To celebrate new 21st-century educational technology, Our Lady of Providence School will sponsor an ice cream social with a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, on the school campus, 8874 Pardee Road.
Student access to this technology has increased thanks to a recent grant and generous gifts from individuals and organizations, according to a news release.
Work by the Our Lady of Providence Technology Committee has reaped a grant from the Innovative Educational Technology Fund, a St. Louis-based charitable foundation. As a result, students will find a new Media and Library Center when school reopens this month.
Shortly after school let out for the summer, parents began renovating this space, removing old lockers and repainting the room. Other improvements to this space will include carpeting and new furnishings.
The grant provides a SMART Board and its supporting technology, according to the release. A SMART Board appears to be a conventional white board, but with an accompanying projector, computer and software the board can display a computer’s desktop image and becomes an interactive surface sensitive to touch input from a finger or marker. The grant also includes a webcam with microphone, enabling students to participate in live online discussions.
Other technology developments include a mobile computer lab comprised of 20 netbook computers and a charging cart. It can be moved into classrooms for use as needed. Besides the SMART Board in the Media Center, all classrooms will be equipped with SMART Boards by the start of the school year. These innovations are funded by generous gifts from parishioners as well as the Men’s Club, the Our Lady of Providence Parent Association and Athletic Association.
Our Lady of Providence School is working toward a collaborative effort with Annunciation in Webster Groves and St. Michael’s in Shrewsbury to create a different kind of school system for the 2012-2013 school year.
The proposal, which is expected to be approved from Archbishop Robert Carlson this fall, will have two buildings housing kindergarten through fifth grade and one middle school building housing grades six through eight, the release stated This new configuration is hoped to help provide affordable, quality Catholic education with a stronger curriculum.
