Information Evening for incoming 1st Year Parents 5 th February 2018 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Information Evening for incoming 1st Year Parents 5th February 2018

Extra Curricular Activities Wellbeing

All first year students are encouraged to take part in extracurricular activates.

Structure of the school day

All class periods will be 40mins (42 periods a week) Start: 9.00am Finish: 4.00pm (M-T) 3.20pm (W-F) Break time (15mins) Lunch time (45mins)

Junior Cycle

Why introduce technology?

Pros

• The ease of use
• Number of educational apps which are quality controlled are

unrivalled

• Tried and tested. Most popular choice in education
• Apple offers support and training to teachers
• Most popular device with Irish publishers for ebooks
• No need for anti virus software
• Quick boot time
• OS can be updated with one click
• Can be managed easily in large quantities
• Ease of integration within current infrastructure

Cons

• Not MS office compatible
• Expensive
• No integrated keyboard
• Newer version every year

Schools that have introduced laptops are moving away from them and moving to tablet

• devices. Laptops are prone to damage in the

hands of teenagers and the price for a good laptop can far exceed a good tablet device

Why iPads ?

Advantages of the tablet device?

• To make teaching and learning interactive
• To turn every room into a computer room
• To teach our students computer skills for the

future

• To encourage collaborative learning
• To provide an endless supply of resources to

each classroom

• To introduce ICT provisions for the introduction
• f the new Junior Certificate curriculum
• To help engage students in learning.
• To introduce a new method of teaching to our classrooms
• To refresh our teaching
• To encourage independent and self directed learning
• To cut down on the chaos at lockers
• To reduce the size and weight of schoolbags

A sample of what we have we learned from the past 4 years?

Student perspective:

• Learning is much more fun and

interactive for students.

• Students are self motivated to

learn outside the classroom. protective iPad you

• You need a good

case! (corners)

• If you forget your

forget all your books

• Information and

always available

• There is much

answers are more group work which makes learning easier and more fun and innovative

• Students have regular access

to an interactive and stimulating environment.

Teacher perspective:

• The students having an iPad

makes the classroom a much more active and exciting environment to teach

• Security and management of

the device is key

• Our AUP policy and iPad rules

are critical documents to good technology ie. Classroom iPad and management Management

• Teachers can

combination easily use a

• f

different learning modalities (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic). crucial to

• Staff

CPD is success

Parent Perspective:

• Parents need training too!
• Insurance is a MUST
• Son(s) tend to spend too

much time in the evenings on the iPad

• Parental

rules and iPad guidelines are important too (we can help devise house rules in

• ur training)
• My son is much more engaged

in their learning

• I’m

always shown what my son has done in school

• Presentation

skills are much improved.

Our current rules

In Class/School Rules (Selection)

• The iPad must be left flat on the desk unless the teacher has instructed to type.
• At the beginning of class iPads should be locked and closed on desk.
• iPad is not allowed to be used at lunch time (locked away)
• iPad is not allowed to be brought to sports outings eg. soccer matches, gaelic, basketball

etc.

• The iPad must not be full of games and personal apps
• Apps should be organised into different categories for example education, lifestyle etc. for

easier access.

• A common file management system for all students on Google Drive i.e. all folders and

subfolders are organised in a uniform way for each student.

• Do not have personal photos as background
• Providing books if a student breaches rules.
• Organising apps so folders for personal apps/games
• Detention if caught sending messages or on an unauthorised site during class
• Random iPad checks by tutors and subject teachers

Selection of our achievements and vision for ICT

To date:

• Developed a unique teacher training programme focused on implementing technology in

the classroom

• Consistently integrating and keeping up with ICT educational practices
• Ongoing training for parents.
• Our students have fully embraced cloud storage.
• Developed online resources.
• We have massively reduced paper waste eg. students not asked to buy exam papers,

use of VLE

Moving forward:

• Continuously Improve Teaching and Learning.
• With the aid of technology to instill life long learning skills in our students - self directed

and independent

• Harnessing technology students will realise the importance to take responsibility for their

learning

• Using the power of ICT to deliver a more dynamic curriculum in all subjects
• Departments will create their own digital content and students will have input
• Staff to develop their own eBooks and content

Some common questions

• Are copy books gone and will writing skills be reduced?

○ Certainly not. Students still have to sit the Junior Certificate exams so the same writing and reading skills are being enforced in class

• What are we doing about Cyber bullying?

○ We are very conscious of this topic. The staff, the parents committee and school management are all working year round to best control this issue both inside and

• utside of the classroom.
• My child has special needs, should I purchase anything additional?

○ The latest iPad has a much better display plus it has additional features for students with special need.

• Will Students have hard back books?

○ Yes, they will have hard back books for all examination subjects. Any novels required by students will be in hardback. Students will leave their hard books at home and use their iPad in school.

Some common questions

• What happens if my child forgets their iPad?

○ A students who does not have their iPad may go to the front office for books or replacement iPad with eBooks installed.

• Do we need Wi Fi at home to use the iPad?
• Wi-Fi at home is not required. All eBooks are downloaded on the iPad so internet

connection is not required. Most educational apps that students will use at home will not require Wi-Fi.

• Do we require insurance and where should we get it?

○ Yes you certainly require insurance. Insurance is now offered through Gadget Insurance but we do encourage families to investigate their own house and home insurance as many now cover devices such as iPads inside and outside of homes. Please check out the excess and also inquire about what is or is not fixed under your policy.

Our Educational Partners

What happens next?

• Assessment day: Saturday 24th February

(Commence at 9.30am and finish at 1.00pm)

• Information Evening in early May for students & parents

(Tuesday 1st May for both students and parents)

• iPad Deployment Day (16th June) (books and eBooks)
• Students will have two induction days 23rd & 24th August.
• Parents will receive iPad in early September.

Visit cbsthurles.ie or wriggle.ie for all details on how to order using this code specific to CBS Thurles 95842908

Important Dates:

Opening of Wriggle Online Store: 13th April 2018

(do not purchase until you receive your options)

Closing of Wriggle Online Store: 11th May 2018

www.cbsthurles.iie CBS Thurles, Rossa Street, Thurles

Deployment Day for all students: Friday 15th 2018

iPad Deployment

Booklist will be supplied to parents in May

Thank you for your attention

cbsthurles.ie