66 new laptops for M.S. 101

66 new laptops for M.S. 101

Typing and clicking their way into the future, the students of M.S. 101 were the recipients of a technology grant set to be used to purchase computers.

On Wednesday, June 24 Councilman Jimmy Vacca visited 6th and 7th grade students of M.S. 101 to celebrate the $ 100,000 grant he secured for the school.

Helping to excel their education and engage the students, the money was spent on 33 Dell laptops and 33 Apple laptops, complete with two-color printers.

“The old technology we used didn’t offer much and sometimes didn’t even work,” said Alex Gutierrez. “Now we can do much more. It makes school work easier and more enjoyable.”

The reason for the split was to allow students to take advantage of the different components and programs offered by PCs and Macs.

“We wanted to give them exposure to both platforms and the opportunity to work on whichever they choose,” said principal Kim Hampton Hewitt. “Apple is really good with the pictures and graphics but Dells are what we work on to put together the yearbook.”

Students demonstrated their ability to research and create PowerPoint presentations as well as develop websites based on their unique interests.

“It’s a pleasure seeing you all using the technology,” said Vacca to the students. “It is always rewarding to see an impact like this and know we are providing the tools to help you excel yourselves.”

According to Hewitt, the middle school now owns 132 computers, but her goal is to eventually have one per student.