The school provides a Chromebook for any student who produces content online on a regular basis through apps such as Google Drive. All students in Harakeke Hub are provided with a named Chromebook, and many students in Koru Hub also have one, once they need one. Other students in Koru Hub have access to pods of Chromebooks and ipads when they need them.
We do not ask any parents to buy a Chromebook for their child - we are committed to providing devices for our students. However, students cannot take their school Chromebooks home with them. Some parents prefer to purchase a personal Chromebook so that their child/ren can use the device at home.
If you are interested in purchasing a Chromebook for your child, here is some useful information:
1) You can purchase any kind of Chromebook. They all essentially do the same job. At Amesbury we currently use ACER C730 Chromebooks, as we have found them reliable and cost effective.
2) You do not have to buy the Chromebook through school; you can purchase a Chromebook from any good electronic retail shop. However, we regularly purchase sets of Chromebooks through our technical providers, and we are happy for you to place an order for a Chromebook with us when we place school orders.
3) The cost for a Chromebook through school is currently $420, which includes the cost of a Chrome Management License. A Chrome license costs $43 and allows school to manage your child's device. This means we can push out apps and extensions we use in our learning programmes. Whilst a license is not essential, we strongly recommend having one. If you choose to purchase a Chromebook through school, we add the cost of the device, and the license if you are using one, to your school account. When the device arrives at school and the cost has been paid we send it home with your child.
4) If your child transports a Chromebook to and from school, we strongly recommend also purchasing a sturdy carry case for the device, as school bags can take a lot of knocks and bumps.
5) Purchasing a personal Chromebook works well for a number of students across the school. However, we do not recommend doing this for students younger than Year 3. For younger students we generally find it is better to keep devices either at school or at home, and avoid regularly transporting them between the two. There are always exceptions to this, however, so come and talk with us if you think it would be a good idea for your child.
If you are interested in purchasing a Chromebook, or you have further questions, please contact Urs Cunningham (urs@amesbury.school.nz) or Lisa Bengtsson (lisa@amesbury.school.nz).
Warm regards,
The Amesbury Team
