Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome to another
exciting year for Technology classes at St. John Vianney! I look
forward to the many weeks ahead as we explore new frontiers in all areas
of technology.
Over the summer, I had the
arduous task of rebuilding and reconditioning many of the PC units on
our network. This year, we will be featuring the ability for
teachers to fully utilize streaming video-on-demand (VOD) services to
bring the curriculum to life with sound and video delivered direct to
the classroom. I deployed nearly 30 replacement units to retire
many of our outdated machines to make this offering feasible. With
over 100 units operating on our campus network, we are positioned to
provide our students and teachers with ample computing resources.
Of course, I am always looking for any donations of used equipment.
Specifically, I would like to acquire more Pentium 4 units. At
this time, however, I am not accepting donations of used ink jet
printers, as they are far too expensive to operate, and our need is
satisfied with the three network color laser printers complemented
with a multi-function copier unit in the school office.
We have a well-developed
technology curriculum at SJV, but there's always room for improvement.
To that effect, I will be introducing some new lessons to incorporate
some study of technology history, as well as exploring some of the
technologies that are coming in the near future. Other technology
areas besides computers will also be introduced, including some lessons
on the ever-expanding area of wireless technology. Keyboarding
skills will also be more effectively assessed through new software to be
used this year. As always, I will strive to integrate relevant
skills and cross-curricular reinforcement into each and every lesson.
On another note, SJV now
has a technology assistant, Sr. Michelle Van, FMA who will be helping
out in all areas of the Technology department. I am truly excited
to have an extra set of hands this year so that I can continue my focus
to keep our technology offerings among the best in the Diocese!
As always, I will continue
to challenge our students to give their personal best by setting high
standards and expectations in all my classes. I have nothing but
the most optimistic feelings that this will be our best year yet!
In Christ,
Mr. Zakaras
