St. Mary Academy - Bay View is committed to supporting individual access to technology and online resources, at all levels of the Academy.
This commitment is a pledge to a student-centered environment. In order to facilitate our commitment, the technology department members provide support to the students, faculty and staff academy-wide, resulting in daily use and seamless technology integration throughout the pre-K through grade twelve curriculum. The technology team also facilitates technology-related professional development for faculty and staff, so they in turn can offer each student the best possible individualized education experience. From the iPad apps used in the Early Childhood Program to Naviance software for college placement in the Upper School, our technology choices demonstrate Bay View’s commitment to ensuring each student’s success now and in the future.
Wireless Internet access is available in all buildings on campus. Each faculty member has an iPad and all classrooms have an Apple TV or an interactive whiteboard. Every student in grades six through twelve has her own iPad for use at home and in school. In addition to the iPads, the Science department has a set of Dell Laptops with Vernier Logger Pro software; and, the Art department offers a set of MAC laptops with Adobe Creative Cloud software. The Academy has two fully networked computer labs, using Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Office 2013, Adobe Creative Cloud and Google for Education.
The Gribbin Library, open to all Middle and Upper School students, has desktop computers. To provide the most current and reliable information to our students, the Academy subscribes to a variety of databases including: Culturegrams, World Book Encyclopedia and Gale Group Online. In addition, we subscribe to Discovery Education. All are available on the Internet for easy access at home and at school.
The Rediker Plus Portal facilitates communication between the Academy and home. Through the Plus Portals, parents are able to locate school forms, monitor student progress, check grades, review homework assignments, search the parent directory and access the school calendar (which they can filter by categories that appeal and/or apply to their family). The Portals effectively streamline communication between parents and teachers. Individual logins allow each student her own dashboard and calendar to keep her organized and on task. Students can view their class assignments and monitor their own personal progress.
St. Mary Academy - Bay View has used Google Apps for Education since 2006. Beginning in grade four, all students receive a Google apps account including a school email address. However, student e-mail is limited to the bayviewacademy.org domain until they reach ninth grade; at that time, the account becomes a fully working email account.
Integral to our mission is educating in an "innovative and creative" learning environment. As such, technology is incorporated across all disciplines, from mathematics, to world languages, to fine art.
One-to-One iPad Program
The Academy instituted a one-to-one iPad program in grades six through twelve in the fall of 2013. All faculty throughout the Academy and all students in grades six to twelve have an iPad everyday at home and at school. Making use of our wireless network, Google Apps for Education, e-texts, i-Books and apps selected by the faculty, everyone has unlimited resources available to them every day, in every class and at home. Bay View also created a loaner program to ensure that a broken iPad would not cause a student to have problems in the classroom. Each year students take advantage of the loaner program, receiving an iPad to use while their iPad is being fixed. The Academy was featured by the National Catholic Education Association for our early adoption of an iPad One-to-One computing program.
Technology Integration Across Three Levels
Lower School
At the Lower School, all students take part in weekly technology classes using a variety of software and applications including Microsoft Office, IXL math and Google for Education. Classes take place in our newly updated computer lab which includes a Promethean Active Panel. In an effort to select the most appropriate technology for each age group, our robotics program begins with students in pre-k using the Bee-Bot programmable robot and over time progresses to the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit. Early Childhood students use iPads in the classrooms for letter and sound recognition, as well as math activities. Grades one, two and three share a set of iPads with apps selected for their level. Starting in grade four, Lower School students receive an in-house Google Apps for Education account complete with a school e-mail address and online word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. They are each given an iPad for their individual use in the classroom.
Middle School
Middle school students enjoy one-to-one computing with access to their own iPad. Consequently each student uses technology in all her subjects, including eTexts and online sites like Discovery Education. The iPads are set-up using Mobile Device Management (MDM) software, so students do not need nor have access to the app store or an iTunes account. To protect student safety, the iPads are supervised and students are not able to download or delete apps.
Every student in the Middle School has an in-house Google Apps for education account and is able to access her classwork at home and at school. Students use a variety of programs including Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Adobe Photoshop, IXL, Scratch and a plethora of iPad apps selected by the faculty. Bay View utilizes the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit for Robotics class, and our award winning robotics team is open to all students in grades seven and eight. Students take one semester of computer class per grade. Additionally, they have the added benefit of our keyboard lab as part of their music curriculum.
Upper School
Each Upper School student has an iPad for her in-school and at-home use. These iPads are set-up with a combination of the MDM software and a personal Apple ID. Students have access to the App store, but all required paid apps are pushed out by the school through the MDM software at no cost to the student. Students make use of iBooks and eTexts wherever possible. Upper School students have Google Apps for Education accounts and are given e-mail access outside the Bay View domain.
Technology is utilized in all departments across the Upper School, with the student and faculty iPads, Apple TVs and interactive whiteboards and more. A mobile MAC lab is used for art classes; science students have access to a laptop lab loaded with science-related software; and, world language students enjoy a state-of-the-art language lab. Students make use of our keyboarding lab for music. The Angell Writing Center and the Champlin Math lab provide drop-in access to technology with the added support of English and math faculty members. And, our guidance counselors use Naviance software to determine each student’s areas of interest and match her with colleges and universities.