About the Program
The School arranges the purchase of a laptop for every student in Year 7, enabling us to offer a consistent computing environment between students and teachers. Laptops under a rental program will be distributed to students at the beginning of the new school year, and basic training is provided to students on delivery. Subject specific instruction in using specialist software will be delivered by individual class teachers.
The laptop selected for Year 7 students is the HP Probook 11EE X360 G2 (i5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, 256 GB SSD model with a 11.6 inch touchscreen). The laptop is supplied with a durable ACE bag from STM, an active stylus pen and charger. The laptop package includes all software that is required at school. A four-year warranty is included in the cost and all servicing and repairs are carried out at school. The laptop is insured for accidental damage and total loss. The service and insurance for the laptop is covered for four years. If required a replacement battery will be available to be purchased in the 3rd and 4th year for $118.
Cost
The costs for the scheme are added to fee accounts annually via an Information Technology levy. The levy is the total laptop package price (including the laptop, stylus, charger, laptop bag, insurance, extended warranty and servicing, software licencing and financing) divided by three.
The rental payments covered by the levy will be paid over three years with the notebook able to be purchased at the conclusion of Year 10 for $30.00 which will cover the costs of removal of school software and re-imaging.
If a student leaves the College within the four years the notebook would be required to be returned to College or alternatively it could be purchased for the balance outstanding of levies and a payment of $30.00.
The total of Information Technology levies for three years will be $1,860 with $620 payable in Years 7, 8 and 9, these levies will cover the rental fees.
The initial annual information technology levy of $620 (Year 7 levy) will be required to be paid prior to the notebook being picked up.
Parents will have the opportunity of prepaying the three years of the Information Technology levy. Those prepaying the levy in full before the notebook is picked up will subsequently receive a discount of $165.00 which will come off other outstanding fees.
The School works hard to keep these costs as low as possible, and endeavours to provide parents with excellent value for money for the services provided.
Educational Benefits
The laptop program has tangible educational benefits. Firstly, the program is backed-up by a rapid in-house repair service with loan laptops available. This means that students will have a device available to them for learning at all times. The approach also means that teaching staff have the same laptop and software package as the students, and are able to integrate instruction of how to use technology effectively into their curriculum. It also means that software previously unavailable due to licensing constraints is now affordable and accessible. All software, updates and anti-virus protection is managed by the school, giving peace of mind to parents.
Laptop Program Structure
Boys commencing in Year 7 in 2019 will be allocated a laptop which they will use for the full four years they attend at the school. At the end of Year 10 families will have the opportunity to attain ownership of these laptops, complete with operating system, but without any software, the full amount of the information technology levy being paid and a further payment of $30.00. A retail version of the Windows 10 operating system comes with the laptop and that will be reloaded onto the laptop without any school licensed software. Laptops not being purchased at the end of the four year rental program must be returned to the school.
Laptop Insurance, Service and Support
Should hardware or software problems arise with their school laptop, boys should bring it to the IT department for servicing. If the laptop has suffered accidental damage, an insurance claim will be raised and parents/guardians contacted to seek approval for an excess of $100. Warranty and software repairs will be carried out immediately as there is no need for approval due to no costs involved. Insurance repairs will usually completed within 24 hours, often on the same day.
The laptops belong to the school and under the terms of our insurance, must be managed in accordance of the School’s instructions. While at school, laptops should be transported in the laptop bag provided. When not in use at school, laptops must be locked in the student’s locker. When travelling to and from school, the laptop must be placed in the laptop bag, which is then placed inside the school bag. Please note that the insurance does not cover overseas travel, nor damage caused when the laptop is placed in the luggage hold of an aircraft.
Software
Laptops come pre-loaded with Windows 10 and the School’s software image. The cost of all software is included in the information technology levy. There is a separate levy for eBook requirements. The licences for software on each laptop are education licences, which do not include manuals or discs. Software licences are valid for educational use only, and can be used only for the four years of the laptop program, and only while students are attending St James College.
Students are given full administrative access to the school’s machines to be able to install software. The school reserves the right to remove inappropriate software including recreational games. Full administrative access may be removed at the school’s discretion. While at School the current rules apply as to appropriate use of the laptops and any non-educational software or games that are used at home are not allowed to be used during school hours. Standard disciplinary actions apply to students, who use the laptop in an inappropriate manner and teachers will manage this accordingly as they see fit.
Laptop Support - Hardware and Software
The School has an ICT department where staff employed by the School attend to any software problems on students’ laptops. Somerville Education have been contracted to carry out all hardware repairs for warranty and insurance claims on site, in the School’s ICT office. When repairs are not able to be completed within 24 hours, loan laptops are offered to students, allowing boys to be continually working while repairs are carried out.