Here’s a link to the whole newsletter that includes a calendar for September and October, pictures, and information about our students’ use of technology.

Alma Intermediate School Newsletter for September, 2015

From the Principal… 

Some of the wild predictions made about the future when I was younger have not come true. There was a lot of concern about how we would spend all of the free time caused by technology and modern conveniences. They really missed the boat on that one. There were also predictions about transportation and health that have proved to be greater challenges than estimated.

However, when I look back just 20 years, it’s amazing to see the pace of change. Music that I used to play on vinyl records or cassette tapes is now stored on my iPod, which holds my whole collection of music, podcasts, and audiobooks. I carry a phone that is a small computer. With it I can send and receive emails, access the Internet, read books, text directly to anyone in my contacts and….make phone calls. One of my favorite devices is my e-reader that holds many books and allows me to carry a library of resources in my backpack.

The students in our school have never known a time when this technology that astounds me didn’t exist. What does the future of technology hold for us and our students? Will we lose our balance and fail to maintain strong relationships with others in our community as we rely more and more on technology? Will we settle for a constant drivel of disconnected information or strive for deep understanding with a cautious approach to the sources of our information?

Our hope is that we will help students use technology as a tool to increase and enrich our communication with others and solve complex problems now and in the future. On the back page of this newsletter is a portion of an article sharing just a couple of ways we involve students with technology at AIS.