Counting Down to Setup Night

Coming up next Tuesday night (Oct 27th) is our annual "iPad Setup Night" - an optional school event for Year 3 parents, kicking off at 7pm sharp in the Nano Nagle Centre. 

Please aim to arrive 10-15 minutes or before 7pm, so you can find a decent carpark, sign in, pick up all your goodies, catch up with your friends and bag the best seats. Latecomers may have to resort to that (horrifying) front row. Please bring your child's iPad if you have it. The meeting will conclude by 8.30pm.

What happens at Setup Night?

1. Welcome and Intro - 20-30 minutes
Paul and Maria will address all parents with an update on school procedures and policy around the 1 to 1 program. You'll hear a rundown on our Handbooks (this will be your only chance to pick up a printed copy of the setup guide) and the Forms that must be signed and submitted before your child begins the program next year. You'll also hear some quick pre-holiday tips for managing iPads at home. There'll be a chance to ask burning questions before the group disperses to the 'Genius Tables'.

2. Genius Table sessions - own choice, 10-minute rotations
Emulating AppleStore practice, you will be invited to attend a series of 'Genius Tables' of your choice, to participate in 10 minute workshops on various iPad management topics. Each table will be 'personned' by one of our many experts who will take you through a particular procedure or impart some iPad tips and tricks. Most (but not all) of the Genius Table topics are covered in our iPad Setup Guide (available for download from our school's Parent Portal).

You won't have time to visit all of the 'Genius Tables' before the event concludes at 8.30pm (our geniuses need their sleep to stay sharp). Some of the topics on offer you'll already know about and if you're an absolute beginner with an iPad, you won't want to be overwhelmed by too much too soon. So, choose from the menu those topics and procedures that you consider most urgent, move to your selected tables in any order and be ready to move on to the next table when the bell sounds.

Some of the topics on offer are:

• Configuring the Mail app for BCE student accounts
• Using Restrictions for home use
• Checking Safari history for visited sites
• Creating folders and moving apps to the dock
• Keyboard tips and tricks
• Using multi-tasking gestures for more efficient use
• Managing Purchased items in the App Store
• Setting up Family Sharing
• Creating an Apple ID

I've been using an iPad for years, why would I bother coming?

You certainly are not obliged to attend. We offer this event to help parents feel more comfortable and competent to manage and supervise the device that their children will be required to use for school learning from next year. But keep in mind, even if you only stay for the initial 'whole group' address, this may be a welcome chance to brush up on the program and ask any questions. Maybe you missed our Contemporary Learning information session in July? Maybe you've thought of more questions since then?

You might choose to stay for only one or two 'Genius Table' sessions (see list above) - for example, you might wish to set up your child's email account in the iPad's Mail app, create your child's Apple ID ready to go next year, or learn more about Family Sharing. You can head for home as soon as you have what you need.

What's this I hear about a "CyberSafety Boot Camp" in January?

Our Boot Camp is a compulsory event, held the night before school starts in January. All Year 4 (2016) students plus at least one of their parents/guardians must attend. The focus is Digital Citizenship, in particular, encouraging safe and responsible practices when our students are using their iPads at home and school.

New-Look Login for BCE

Tonight, rather than catching up on the latest episode of The Block, Brisbane Catholic Education's Information Services team will be finishing an upgrade to their web portals for school users. 

The improvements will make the systems even less vulnerable to unauthorised access and therefore, safer for all.

The two major changes that students and parents will see from tomorrow (Wednesday 21st October) are:

1) A new login page for BCE online services. You will see a background image and the following prompts:

New login screen for BCE services

No prizes for guessing that  you have to click/tap 'Brisbane Catholic Education', then follow the instructions. Usernames and passwords will not change.

2) You no longer need to use ‘catholic\’ before your username. This requirement has been removed to make the login process simpler.

When Father Christmas can't bring an iPad

Those busy elves can only manage limited iPad production before this Christmas comes around. We recommend that you have a contingency plan in case Santa doesn't drop a new iPad down your own chimney... 
Here is an updated list of options for providing your child's iPad, in time for the Year 4 school year:

1. Hire through the school

St Catherine's offers 32GB iPad Airs for hire on a term-by-term basis. Hire fees are processed through your school fee account. All the details are on the School iPad Hire Agreement Form on the Parent Portal > 1 to 1. Hire Agreement Forms will be due in towards the end of term, so we can have the iPad ready for you to pick up from school the week before Term 1 begins next year. 

