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SLA goes to the cloud

October 23, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

New Tech Assistant Heather reimages a laptop in room 301, the new techlab.

By Sam Lovett-Perkins and Dalena Bui
Staff Writers

This year, SLA has adopted a new system of distributing computer programs to student machines – and this system has many students confused.

In previous years, laptops would have all the needed applications installed when they were distributed to students on the first day of school. This year, students must look at a menu on Moodle, full of applications, and choose which ones to download.

This new procedure left many students wondering: why?

According to Technology Coordinator Marcie Hull, the change reflects evolving methods of sharing.

“A lot of people are migrating to cloud or mobile,” she said. Students need to “learn how to download those where you find them and then install them onto your computer. You get to make everything available and also tailor that machine to your use.”

The process of wiping and updating laptops is a yearly routine for tech coordinator Marcie Hull and her tech room assistants. Students may not realize it, but long hours are spent over the summer in the updating and reinstalling of each individual computer.

This year, to streamline the process, Ms. Hull tried something new by allowing students to get individual applications. “For now, some are online, and some are on a USB key,” she explained.

For students who need step-by-step instructions for downloading apps, check out this related Features Article.

Some students had problems with downloading, because some links didn’t work, or the downloads took hours.

Ms. Hull acknowledged that the servers were overloaded with so many students trying to download at once. “However,” she said, “there is a plan in effect to get a server built in SLA that students can connect to and download applications quickly.”

There is also now a divide between students who have the re-image and those who do not.
“Computers that lacked enough memory to be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion stayed at the old image with Snow Leopard,” Ms. Hull explained, “because the new OS simply would not fit on the internal memory of the laptop.”

This divide disappointed some students. Junior Sara Nesbitt, whose laptop was not updated, says she’d rather be up to date with current technology.

“I like having some of the applications,” she said, “but I’d rather be up to date than have all the old applications.”

Possibly the biggest difference between those with the update is the disappearance of Microsoft products such as Word. It is neither included in the re-image nor the online distribution.

“We did not have a license for Microsoft Word, we never did. We were using it illegally… I didn’t know,” said Hull.

While this distribution process might be faster, it is not without it’s flaws.

“it’s good we don’t have all those unnecessary applications, it’s not wasting space” said Senior Marly Utzig. “But I don’t know what applications I need or what they do.”

Looking towards the future, Sophomores and Juniors may wonder whether this new process will become the norm.

While nothing is set in stone, Ms Hull has confirmed that it “is dependent upon what the freshmen laptops will be” next year.

No Need to Torrent: An Interview with Ms. Hull

October 23, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

When they got their laptops back this September, many students were surprised and confused by the new applications and lack of software. SLAMedia sat down with Technology Coordinator Marcie Hull to get the facts and reasonings behind the new procedure. To learn more about the change, check out the related News Article.

Jacob Lotkowski: Why did you decide to change the disk image?

Marcie Hull: If I privilege one person over another for what goes on the image, the Image would be too large to copy to 500 computers quickly. Also, I wanted kids to realize what is happening to inside their computers, and part of that is going out to the interwebs and getting things [applications] they want and loading them onto their computers… it’s a necessary thing for them to learn before they go to college.

JL: Were you in favor the the Google Drive Dashboard feature?

MH: Absolutely I am, I think there some kinks in it, and it will get better over time….People want something to work and be done with it, here. People forget we are like a teaching hospital, we are teaching teachers… we are first adopters of many things and we try them out here, to see if they can work in an educational setting.

JL: What is your favorite app on the downloads list?

MH: One that would be all encompassing and helpful for students would be Evernote, because you can put it on any device and there is a hard drive component and a web interface. It’s a smart, smart app.

JL: What would you like to tell people who want Word?

