Parent Teacher Magazine | Page 7

Rowan-Salisbury Schools Become Extraordinary with Digital Innovation! Rowan-Salisbury students are excited to be receiving new technology devices to enhance their success in learning during this school year. Teachers received their MacBook Air laptops on the last day of school in June – which provided them the summer break to become accustomed to their new technology devices. Technology is a tool that students know. How many adults today use their smart phones, laptops, iPads, desktop computers? How many could go one day without using one or all of these devices? This is the world of our students. Technology is a window to their world of literacy, knowledge – learning. During the 2014-2015 school year, technology devices are being deployed to all student grades 3-12 students to use at home and at school. K-2 grades will have access to technology in their classrooms as learning becomes “CCRP” – Connected, Collaborative, Relevant and Personalized. High school students received their MacBook Air laptops during the first few weeks of school. Middle and Elementary (Grades 3 and above) will be receiving iPad 4 devices beginning in November. Prior to the devices being deployed to students, parent meetings were and are being held during which critical information and policies are provided such as: • Responsible Use Policy • Digital Citizenship • Internet Safety A website is available for parents and students to provide additional information and guidance. The exciting challenge to our community supporters is to create 100 Homework Centers with “Hot Spots” available to students after school. Learn more about joining this partnership at: www.rowanhotspot.com. ● Accepting New Patients Now! We accept most dental insurance plans and are in network with the major dental insurance companies: Aetna, Ameritas, BCBS, Cigna, Delta, Guardian, Humana, MetLife, United Healthcare, and United Concordia ● We Believe In A Better Dental Experience West Rowan High Teacher Selected For State Program Angela Strode, WRHS Science teacher, has been accepted in the NC Science Spotlight Program that engages students and teachers with STEM focus. Science Spotlight is an energy literacy program, encouraging research and discussion in class, providing articles and guides vetted by experts and teachers, as well as best practices for classroom discussions. Classrooms are paired with a researcher or industry professional for a wrap-up virtual discussion. Typically, this program takes two class periods, with the classroom discussion occurring one day, and the Skype visit with the expert on a following day. The expert portion is optional, but a great way to expose your students to STEM careers. West Rowan High Selected For Two Scientific Assessment Projects WRHS was selected to be part of two different scientific assessment projects. The first one is the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics MOSART-HSLS. This is a high school life science assessment project funded by the National Science Foundation to assess student understanding of life science. During the next semester, the class will take the assessment that is focused on standard based proficiency tests. The class will receive a profile of each student’s performances relative to the life science standards. This should be quite beneficial in helping to prepare for the EOC. Plus, the school will receive credit for assisting in the development of the assessment instrument. WRHS is also taking part in a STEM program to help analyze the county and school’s STEM literacy as well as gauge student interest in STEM careers. It will help to determine strengths and weaknesses and analyze ways to engage more students in these fields. Each student will receive a profile based on their performance as well as the school. This could lead the way to implementing these types of programs in addition to offering funding to help increase student interest in potential careers in the science field. David E. Thome DDS 704-637-5506 140 Mahaley Ave. Suite B Salisbury, NC 28144 Parent Teacher Magazine • Nov/Dec 2014 • 5