Marblehead students make pitch to school board for new technology

MARBLEHEAD – Last year, six Marblehead Village School fifth-graders wrote persuasive business letters to the Epson Co. seeking computer equipment, a school assignment that worked.They received a donated LCD projector and document camera.This year they have turned their powers of persuasion to the School Committee and the Fiscal 2012 budget.The now sixth-graders – Julia Wallen, Kyle Aikman, Maddie Newhall, Manning Sears, Liam McCarthy and Becky Twaalfhoven – read their new letters and made a pitch to the committee recently, accompanied by their teacher, Natalie Belli. Classmates Lucas Cowen, Sam Martin and Eve Rice lent their support.McCarthy, who acted as the group’s closer, told the committee they would like to see an LCD projector in every one of the Village School’s classrooms, a bridge from classroom learning “to real world experiences.””We have some overhead projectors that are dinosaurs and two LCD projectors,” he wrote. Quoting President Barack Obama on the need for school technology, McCarthy added, “By connecting technology to our school we make it more creative.”Committee member Dick Nohelty asked if the students had more technology at home than they did in school. McCarthy told him they did.”Every student is different,” Sears wrote. “? Teachers must use different strategies to keep kids thinking. Technology is obviously one of these strategies ? (but) the few technological tools Village School does possess are not reliable.”Noting the time saved by last year’s technology donations, Sears added, “Now, imagine what our school’s MCAS scores would look like if every class saved that much time.”Twaalfhoven noted that the renovation of the Village School redid the exterior of the building.”However, the interior has not been equipped with the necessary tools to make connections and think outside the box.” She also pointed out that electronic media can save paper.Committee Chairman EuRim Chun told the students that Committee member Jonathan Lederman and the school Technology Committee were looking at classroom needs and they are formulating a plan.She asked the students to “come back and help us with the budget.”Belli said last year’s letters were written after the students identified a need they thought was missing from their classrooms and this year’s letters continued that focus.”They’re proud and I’m proud,” Belli said. “They want to extend their learning.”