Technology Program

As the very first high school in the area to start a laptop/device program, we have a proud 20 year tradition of incorporating technology into our curriculum.  

Because we have tremendous pride in our educational technology program,  each student is expected to acquire a device or devices to bring to school.  We expect the family to have purchased a device no later than July 31^st.  It is up to each family where they would like to obtain the device. 

There are 2 devices that meet all of the educational requirements of the school: a newer laptop or a hybrid laptop/tablet/slate with keyboard and pen.  Either of these should be the primary device used by the student.  Each device purchased needs to be able to connect to wifi. 

Students may also bring secondary devices to use in the classroom such as an ipad or android tablet with the knowledge that these particular devices may difficult to be used in certain situations, such as typing a long term paper with research. 

We would recommend purchasing at least a mid-range laptop that costs between $400 and $600. You’ll want a device that is fast enough with a nice size memory to prevent frustration having to wait for things to load. We suggest you purchase a laptop with an Intel Core i5 CPU. Models that end in U (ex: Core i5-7200U) are the most common.  Those with a Y in the name are low power and have worse performance .

At this time, we do not recommend ADM processors.

Ideally it is preferable to obtain at least 8GB of RAM or even 16GB if you can spend just a little more. For most users, 32GB or more is overkill.

Purchasing a laptop with a solid state drive (SSD) rather than a hard drive is ideal, but does come with a higher cost. The user will see at least three times the speed and a much faster  laptop overall. 

 

Each teacher is responsible for letting the students know which devices are suitable for each particular lesson.  When devices are in the classroom, it is the responsibility of the student to use the device or devices appropriately for education.  Cell phones are normally not allowed to be used in classrooms unless a teacher specifically deems them necessary for a lesson.  See the chart on the reverse side detailing the capabilities of each of these devices.  

Support
We have a full time device technician on staff.  If any device breaks, our technician will diagnose each device and provide a solution.  We do not charge for any labor when fixing devices but we do charge for parts.  

We are a Windows environment, but we do allow Macs.  They are more difficult to work on, but technician will do his best on any device that he receives.  If he cannot fix it (which is rare) he will facilitate repair for you. 

Protection
A high school is an environment where devices can easily be damaged.  It is up to individual families to decide if they want to acquire accidental damage plans at the time of their purchase.  As stated earlier, our technician can repair most anything cheaper and faster than any place in town.  Each family may want to set aside some money just in case a device needs repair. 

**Additionally, all students need to purchase a device bag on their own for their laptops.  The bag should used only for the device and should only have one strap (backpack style laptop bags are not allowed.)  Devices other than laptops should have a protective case.

Web Filter
Gross Catholic has a top-notch  web filter in place that blocks inappropriate sites.  Our web filter does not work outside of school.  Parents may want to investigate appropriate web filters for their home network.