MH: It’s just as good as any word processor out there, and we don’t have a license for it so it would be illegal for me to distribute on computers without purchasing it. Pages is a wonderful word processor, but since we’re a Google Sites school we should be editing most of our work on Google Drive. [Using Google Drive] will result in less loss of data. I want to train people out of Microsoft Word.

JL: Are we going to get iLife?

MH: iLife is available now in Ms. Hull’s classroom on a thumb drive.

JL: Creative Suite?

MH: I don’t have the disks, I’ve been looking for that disk for a year and a half, I’ll get around to it, but not before freshman laptops go out.

If you’re still lost, Here is SLAMedia’s guide to setting up your computer this year.

To Download Your Own Apps

The easiest and most secure to download applications is through the Mac App Store. The advantage of this is that all the apps you download are free of viruses and malware, and will be easier to update, through OSX’s built-in software update.

Reaching a new Hite: Changes in our School District and at SLA

October 22, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Dr. William R. Hite Jr. is the new superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia.
Image courtesy of the School District website.

By Jesús Jiménez

Staff Writter

“SLA is shutting down.”
“The School District hates us.”
“We’re not receiving enough money”.

These are just a few of the rumors that continuously float around the hallways and classrooms of SLA every year.

In a school district like Philly’s, many students are constantly hearing about budget cuts, layoffs, and maybe some debt here and there. But when a community is as friendly as SLA’s, no one wants the school to close or lose their friends and teachers.

Misinformed students play a large role in the creation of these rumors. Some believe the school district picks on SLA when teachers try to organize ambitious field trips, while others believe the SLA community fundraises the school’s $3 Million for the budget on their own.

The panic in this situation no doubt is going to create a few exaggerations. As long as educators and families are unaware of how the SDP will deal with those problems, this panic will continue to spread year after year.

In an interview, Principal Chris Lehmann was quick to dispel rumors of bad treatment from SDP.

“The opposite is true,” he said. “They’re trying to give the kids the type of education kids at SLA get.”

Rumors are not helped by regular turnover at the School District’s top levels. Arlene Ackerman, who last year took a $900,000 buyout from the SDP, filed for unemployment shortly after. Following Ackerman was a “Chief Recovery Officer,” Thomas Knudsen, who has suggested borrowing $300 Million to pay off the SDP’s debt and wanted an additional $112 million through closing schools. His idea was to layoff more people in order to make up for what the district couldn’t pay off.

However, this year is different. William R. Hite will be serving as the new Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia.

Exactly who is William Hite? Before coming to Philly, Hite was a superintendent in Maryland. While working on noteworthy achievements, he has helped improve Maryland’s second largest school district and help it receive nationwide recognition for making AP classes more accessible to students.

Mr. Hite’s experience as an educator has allowed him to take new challenges, and he’s hoping to give Philadelphia the education system it really deserves.

Mr. Lehmann believes Superintendent Hite’s mission is critical to the future of education in Philadelphia.

“He understands that he has to work with what has happen and work with our structure. He’ll see and observe and then take that and use vision to help move us forward.”

When asked what specific challenges Mr. Hite faces ahead, Principal Lehmann said this “ … Profound financial crisis. Navigating through that crisis and getting us through those times.”

However, Lehmann is confident about the future with Hite. “Everything that I’ve seen from him so far, is that he’s the right man for the job.”

Community Involvement Club: Building off of buildOn

October 19, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Members of SLA’s Community Involvement Club write facts about HIV/AIDS on the sidewalk in front of SLA

By Leah Kelly and Annisa Ahmed

Staff Writers

What happens when your favorite club is canceled?

For the last several years at SLA, the community service program called buildOn was where students participated in volunteer service and global education.

However, due to a lack of funding, buildOn left SLA at the end of last year.

“buildOn is a charity that gets a lot of their money through donors,” Senior Sam Lovett-Perkins explained. “And, [the donors] can request that the money goes to a specific place.”

buildOn’s program has shifted to include schools in most need of additional programs. Rather than small programs in many schools, they are running larger programs in a few schools.

