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Western Leader : August 7th 2012
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www.aucklandnow.co.nz Tuesday, August 7, 2012 The Immigrants Ph Join us and experience Take a journey with The Immigrants , people who left their homeland between 1840s and the 1960s for a life-changing voyage across the oceans to New Zealand. Be amazed and inspired by their stories. Discover how your family may have arrived in New Zealand, and share your own story. Open now. Free entry for Auckland residents Pl lo lo o B o o A l F B l o o o Do o C M Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum Corner Quay & Hobson Streets Viaduct Harbour, Auckland Tablets rule at school Moving forward: Shannon Spray of Henderson High School is among students who have spent the year testing the efficiency of having a laptop at school. Photo: HINERANGI VAIMOSO By HINERANGI VAIMOSO PEN and paper will play sec- ond fiddle to the tablet next year as Henderson High School takes a giant leap into the future of technology. All year 9 students will be issued with their own com- puter tablets, laptop-type devices similar in size to a piece of A4 paper. It's hoped all 600 students within the school will follow suit within two years. A few other schools across Auckland have encouraged pupils to bring laptops or smartphones to use in class, but principal Mike Purcell is thrilled his will be the first in West Auckland to implement the initiative. It's the way of the future andweneedtogetontoitas soon as possible if we want to show students and their par- ents that we're serious about getting them ahead and pre- paring them for the future,'' Mr Purcell says. Technology is constantly being upgraded which has made us eager to get this going as soon as we can so our school doesn't miss out on opportunities. Each year the stationery list reduces and the internet plays a greater part in all academic programmes,'' he says. The school has spent two years testing the efficiency and effectiveness of a note- book laptop with year 9 stu- dents and is ready to take the next step. It plans to subsidise each device to make them more affordable. How much each family will be expected to pay towards the tablets is yet to be decided. This is a great oppor- tunity for parents to get in touch with their child's learning as machines like this make it much easier for kids to show their parents what they're working on, how it works and what they're learning,'' Mr Purcell says. The change will mean kids will no longer have excuses for not having their work at school says head of PE Shel- don Revell. There'll be no more dog ate my homework' lines and no more I left my work at home' because it'll always be on your computer,'' he says. Mr Revell says the use of the new tablets won't be restricted to maths, science and English classes. They'll be needed in PE too. Students are able to look up diagrams of the human body, highlight the areas they're discussing in class and research even more. They can also record them- selves swinging a golf club, line it up with a video of fam- ous US golfer Tiger Woods swinging and and compare angles. The possibilities really are endless,'' he says. We have to move with the times and this is the way to go if we want to keep pupils engaged and motivated.'' Mr Purcell won't disclose the cost of the upgrade but says they'll be keeping the purse strings tight without sacrificing quality. The kids themselves have got to see change and they've got to believe the school is a good place to be. We've got to make sure the physical environment supports that.'' Students will soon be able to go into the library and download books on to their tablet. Mr Purcell also hopes to install charging stations to ensure students never run out of battery. TODAY Fishy food Roadworks Bears v Lions ONLINE Ahead to Rio SPORT This little blue penguin needs your sprats. It's been staying at the NZ Bird Rescue Trust in Green Bay but they're running out of food and hoping for some fishy donations --P3 Construction of the Waterview Connection is under way. The $1.4 billion motorway link will connect the southwestern and northwestern motorways to complete Auckland's western ring route --P5 Check out pictures of the Glenora Bears' semifinal match against the Mt Albert Lions over the weekend -- P23 Sports reporter Julian Raethel looks ahead to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in his latest blog update. What sports will be new to the Games? Go to westernleader.co.nz.
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