Whittier HS Gives All Students iPads to Use While Attending Tech School

Throughout the month of August, WHAV provides a daily report counting down to the first day of school in Greater Haverhill.

Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School opens its doors to freshmen and new students on Tuesday, Aug. 29, to give them a chance to get acquainted with the school before their classmates arrive on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

Principal Chris Laganas said freshmen and new students will receive a school-bought iPad that they can use for the rest of their time at Whittier. In  a series of mandatory meetings, school officials will explain to parents the reasoning behind this decision.

Parents should plan to attend one of three meetings scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m.; or Thursday, Sept. 7 at 3 and 6 p.m.

Students must turn in a signed permission slip before receiving an iPad, which will be distributed the week of Sept. 11.

Parents of Whittier Wildcat student-athletes are invited to join the school’s booster organization. The Wildcat Boosters’ first meeting of the season is Thursday, Sept 7 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. The boosters help with fundraising, staff the snack bar during home games, and fund four scholarships each year.

Whittier, located on Amesbury Line Road in Haverhill, serves the city as well as 10 surrounding communities.

Golden Hill Elementary School’s Back-to-School Open House is Monday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Families are invited to meet teachers, administrators and other school personnel. There will be a be an introduction at the start of the visit and follow-up information given during and at the end of the event.

The Parent Teacher Organization at Pentucket Regional Middle School invites parents to get involved in supporting student activities. An important function of the PTO is fundraising. The first meeting of the 2017-2018 school year is Monday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in the teachers lounge. The PTO organizes school dances, a winter ski program, the eighth-grade “graduation” dance and staff appreciation luncheons. Pentucket serves students in Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury.

Methuen’s Marsh School will welcome a new acting supervising principal for the 2017-2018 school year. Mary Jean Fawcett will replace Haverhill resident Stephen Sierpina, who accepted the position of principal at Windham, N.H., High School. Fawcett previously taught in Methuen and is a retired supervising principal.

After a 14-year career as director of the Methuen district’s School Nutrition Services, Wayne Vespa is retiring this September. Danielle Collins has been hired to replace him. The former school nutrition director for a cooperative school district in the Amherst, N.H., area, Collins holds a master’s degree from Rivier University and bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Haverhill Public Schools open their doors to students in grades 1 through 12 on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Kindergarten begins Sept. 5. All Haverhill students will attend for a half-day on Friday, Sept. 1, and enjoy a day off for Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4.

Regional first days are:

Pentucket: Aug. 31

Timberlane: Sept. 5

Methuen: Aug. 29

Whittier: Aug. 29 for freshmen and new students; Aug. 30 for all students

Do you have a submission for the Back-to-School Countdown? Email information to [email protected]. Tune in tomorrow for more back-to-school information.

 

One thought on “Whittier HS Gives All Students iPads to Use While Attending Tech School

  1. And who will be responsible for the replacement of the broken or stolen IPads? Will each parent be required to insure the laptop in the event one is broken or stolen?

    They tried that in Revere, Massachusetts with disastrous results. After about 3 weeks, students began to claim their laptops were stolen, broken, cracked, etc. Will the teachers be able to communicate with students who don’t speak English through a translation program on their laptops? If the answer is “Yes,” how will the teacher know if the students are up to no good on their laptops or if they are indeed doing their assigned work?

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