each class will answer the “Roll Call” by introducing the class to other classes across the nation participating in the 2008 National Cyberconvention Project.  Additionally, 7th graders will produce “Powerful Poetry” — their works will be on display at open house, so look for them!  8th graders will work on their TIME Magazine covers.   They will envision themselves 20 years in the future, and tell about their accomplishments in a magazine article.  These will be held until Just Desserts, at which time they will be on display for parents in Kane Hall. 

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Welcome!

Posted on August 30th, 2008 by patreed

We are excited about starting a new school year, for a variety of reasons in the technology department.  This past summer, we replaced all the computers in the O’Neill North Lab, so have brand new Dell desktops with flat screen monitors.  Additionally, seven of our classrooms were outfitted with tablet pcs and wireless projection units, so look for some new and improved ways for our students to learn!

Students will come to the computer lab once weekly as a scheduled class period and will meet with either Mrs. Alfultis, Mrs. Reed or Mrs. Maxwell.

Seventh and Eighth Graders will begin the year with participation in the 2008 National Cyberconvention Project.  In this project, students from across the country can become informed by participating in the democratic process, and tracking candidates, issues and voting trends.

Sixth Grade (Monday)
We will review the Acceptable Use Policy and focus on Internet Safety (Ways to Combat and Avoid Cyberbullying, Proper “netiquette” and Privacy Information). Students will also start a science unit on the periodic table, becoming familiar with the element symbols and uses.

Fourth and Fifth Grade (Wednesday)
Students will cover the topic of Internet Safety (Privacy Information, Preventing spam and viruses, Proper “netiquette”, etc.) We will then start the “All About Me” PowerPoint Project. Students will learn how to use the PowerPoint program, make their own slides and then present their finished projects.

Third Grade (Monday/Wednesday)
Mondays: Students will cover the “Lifecycle of Butterflies” and Parts of an Insect.
Wednesdays: Students will have Keyboarding Instruction and Practice. Students will identify “Home Base Position” on the computer keyboard.  They will then have practice and lessons on the letters A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, ; and spacebar.  After students feel confident finding the keys, they will have practice tests and complete “Adventure Challenges”.

Kindergarten, First and Second Grade will review Internet Safety: How to use the Internet and Computer Safely and What information is Private?

Preschool
Even our youngest falcons will enjoy the computer lab! Beginning with the KidPix Program, students will gain confidence and learn to navigate using the mouse.

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