Care and Protection of iPad

Students will be held responsible for maintaining their individual iPads and keeping them in good working order.

• Keep your iPad in its school issued protective case at all times.
• Carry your iPad with two hands.
• Keep your iPad away from liquids or foods.
• Handle your iPad only when your hands are clean.
• When placing your iPad on a table or desk, make sure that the iPad is positioned so that it is completely on the table.
• Exercise care when inserting and removing cords and cables from your iPad.
• Place your iPad carefully in your backpack. Make sure there are no liquids or heavy objects in the backpack.
• Never sit on or throw a backpack that contains an iPad.
• Avoid putting pressure on the iPad screen.
• Avoid leaving your iPad in a vehicle.
• Keep your iPad away from extreme temperatures, direct sunlight or ultraviolet light for extended periods of time. Extreme heat or cold may cause damage to the iPad. If your iPad has been in a cold environment for a long period of time, let it warm up before using it. Keep the iPad away from dampness or wet weather such as rain, snow, and fog.
• Families will be responsible for any theft, loss, or damage that occurs to the iPad regardless of whether it occurs at or outside of school, similar to the handling of textbooks.  Information about insurance, liability, and damage is available on the SPS website at http://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/it/device-insuranceliability-information

Contacting Your Child at School

Parents should not contact children at school via email. Email will be used for educational collaboration. We ask that parents continue to contact the school directly if they need to get a message to their child. Likewise, children will not be emailing parents during the school day. Currently, the student school email is configured to send and receive emails only within the @shrewsbury domain and select outside systems required for educational purposes.

Charging

iPads need to be fully charged at home each night, so that students have full functionality at school each day. Parents may want to consider charging the iPad in their room overnight, so students will not have access to it during the late evening hours.

Cleaning

The screen on the iPad is glass. Please use a soft cloth to clean the screen.

Digital Citizenship

It is important to discuss your family’s values as they relate to technology use with your child on a regular basis. Review the “Guiding Principles” document with your child on a regular basis.

Email

The student school email is configured to send and receive emails only within the @shrewsbury domain and select outside systems required for educational purposes.

Family Values

We encourage parents to set guidelines for their child’s iPad use at home. Parents are invited to review the work on their child’s iPad regularly. Some homework assignments will require students to use their iPads, but this does not mean that students need constant access to their iPads. Parents are encouraged to use their own judgment regarding the amount of time students spent using their iPads at home.

Homework Use

Students in grade 5 should typically spend no more than 50 minutes on daily homework. Students in grade 6 should typically spend no more than 90 minutes on daily homework. If you find that your child is spending more time than this, it might be a good idea to monitor your student during homework time to ensure that (s)he is focusing on the work.

Learning Tool

Remember that the iPad is a learning tool and should only be used for educational purposes.

Internet Filtering

Internet access for student devices is filtered while at school. Internet access outside of school is filtered by SPS for students in grades 5-9, but not for students in grades 10-12.

There are a number of approaches available for parents who wish to implement parental controls on their child's devices. However, in order prevent conflicts with the District's management system and to prevent required functionality from being unintentionally disabled during the school day,
No parental controls may be used that require installation on the device itself.
The preferred approach for parental controls of student devices is to filter and control Internet access using your home network. More information about this is available on the SPS website at http://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/it/home-filtering-parental-controls

Parental Access to Student Work on iPad

Schoology -­ All teachers will be using Schoology with their students. Please be sure to create a parent account for Schoology in order to access classroom information, upcoming assignments, and student work.
Notability -­ Many students will use Notability as an electronic binder. Feel free to open the app on your child’s iPad to see their work.

Passwords

Parents should ask their child for his/her school Google username and password and his/her Apple ID username and password.

Protect Your Data

Instructions for backing up the iPad are located on the SPS website at http://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/it/backup-instructions

Resources

SPS Website ­- Information Technology ­- 1:1 Technology Program at http://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/it/11-technology-program
Sherwood Handbook at https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/sherwood/student-handbook
Common Sense Media at  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/online-safety

Questions?

Email Shawna Powers, Director of Instructional Technology & Media Services