Yesterday, Nov. 29, SCHS hosted two identical parent information meetings regarding the upcoming one-to-one Chromebook distribution from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the theater.

The Chromebooks, which will be touchscreen and have the tablet feature, are set to be distributed to all sophomores and juniors this Friday and next week along with chargers and sleeves. SCHS will be the first school in the district to get take-home Chromebooks, according to teacher on special assignment for educational technology Michelle Brown.

“The devices we are giving to students are going to grow as technology grows,” Brown said. “We want the best for our students.”

The meeting covered what Chromebooks were, the ways teachers would use Chromebooks, and student and parent responsibilities.

“We’re going to do what we can to make it work, and we will be including [the parents] along the way,” Vice Principal of Attendance, Technology, & Discipline (M-Z) Terry Flora said.

American Sign Language teacher Vonny Lee, social science and AVID teacher Emily Haven, English teacher Carolyn Cmaylo, English teacher Kate Flowers, and counselor Katy Weeks formed a panel at the meeting and shared how the new one-to-one device program will improve education in their respective fields. For instance, Haven plans to use Google Surveys to administer quizzes.

“It tells me the average, median and range,” Haven said. “That way, I can give them more timely feedback and spend more time on discussions.”

In addition, parents had the chance to ask questions and express any concerns they have about their children getting their own take-home Chromebooks. One of the parent attendees of the meeting, Terri Muench, worries that the use of Chromebooks may be abused by students.

“Obviously, there’s the concern that the Chromebooks won’t be used in the right way,” Muench said.

However, Muench believes the new implementation still “has a lot of potential,” bringing up the example of more interclass collaboration.

Flora also announced that the Bruins Genius Squad, a select group of tech-savvy students, will assist computer technology teacher Christina Mehl in instructing how to use Chromebook, and fixing any technical problems that may arise.

The Bruins Genius Squad will be available during lunch to assist anyone who needs help with their new Chromebooks.