BYOD and Technology at St. Anne's-Belfield
New! Pilot Program for the Class of 2031
Exciting News: Pilot to Provide School-Owned Devices for Rising Grade 7 Students
Since 2014, St. Anne's-Belfield has provided school-owned devices to students Kindergarten through Grade 6. We are pleased to announce a new pilot initiative to expand the policy for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
As part of our commitment to preparing students to be focused, present, and proficient in a digitally-connected world, next fall, we will be providing members of the Class of 2031 (current Grade 6, rising Grade 7 students) with school-owned MacBooks for their use during the school year.
Our goal for this pilot program is to continue to engage students in deep and meaningful academic work while helping them establish healthy boundaries and robust academic habits. We anticipate continuing this pilot program when the Class of 2031 enters Grade 8, too. We hope that this initiative will be supportive to families.
Parents and guardians of the Class of 2031, please see your email from Nov. 21, 2024 with more information on the pilot program.
BYOD (Grades 8 – 12)
The following are 2024-25 Bring your Own Device (BYOD) requirements for Grades 8 – 12.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
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A Laptop Mac or PC
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MacBook Air / MacBook Pro running macOS Ventura (13.0) or later with an Apple Silicon or Intel processor
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PC running Windows 10 Version 22H2 or later with a 64-bit AMD or Intel processor
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Chromebooks are NOT SUPPORTED due to software limitations
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Memory (RAM): 8GB or more
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Storage (Hard Drive/HDD or Solid-State Drive/SSD): 256GB or more
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Video Output (ability to connect a laptop to a projector) - HDMI or USB-C
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5GHz Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Connectivity
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Built-In Webcam
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Power Adapter
Required Software
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Regularly Updated Antivirus Software
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Google Chrome
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Zoom
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A PDF Viewer (i.e., Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview)
Recommended Hardware Specifications
The school has increased our recommended hardware specifications due to the advanced video, audio recording, and online learning demands. Devices that do not meet these specifications will probably work, but we cannot guarantee it.
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MacBook
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Apple M2 Chip or later
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16GB RAM (or higher)
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512GB SSD (or higher)
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macOS Sonoma (14.0) or later
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PC
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AMD Ryzen 7 / Intel i7 (or higher) Quad-Core Processor
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16GB RAM (or higher)
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512GB SSD (or higher)
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The latest version of Windows 11
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Extended Warranty + Accidental Damage Protection Is Strongly Recommended
St. Anne’s-Belfield School is committed to ensuring all students have laptops at home and school and will assist families as needed to facilitate this access.
Technology at School (K – 12)
Please find a quick review of technology here at St. Anne’s-Belfield School.
Three Names To Know: Google, Seesaw, and Canvas
We are a Google Workspace for Education school. The IT Department sets up and maintains all Google core applications and additional services.
Student Google accounts are activated beginning in Grade 3. Grades 3 and 4 students will have limited access to the Google Suite, primarily for word processing and presentations. Middle School students will have access to email beginning in Grade 5 when the full suite of core Google Apps is introduced.
Grades K – 4 students use Seesaw, an online service that allows students to post their work and gives parents a peek into the everyday activities in the classroom.
We use Canvas as our Learning Management System (LMS) starting in Grade 5 to support, enrich, extend, and document learning. Canvas integrates seamlessly with many of the School’s other tech services. Student engagement with Canvas increases as they progress through the grade levels.
Access to Devices: Grades K – 12
In Grades K – 6, every student will be issued a school-owned iPad or MacBook for their use during the school year. As part of a two-year pilot program, the Class of 2031 will also be issued a school-owned MacBook for use during their Grades 7 & 8 academic years.
Depending on the grade level, assignment, or when working on special projects, the devices may go home to complete their schoolwork. If your student needs to be out of school for an extended period, we will work with your family to send a device home.
- Grades K – 8 students have access to a shared iPad cart and a Computer Science lab outfitted with Windows and Mac laptops.
- Grades K – 3 students are assigned a school-owned iPad.
- Grade 4 students are assigned a school-owned iPad with a keyboard.
- Grades 5 – 6 students are assigned a school-owned MacBook Air.
- Grades 7* – 12 use their personally-owned laptops at home and school. Families can find the recommended Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) computer requirements on the first tab of this page.
- *The Class of 2031 will be assigned a school-owned MacBook in Grades 7 & 8 years as part of the pilot program. They will not use their personally-owned laptops until Grade 9.
Please submit a Helpdesk ticket if you have any questions regarding purchasing a new computer. St. Anne's-Belfield does not currently offer the purchase of devices through the School.
The School is committed to ensuring that every student has a device under the BYOD program and will work with any family concerned about affordability.
Required Forms for Signature
In Magnus Health (login via your Veracross Portal), you will find two forms that require your electronic signature, depending on your student’s grade: K – 12 Online Learning Approval and K – 6 Online Learning Device Usage Policy.
