SAINT JEROME SCHOOL

"Excellence in Catholic Education"

Mrs. DelVescovo

May is the Month of Our Mother

Another year of school has passed and we’re bound full speed ahead into the new school year 2008-2009! When SJS opened its’ doors this past September, we celebrated our 50^th year of education! Congratulations to us all!

Kindergarten children will master the functions of the keyboard by taking advantage of some wonderful online activities geared for their age group.  Primary students in grades one, two, and three will become proficient with their keyboarding skills with the help of “Type To Learn Jr.” CD, and some great online keyboarding tutorials; www.gameaquarium.com/keyboarding, www.growing.course.com/. Fourth, fifth, and six graders will review all the Office applications and have already created, and presented some unique Word, Power Point, Publisher, etc., projects especially for special holidays and the upcoming Catholic Schools Week. They will be on display on all three floors. Seventh and eighth graders concentrate more on internet research and more advanced projects.

There are always lots of changes taking place in the computer lab. It has been a wonderful asset having the new projector attached to the ceiling in the lab along with new mounted speakers and also a brand new expanded pull down screen. One of the great things about technology is that it is always changing and at a very rapid rate. Each year since we first started the computer lab in 1989, we have been continuing to upgrade our hardware, software, and find new ways to integrate technology into all areas of the curriculum for all grades, K through Grade 8. It’s a very exciting and rewarding task because the children and faculty are so eager to use the new technologies as they are developed and implemented.

Saint Jerome School views technology as vital and key to education and a valuable and essential tool, capable of developing both the communication skills and productive ability of our students, staff and parents. The integration of technology in education has the capability of reviving the way in which teachers teach and learners learn. The students in Saint Jerome School must be competitive in an ever challenging world. The opportunity to develop technological skills will enable our students and staff to reach their highest potential in their quest to access information, improve problem-solving skills, promote collaborative and life long learning, become efficient communicators, and successful and responsible citizens. We want our students to learn with enthusiasm, a sense of awareness, and an appreciation for the gifts of technology, all within a Catholic educational environment. The test before us is to imagine what is possible, and to prepare realistically for future challenges in our ever changing world.

The computer curriculum is based on the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Technological Literacy (http://www.nj.gov/njded/cccs/s8_tech.htm).

The computer lab presently houses 32 Dell Pentium IV systems with Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel, Power Point, Publisher and Access), Inspiration, Kidspiration, Type To Learn and Type To Learn Jr. Other selected educational software has been installed for faculty and student use. Each computer has Internet access as well as plug-ins such as Flash, Shockwave and Adobe Acrobat Reader. The 32 new Dell computer systems were just received this past December, and the ones previously in the lab have been moved out into all the classrooms.

All students and staff have a user name and password, which enables them to log on to our school network. In addition, each has their own Personal and Shared drive. The lab has one commercial color laser printer in addition to a projector mounted to the ceiling with brand new speakers. Along with Norton Antivirus, the most up-to-date content filtering software has been placed on our server. A local cable company provides high-speed Internet access and web hosting. Our e-mail provider supplies remote hosting through a web-based interface.

There are multimedia computers located in each classroom. All classroom computers have access to the Internet. Keyboarding, spreadsheet, database, PowerPoint presentation, publishing, graphic organizers and multimedia/Internet research is taught by the computer teacher. The computer teacher provides an interdisciplinary approach on all levels. Feel free to contact me anytime!

The computer lab is a very busy place with all of the students working on so many different projects, Web Quests, PowerPoint presentations, Inspiration and Kidspiration activities, Word stories and poems, etc. Our HP Color Laser Jet 3500 printer is set up in the lab and we were “printing” away! We see creative and exciting ideas become colorful and thoughtful projects by all the students that decorate the hallways and classrooms. Walking down the corridors, you are able to see many wonderful and unique tasks the children have completed in the lab. As always, we make great use of our SmartBoard in the computer lab all year doing interactive activities on the internet in math and language arts. The SmartBoard is a great asset to all of the students; the younger children particularly enjoy it because of its “hands on” capability. Students in Kindergarten became more proficient on the keyboard and learn how to navigate using the mouse by visiting some online keyboarding websites. First and Second graders continue their keyboarding lessons with Type To Learn Jr. Third grade through the upper grades use the adult version of Type To Learn which contains 22 keyboarding lessons and keeps track of each student’s progress. These students use many online keyboarding websites as well. The fourth grade wall is always decorated during the year with outstanding poems and stories for all to see! Fifth graders fine tune their Power Point social studies presentations on selected countries and other topics. Sixth graders continue to visit the lab to enhance both their language arts and math skills. Seventh and Eighth graders continue to do internet research assigned by their teachers and concentrate more on their Office skills during their regular computer period. Many of the students complete their individual classroom assignments and visit the computer lab quite frequently. In computer class, all students, Kindergarten through grade eight, use all the Microsoft Office programs to complete various projects and tasks. 

Some suggested sites we use in the computer lab:

www.schoolnotes.com
www.internet4classrooms.com
www.computerlab.kids.new.net/what_to_do.htm
www.growing.course.com/index.html
www.brainconnection.com
http://webquest.org/index.php
www.emtech.net/kidsites.htm (The “everything” site, check it out!)
www.gamequarium.com/keyboarding.htm
http://webquest.org/index.php

250 Wall Street    †    West Long Branch, New Jersey    †    732-222-8686    †    © SJS 2006