St. Thomas the Apostle School offers SMART tools

Dorothy Fox, Tiegan Poduje, Allison Refici and Caleb Rainey at a SMART Table.

Students in Nicole Hannon's pre-Kindergarten class at St. Thomas the Apostle School, in West Hartford, have two new ways of learning through play this school year.  The classrooms' summer renovation included the installation of a SMART Board and a SMART Table, technology that offers interactive learning and lots of fun.

The full day pre-kindergarten program has always provided a hands-on learning environment with finger paint, blocks, a sensory table and manipulatives to help students discover subjects like language arts, science and math through play.  The addition of these tools of technology, which are normally reserved for the school's upper grades, expands curriculum options while meeting the needs of learners of all abilities and stages.      

The SMART Board, a large interactive computer screen installed at a height appropriate for young learners, allows for greater participation from all students during the class' daily meeting. 

"The children love it and they are so comfortable with it," said Hannon. "The large size enables us to do so much more as a group.  Last week, as we studied the four seasons, I was able to upload picture graphs for students to explore.  I could never do that with our old white board." 

Students find the new SMART Table irresistible.  Equipped with a large touch-screen, it is big enough for five students to access simultaneously.  During a recent center time activity, students used the SMART Table to play a matching game with pictures of objects beginning and ending with the "o" sound.  The children played as a team sliding the objects with the correct "o" sound into the center of the board; then celebrated together as the SMART Table played the victory song.

"While nothing takes the place of a good teacher, these new tools have put the world at the fingertips of our youngest learners…literally," said school Principal Colleen Whitty DiSanto. 

St. Thomas the Apostles School, which serves students in pre-kindergarten 3 through grade 5, is located at 25 Dover Road, just east of West Hartford Center.  The school is celebrating 75 years of spirituality, scholarship and service during the 2012- 2013 school year.  To find out more about the school's mission and curriculum go to: www.stthomasapostlewh.org .

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