Technical celebration
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 27, 2016 1:46 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/ALAN CAMPBELL
Carver Heights Elementary School third-grader Zikera Lewis, 9, shares a laugh with teacher Lisa Helms as they look at emojis on her new iPad Air 2 on Tuesday during the student iPad rollout at the school.
Full Size
News-Argus/ALAN CAMPBELL
Carver Heights Elementary School third-grader Jania Wallace, 9, learns how to operate her new iPad Air 2 on Tuesday.
Capt. iPad was in the house Tuesday, as Carver Heights Elementary School students were treated to a show as part of "Super Hero Day."
A red carpet lined the sidewalk leading into the gymnasium, with students greeted at the entrance by a burst of confetti and animated cheerleaders from Rosewood High School and Dillard Middle School.
The children's expressions varied. Shock. Awe. Surprise.
Some covered their faces.
Others simply smiled and dusted off the confetti.
"I'm about to cry," said Carol Artis, director of elementary education for Wayne County Public Schools and a former elementary school principal.
She knew what was coming, she said.
More than a pep rally or a typical assembly.
It has been a year and a half since Carver Heights was named recipient of an Apple ConnectED grant. In February, teachers and staff each received an iPad, a MacBook Air and training from Apple on how to use the devices in the classroom.
The effort all culminated into this week's celebration, with each of the more than 300 students at the school receiving his or her own iPad.
So it made perfect sense to pull out all the stops and bring in the super heroes.
Which explained why Wonder Woman was directing students to their seats and staff and students alike donned masks and capes.
"Today is your day," Principal William Vann III told the students. "Today we're celebrating you."
Dr. David Lewis, assistant superintendent for accountability/information technology services, said it had been a long time coming, recalling the announcement Oct. 2014 that the school would receive "a great gift."
"It's an opportunity for us to infuse Carver Heights Elementary with all kinds of instructional technology," he said. "Everybody has spent the last year and a half working behind the scenes to get ready for today."
"I don't know if you know this but there are only two schools in all of North Carolina that got this and there are only about 100 schools in all of the U.S. that got this. So this should let you know just how special you are and how big a deal this is for Apple to come and partner with Wayne County Public Schools."
To keep the momentum going, the program featured performances from the Rosewood High School and Carver Heights student choruses, along with appearances by the "Villains of Instruction," Dial Up Man and The Poker.
But it was Capt. iPad who stole the show. Decked out in a bright yellow cape and matching socks, accessorized with a slim green eye mask, he danced and high-fived students as they passed.
His alter ego, Chris Holloway, an assistant basketball coach at University of Mount Olive who moonlights as a tutor in a second grade class at Carver Heights, said afterward he didn't mind "dressing up and being silly" if it encouraged students.
"I don't want them to lose their sense of imagination," he said. "I just want them to get excited about it.
"For them to get here and embrace it, see that they're excited about (the technology), not just go and work, they are getting an opportunity that not everybody gets."
Apple representatives spent the bulk of the day in classrooms working with teachers and students on their new devices.
Tuesday was all about getting an iPad in the hands of the approximately 315 students in grades K-4 -- letting them take pictures of themselves, learning how to use it, playing games and taking assessments to better familiarize the students with the technology.
"They're not going to take them home at this point," said Jenny Prince, the school's curriculum facilitator. "They're the property of the school. (Students) will have them when they come back next year."
Apple has done a stellar job of working with the school and staff in preparation for the rollout, Ms. Prince said.
"It's been different than anything I have ever experienced, because of Apple," she said. "They have thought through everything. There wasn't the first question I had.
"They have supported me completely."