Here's Your Laptop

WES third graders with their Chromebooks

Weiner Elementary first placed one-to-one computer devices in the hands of our students in 2014.  I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or our principal and I.  We gave them out class by class in the library, peeling away styrofoam and cellophane.  We both gave speeches about how special it would be for the students to have their own laptop and how we couldn't wait to see what all they accomplished with them.  I took bunches of photos of grinning kids and shiny laptops.  Now, beginning a fourth year of having one-to-one technology, I just finished assigning and distributing laptops to students for the 2017-18 school year.  I cleaned them up, wrote names on slots in charging carts, created name tags for carrying bags, prepared student laptop responsibility contracts, checked barcodes out through the library circulation program, and heaved a big sigh of relief when I was done.  I passed them out to students who are comfortable with laptops now and glad to get them so they can get busy with them right away.  But as I assigned Chromebooks to the third graders, I saw again the eagerness and excitement a kid feels when he or she is first presented with their "very own" laptop to use.  This year's third grade class is our biggest class, and it got pretty loud, but how can an eight-year-old be quiet when all of a sudden it's Christmas in August, and they're being handed a Chromebook with all its mysteries and possibilities?  I realized it was a totally new experience for many of them as I watched them trying to move the cursor with their trackpad. These third graders have much to learn, but they're up for it.  I only wish I had made a bigger production of presenting them.  If you see a WES third grader, ask them about their Chromebook, and if you see a community member who helps fundraise for the Weiner Children's Endowment, thank them for their work.   It's due to the extra funding provided by the Endowment, combined with the networking system and support set up by our district that all our students have the power of a computer at their fingertips.

A Life-long Dream Realized

The Sistine Chapel - The Vatican Museum

I realized a life-long goal this summer by standing inside The Sistine Chapel and seeing Michelangelo's glorious frescoes. Mrs. Hesse and I began planning our trip to Italy years ago, but it wasn't until last February that it began to fall into place. There was so much I looked forward to seeing, but the Sistine Chapel was number one. And I have to say not only was I not disappointed, but it was even more spectacular than I imagined. The paintings and figures were much larger, brighter, and more colorful than I anticipated. The room is not as cavernous as many cathedrals I've seen, so the ceiling paintings are not that distant. The figures are also larger than I expected. When I walked into the room, I was truly dazzled. A guard who is a champion shusher chastises the visitors if the sound level rises above a hush. Everyone is told before going inside that it is a place for reverence, quiet, and meditation. But it's hard for everyone not to talk and point out to their companions details that capture their attention. The prophets on the ceiling are especially large and really stand out. Michelangelo's painting of The Last Judgement on one end wall is jumbo-sized and packed with figures. Our tour guide told us an interesting story about this great fresco. A cardinal criticized Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel paintings and tried to get them removed. Michelangelo was finishing up the wall painting of the Last Judgement at the time. In retaliation, he decided to paint a likeness of the cardinal onto one of the underworld figures who was wrapped in a serpent's coils. This made the cardinal furious, and he sought out the pope, asking him to do something about Michelangelo's insulting portrait of himself. The pope, Julius II, informed the cardinal that since he had no jurisdiction over hell, the portrait would have to remain. The fact of the matter was that the pope didn't much care for the cardinal either.