Oswalt Fifth Graders Get New Apple Laptops

Incoming Oswalt Academy fifth graders had something besides the recent start of the school year to celebrate this week.

The students, 120 total, received new Apple Laptop computers Wednesday as part of Oswalt's 1:1 Laptop Learning Roll Out Night, according to a news release. 

Big on technology, the Walnut campus has more than 500 parent-funded one-to-one laptops being used by students in grades 5 to 8 on a daily basis.  Oswalt Academy has been named an "Apple Distinguished School" for four consecutive years, one of the few in the nation to receive that honor, according to the district. 

The school also has expanded its use of technology in learning for grades kindergarten through fourth by employing more than 200 iPod Touches in the classrooms.

“We continue to see remarkable results in student achievement at Oswalt Academy and this is due to our amazing teachers and how they have changed their teaching with the use of technology in the classroom,” Principal Kevin Despard said in a statement.   “Teaching students the skills necessary to be successful in the 21st century is a goal of our Apple 1 to 1 program and our staff has done a great job of doing so."

Each of the MacBook Air laptops come pre-loaded with grade-level textbooks, as well as with digital applications such as iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, GarageBand, iDVD, and ComicLife.  All of the computers are wireless and have built in video cameras and access to features like text-to-voice, officials said. 

Oswalt teachers also have ProScopes, handheld microscopes used for science.