Technology Info

I am excited to share a few technology updates and reminders for the opening of the 24-25 school year.

This form will be emailed to one family contact for completion beginning this morning. This form is extremely important in providing the school with information regarding your student. In particular, it provides the opportunity for you to update contact information so that we are able to effectively communicate with you, especially in critical moments.

New this year are two separate questions regarding the release of your student’s photo. We have provided one option for consent to sharing photos only within the classroom and another separate consent for sharing images publicly. The form also requires that you review family handbooks and provide consent for certain items.

Also new this year is the consolidation of the form into our family portal which means you no longer have two PowerSchool accounts to manage 😀! You may now access the form in the family portal where you normally view reports on student progress, schedules, current grades, and attendance. The Annual Student Verification Form is located under Account Preferences on the left side of the navigation menu.

Families who do not have a family portal will be sent a link to change their password and login to their account separately.

We are implementing a new content filtering solution for student Chromebooks and iPads that will provide additional reporting and features for classroom teachers. The resource also includes an option for grades 5-12 parents/guardians/caregivers to monitor HPS student devices at home for free! Home monitoring would be in addition to the 24/7 filtering policies that are already deployed on student devices. If you are interested in this home monitoring option, please complete this form by Monday, Sep 30, 2024.

It is time to dust off and charge your student’s Chromebook in preparation for the first day! If you or your student notice any device issues, please contact the following staff:

• RAMS (Anthony Mastroianni- mastroiannia@holliston.k12.ma.us)

• HHS (Jacob Keplinger- keplingerj@holliston.k12.ma.us)

We strongly encourage families of students in grades 6-12 purchase device insurance for Chromebooks and iPads. The insurance coverage is $40 and expires on June 30, 2025. Accidental damages and other events are covered by the policy. Here is a link for more information (select Device Insurance under Quick Resources).

Payment may be made on the Town of Holliston website (Scroll down to School Payments, choose School Programs on the left menu, then Device Insurance) in the amount of $40 for a single device ($20 more if a second device is assigned to the same student). Please purchase the insurance by Monday, Sep 30, 2024.

Note: Student IDs are required to complete the form and are visible in the family portal.

Enjoy the remainder of the summer and we look forward to seeing your students in a few weeks!

Dan MacLeod

Director of Technology & Digital Learning