Did you know that last year, we spent nearly $2,000 on classroom ink alone? That amount would have been doubled without our participation in a cartridge recycling program. To help, all you have to do is send US what you would normally throw away. Old cell phones, empty inkjet and laser cartridges from your home or business are “magically” turned into new ink cartridges for our classrooms. In fact, Catholic High participates in several no-cost support programs which don’t require any extra spending or donations from stakeholders!

These programs include Community Coffee’s Cash for Schools Program, General Mills’ Boxtops4Education, and Campbell’s Labels for Education. All aid in the purchase of additional supplies and hardware for classroom use. To contribute, simply clip indicated parts of packages from products you already use in your home and send them with your child to school. I keep a Ziploc bag in a kitchen drawer for my family to place all of these items in, and then simply send it in when it's full. Our Support Programs page (http://www.chspanthers.com/Development/support_programs.html) contains all the details on these and a few others we participate in.

I hope I was able to provide some insight this week on how we stretch our technology dollars with the aid of our fantastic Parents Club, grant writing efforts, and support programs. We at Catholic High know the sacrifices you make to provide your child(ren) with a Catholic education, and your support of our fundraisers is greatly appreciated. Money raised for Academic Raffle goes a long way in providing 21st century tools in your child(ren)'s classrooms. However, with the economy being what it is, we want you to be aware that there are other ways you can help. Please consider becoming an active participant in our NO COST support programs which directly benefit your children in their classrooms!

Did you know that in the past 10 years Catholic High has received well over $600,000 in state and federal monies for technology? Past grants have provided an elementary computer lab, science computers and microscopes, mobile computer labs, and digital cameras. This year, one part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided stimulus dollars for Louisiana’s HIGHTech grant opportunity for high schools. This program required the pairing of a public and non-public entity for the purposes of technology integration, professional development, and advancement of students’ 21st century skills. School districts were eligible to apply for amounts up to $500,000, depending on their enrollment. Twenty-four districts applied; Iberia Parish was one of thirteen funded and one of only two funded for the full $500,000. This amount was divided among the two schools based on high school enrollment.

The second largest single award the school has received, HIGHTech funds will allow us to provide not only equipment, but also professional development. The project has already begun with product evaluation. We will implement Promethean ActivClassroom technology in our high school English, math, science, and social studies classrooms before Christmas. Classrooms will be equipped with interactive whiteboards, student response systems, document cameras, and laptops. Each teacher will also receive ongoing, job-embedded training that includes equipment usage as well as proven, research-based methods for technology integration. The partnership with New Iberia Senior High will provide additional collaboration opportunities for teachers on both campuses, allowing them to share ideas and lessons.

Of course all these incredible tools will, at some point, need replacement parts and repairs. That is where our support programs come in. Tomorrow I’ll let you know how you can help us get ink, toner, projector lamps, etc. without any out-of-pocket expense.

Did you know that in order to remain eligible for certain types of funding, schools are required to block access to sites with inappropriate content and to educate students about Internet safety and appropriate use of computers? We meet the latter through homeroom and classroom lessons, iSafe America’s Internet Safety curriculum, and TurnItIn.com. Students learn about online safety, Internet predators, identity theft, and intellectual property. Catholic High utilizes Sonic Wall’s Comprehensive Gateway Security Services to meet the first requirement. Our annual subscription provides premium content filtering services along with gateway antivirus protection and virtual private network (VPN) client services. Inappropriate sites are blocked by category, keyword, and custom lists. The gateway antivirus protection is also complimented by Trend Micro’s Office Scan Client and Server Antivirus Suite, another annual subscription service funded by the Parent Club Annual Academic Raffle. We cannot thank our Parent Club enough for helping us to obtain these necessities so we can keep our technology fees low!
And since we are in compliance with these regulations…tomorrow I’ll give you the low-down on some of the state and federal funding we’ve obtained, especially our latest endeavor – a partnership with NISH.

Did you know that during the 2006-2007 school year, 66% of 2- and 4-year degree granting postsecondary institutions offered some form of online course for any level or audience? Asynchronous (not simultaneous or real-time) Internet-based technologies were cited as the most widely used technology for the instructional delivery of such courses (http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009044.pdf). In keeping with our goal of equipping our students with 21st century skills, we have begun utilizing PALMS (Panther Asynchronous Learning Management System), which is built in the online course management system Moodle. Our teachers participate in online professional development within PALMS – most notably this summer’s faculty reading book discussion – in order to accommodate their busy schedules and become accustomed to this amazing tool. A few of our classes have even gone hybrid, combining online and face-to-face instruction and readying students for the college experience where their assignments will be posted and submitted online and they can continue to discuss class topics well beyond the walls of the classroom.
Moodle is just one technology instrument we use to support instruction at Catholic High. Other vital tools allow us to bring engaging digital content into the classroom, spark lively discussions, and teach essential writing skills. Several of our classrooms currently boast equipment such as LCD projectors, laptops, interactive whiteboards, and student response systems. These items allow teachers to share content with the entire class, create dynamic lessons, and conduct formative assessments on the spot. One of our favorite sites is Discovery Streaming, a subscription-based, searchable database of digital multimedia organized by content area, grade level, and standard. Students can even get their own accounts to view lessons from class at home. The final gizmo in our online toolbox is TurnItIn.com, a favorite teacher resource for numerous reasons. Look for more details on TurnItIn.com from Genie Segura, Catholic High’s Curriculum Director.
Of course, none of this would be possible without a little extra help from our Parent Club. And the list doesn’t end there…stay tuned for more tomorrow on how we meet diocesan, state, and federal guidelines.

Erin B. Henry
Technology Director
Catholic High, New Iberia

Our families and stakeholders need to stay abreast of important events at Catholic High. They also need to have quick and easy access to documents, forms and other information. Therefore, communication is a HUGE part of what we do with technology. Did you know that many of our electronic communications – including our web site, email, and even this blog – are made possible by our Parent Club?

One of the many important items funded by proceeds from the Academic Raffle is our biggest communication tool – our website. The Catholic High website is the go-to resource for school information: calendars, contact particulars, details about academic and religious programs, external links, etc. The site also enables us to host this CNotes blog, where stakeholders like you can subscribe to updates that go straight to your inbox, the brand-new CompassionNet prayer board, and a fantastic classroom teaching tool – Moodle. Your support makes all this, and more, possible!

More on Moodle and other classroom tools tommorrow...