We always want to give our children the things we never had, which is the sentiment behind six businesses giving back to the Oliver community.
Each business has donated $1,000 towards the purchase of 12 iPads for Oliver Elementary School.
The businesses are: Visual Telecom Solutions; Sunrise Restorations; TRU Building Centre: Argon Electrical Solar; Oliver Dental Care; and Nufloors.
“I heard they (school officials) were trying to raise money for iPads, but they were not having much luck,” said Victor Dias, owner of TRU Building Centre.
Dias, whose children are out of school now, said he never had this kind of technology years ago, and never had the money.
Dias said there is a need for this educational tool in schools, so TRU jumped on board. He is hoping this program will bring more attention to the needs of young learners in Oliver.
John Nunes from Sunrise Restorations said technology is a necessary teaching aid in today’s world and all children should have access to it.
“We have a child in school and we recognize the part technology plays in education, so as a result we were motivated to assist.”
When Nunes was going to school, the primary educational aid he had was books. He recalled that entry level computers were also being introduced at that time.
School principal Karen Sinclair said this donation is significant because it allows them to offer iPads in every classroom. The school currently has only five available for sign-out from its library.
“We are really looking forward to offering this opportunity to our students and getting them using iPads for educational purposes.”
Sinclair said the technology will be used for various things such as movie making, literacy, math, research, and music projects, etc.
Having iPads also offers students another avenue to demonstrate their understanding, she pointed out.
“Instead of paper/pencil, students can video themselves or create PowerPoints/videos for assessment purposes.”
Teachers may also start looking at using them to communicate student learning to parents via photos and videos, Sinclair said.
By Lyonel Doherty