Hiring is not the most cost effective option long term but families choose to hire for a number of reasons:

• If the iPad is only required for a year or two as their child will not be enrolled at St. Catherine's until the end of Year 6
• To make it easier to enforce strict rules about content, for example "No, you may NOT install any game apps - that's a SCHOOL iPad!"
• To give their child a trial, let's-see-how-well-you-take-care-of-this-one period before investing in their own device
• We only have an iPad mini available at home and the school 1 to 1 program requires the larger 9.7" screen
• If, for any reason, funds to cover in full an outright purchase are hard to find at this point in time.

2. Purchase through the CompNow portal

CompNow is Brisbane Catholic Education's "preferred supplier" of iPads. This year, for the first time, we have been able to arrange education pricing for parents. Orders are online via the CompNow Purchase Portal and iPads will be delivered to school for parents to pick up. We'll advise you as to pickup location, date and time once they arrive. Online orders are due by October 30 for pick up  from school before the end of Term 4, 2015. But here's a heads up - there will be a second CompNow shipment so if you are happy to collect the iPad in the week before school starts in 2016 to pick up the iPad, you will be able to order after the October 30 deadline. I've not been advised as to whether CompNow's pricing will be held at the current price for a later shipment. The CompNow portal also offers optional accessories like screen protectors, cases and earphones. For children we don't recommend Apple's "in-ear" buds available on this portal. Please be aware that the school book list specifies "over ear" headphones. CompNow also discounts AppleCare+ warranty cover as an optional extra. You'll find more detail about what AppleCare+ covers on the Apple Website.

3. Purchase through another retailer

You are free to purchase the iPad at any retailer you like. You may have an affiliation with a particular iPad reseller, a family member who works at a particular store, gift vouchers, accrued store points or special rewards that you wish to take advantage of. The choice is yours. Just beware of advertised specials that come close to special "green tier" education pricing available through CompNow - often only limited stocks are available. For example, I saw the iPad Air 32GB advertised through a major retailer at a "special runout price" of $579 recently. When I phoned the store I found that they were sold out - there were only ever two iPads available at this price. You'd have to be extremely quick or very lucky. If you do take this option and your friendly retail sales rep offers to set the iPad up for you, please take along a copy of St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide. This will save time at school reconfiguring settings to match the school's policy and guidelines.

4. Purchase through the Apple Store***

***Breaking news - and you heard it here first!

The Apple Store at Carindale is only a stone's throw away from most of us and they are poised to offer us a purchase portal similar to CompNow's. Now I'm not holding my breath (I've previously had my hopes dashed by similar promises) but very soon, they tell me, you will be able to rock up to the Carindale Apple Store and say, "I need to buy an iPad for the St. Catherine's Wishart 1 to 1 program". That's the [secret passcode] for "please give me special education pricing". I'm told the AppleStore prices will match CompNow's deal. The added benefit of a face-to-face instore purchase is that the capable and friendly folk at the AppleStore will help you set the iPad up. Not quite as fun as coming along to our wonderful iPad Setup Evening at school on October 27th, but it may take the stress out of the equation if you're that way inclined. We strongly recommend taking along a copy of the St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide so your AppleStore assistant knows the school's preferences for iPad settings. This may save some time-consuming reconfiguring at school once Year 4 begins.

5. RE-allocate one you already own

You may prefer to replace a family-owned iPad with a brand new one and allocate the older one to your Year 4 child. A few things to keep in mind:

• The iPad must be available exclusively to your child during school terms. Use by other, particularly older, family members can leave distracting or inappropriate material lurking on the iPad for your Year 4 child to find. When teachers do their "spot checks" any browser history or running apps are assumed to be your Year 4 child's and they will wear the consequences for inappropriate use.
• The battery must last a full school day on one recharge. No charging facilities will be provided at school.
• The camera and all external switches and buttons must be in good working order.
• These days the minimum capacity for comfort is 32GB. Families with 16GB iPads report difficulties maintaining sufficient free space for optimum performance. 
• Cracked screens can slice skin. Various outlets at shopping centres will replace iPad screens for around $120.

iPad Purchase Portal LIVE

Our online iPad purchase portal (via BCE preferred supplier, CompNow) is up and running. Click this link or the image below to browse the available iPad models and accessories. 

Please note that all orders must be placed by 30th October to ensure delivery and distribution prior to the end of the school year.

There are two different models for you to choose from, each in two colours: The iPad Air 1 (32GB) or the iPad Air 2 (64GB). We have not provided any 16 GB options. Many current 1 to 1 parents are reporting difficulties with storing all necessary apps and data on 16 GB iPads. Since we launched the 1 to 1 program in 2013, there have been several major iOS upgrades. Each new operating system requires more memory and storage space and our requisite apps are constantly developing functions and features which require more memory. The school must now recommend that parents provide an iPad with at least 32 GB capacity.

You are under no obligation to purchase your child's iPad via this portal. You may source the iPad elsewhere or use any full size 32GB model (wifi only) with a battery that lasts through a school day.