School Adds IPads to Curriculum

Students and teachers at St. Anthony of Padua School have enhanced their education with the addition of iPad technology.

“Thanks to our parishioners and the community for their support from Oktoberfest last fall, their much appreciated generosity provided us with the funds that contributed to the purchase of iPads for our teachers and students,” said St. Anthony of Padua School principal Melissa Meneses. “We are very excited to add these iPads to our school curriculum. The teachers love them and they are thrilled to have another effective tool to help educate our students. Education and teaching are changing and it is important to our students that we do our very best to maintain where education is headed.”

Among the apps that the faculty learned about during a training session include:
• Splash Math Worksheets. Nine chapters covering an endless supply of problems in a fun and innovative way. Splash Math is by far the most comprehensive math workbook available at the app store, according to Meneses.

• Bluster. This is a word matching game that helps develop vocabulary and word comprehension for school-aged children.

• Science 360. “The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science360 for iPad provides easy access to engaging science and engineering images and video from all around the globe,” said Meneses. “It also has a news feed featuring breaking news for NSF-funded institutions. Content is either produced by NSF or gathered from scientists, colleges and universities, and NSF science and engineer centers.”

• World History Games. “These are fast action arcade games, intriguing puzzles and interactive word games, which make learning World History quick and easy,” said Meneses.

“We all know that a positive attitude is one of the best qualities a student can have and the iPads are a tool that the students are excited about,” Meneses said. “So not only are the iPads an effective tool academically, they are also a great motivator for the students and we are extremely grateful and appreciative of our community and parishioners donations that enabled us to add iPads to our classrooms!”