This left volunteers like Lovett-Perkins without an organization to call home.

Instead of giving up, he took it upon himself to start his own community service club for students at SLA. The project has also become his senior Capstone project.

“I thought that [the buildOn program leaving] left a gap of community oriented people that can all do community service work,” Lovett-Perkins said. “I wanted to help keep that going at SLA.”

SLA’s Community Involvement Club is not a solo effort. Fellow classmates have pitched in to help, including Seniors Jenn Wright, Bernicia Guercio, Shamarlon Yates and Amanda Millatt.

All of the organizers are seniors, but they hope to involve underclassmen in leadership so that the club will continue after they graduate.

Senior Amanda Millatt, a fellow community service promoter, remembers a time in her freshman year that got her to continue offer her help over the years.

“I went to my first service project with buildOn and instantly felt like I was part of the family,” she said. “Not only were people amiable, but just outgoing and willing to get to know even the shy kids even to freshmen, like me.”

Community service has become a norm at SLA that has made many students here feel enthusiastic about helping others, and Lovett-Perkins hopes that it will continue.

Younger students are already jumping onto the bandwagon. Freshman Naomi Fecher-Davis said, “All of my friends joined, but I really enjoy it now– helping people makes me feel good.”

“I don’t want this to just go away after I leave,” he said. “I want it to stay and grow and be able to come back in five years.”

The meetings are held on Thursday during both lunch bands: X-Band in Ms. Echol’s room and Y-Band in Señorita Manuel’s.

Upcoming events include the AIDS Walk in the fall and the Broad Street Run next spring. There are going to be smaller gatherings, including bake sales and can drives that will be determined at later dates. The club also arranges for students to volunteer at MANNA, the program which delivers meals to homebound patients.

For Lovett-Perkins, this project reflects a lifetime commitment in service. “It is part of who I am now and I really take passion in that.”

Home and School hosts Silent Auction

March 27, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Jenn Wright

Staff Writer

Organized by SLA’s Home and School Association, the third annual Silent Auction raised money to support sports and academic interests of the school.

The auction happened on March 23, 2012 and was open to members of the SLA community ages 21 and older. This is the second year it was hosted at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Old City Philadelphia.

Items available for bidding included vacation homes, pieces by local artists and photography lessons from SLA’s own DigVid and History Teacher Douglas Herman.

Raffling off baskets full of goodies from Phillies tickets to Irish-themed fare, the support of attendees in buying auction items is vital to its success.

This year, attendance reached full capacity at 200 people, and the night included appetizers, a full buffet dinner, drinks, and dessert catered by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

A highlight of the night was the live music by a group of SLA parents Ben Burenstein, Jay Klales, Music Teacher Ben Diamond, and Principal Intern Chad Mote called the RetroRockets. Principal Lehmann performed with the group, singing “Moondance.”

The ticket included access to the Chemical Heritage Museum exhibits as well as the use of docents to guide them.

SLA Counselor Zoe Siswick said, “it was a beautiful facility and it was a really great opportunity to view the exhibits during the evening.”

Parent and Silent Auction Chair Randi Kessler spoke to commitment of the SLA community to this event.

“Between this and EduCon, these are the two gigantic fundraisers that the outpouring of parent and faculty support is amazing.”

Senior Jeff Kessler was also a big part of the planning, working as a member of the Silent Auction committee making spreadsheets and using his organizational skills to advance the process of planning.

Taking the economy into account, the cost to host an event such as this has gone up substantially. This year, all donations were solicited or donated by parents in the SLA community. Fortunately, the Chemical Heritage Foundation worked with SLA on the price to host the event at their facility.

The proceeds from last year’s auction helped pay for this year’s music program, field trips, and other benefits to SLA.

Being one of the school’s largest fundraisers, Ms. Kessler noted that, “with the school budget cuts that have been really dramatic, we depend on the money from the auction even more.”