A quest to integrate technology into the classroom is taking a huge step this weekend at an area school.

St. Aloysius High School students will receive MacBook devices Saturday at the high school gymnasium. Students in seventh through 12^th grade have signed up for specific times throughout the day starting at 8 a.m. to pick up their device and attend tutorial sessions.

“Basically we have a group starting every 30 minutes and that group will go through various stations, so a person will be here about an hour or an hour and a half and then be out the door with their MacBook,” registrar Patricia Rabalais said.

In addition to receiving the device, students will also become acquainted with the operating system and the programs set up on the devices.

“They’re going to get a whole suite of things and services to the school. Not just a MacBook,” Rabalais said.

Students will have access to grades, school announcements and interactive learning through an online portal parents have been able to access the past few weeks.

“This is the first time students will have access to the portals,” she said.

Students will have a school issued email address that will facilitate collaboration and communication between the students and the teachers, teacher Christin Matthews said.

The MacBooks boast Office 365 accounts and other programs.

“We’re going to introduce them on how to do the online library catalogue,” she said.

Students will have to sign forms claiming responsibility for the device and have the option of purchasing insurance. The student’s guardians must also be present during the distribution.

“The device is theirs until they have exited the school through graduation, withdrawal or its time to get a new one,” Matthews said. “They will keep it with them all the time. It is theirs and their responsibility.”

She said she is personally excited for her students to bring MacBooks into the classroom. Matthews sees it as a plus for the learning environment and for the students.

A student tech team, who received their MacBooks over the summer to prepare, will lead the tutorials. The team is made up of seniors Anna Kate Doiron and Brandon Teller, juniors Adrienne Eckstein and Gray Houser, sophomores Madalyn Burke and David Osburn, and freshmen Anna Ware Brown and Parker Brown.

Rabalais said students would first simply learn how to log in to the MacBook and then learn other programs during the tutorial.

“Gestures is the number one key coming from a PC world,” Rabalais said. “Once they learn gestures, it will help.”

Rabalais said the point of the technology initiative is to prepare students for college.

“We want to teach our children those skills to be ready for college, that’s one less stressful thing to deal with,” she said.

Next week, students in third through sixth grades will receive iPads to use in class.

Students in fourth through sixth grade who show proficiency using the device will be allowed to take it home.