Grounds
In the year 2000, we moved into our beautiful 30,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility, located on 20 acres of property in Quinte West (Trenton). We provide a safe and secure environment for our students within the school and on the fenced playground. Additional features include a designated Music Room, Computer Lab, Library, Full Gym, Performance Stage, Kitchen facilities, and Activity Rooms.
Technology
The TCS Computer Lab is located next to our library, making this area a research centre.
The Hardware:
The Computer Lab consists of 24 Pentium IV workstations with LCD monitors, networked to a Pentium II 400 MHz Server and a PIII 1 GHz fileserver. The network is served by an HP6980 colour inkjet printer, a Brother HL5250DN laser printer, as well as a Canon N640P colour scanner. An Intel QX3 Microscope is attached to one of the workstations, as is a Hitachi CPRX55 ceiling mounted image projector. We have high-speed internet access across the network via a dedicated DSL line. The school library, the offices, the Resource Room, and the grade 1 to 8 classrooms are all networked to the Computer Lab and so have internet and email access. Two of the classrooms have ceiling mounted Eiki image projectors. We also have a laptop and another Hitachi image projector on a mobile cart for use in the classrooms.
How do we use our Lab?
All of the grades, from K to 8 have an average of 2 periods per week in the lab. Our focus with computers at TCS is not to use computers for the sake of using them, or to “teach” computers, but rather to have teachers integrate the use of computers into their existing curriculum. The teachers are doing a terrific job incorporating the use of the computers through some basic software, into their curriculum subjects. A Computer Coordinator is available at the school on a 40% part-time basis to keep the lab operating smoothly, to research and install software, and to do any trouble shooting. He also trains teachers as well as students in the use of the new software, teaches Keyboarding to Grades 3 – 8, and word processing, spreadsheets, and the use of multimedia software to Grades 4 – 8.
