To Parents of 3rd -8th grade computer students:

 

This year we are thrilled to have new computers in the elementary lab. They do not have floppy drives in them, so please do NOT send a floppy disk to save work done in the computer lab. The new computers do have CD burners. If your child wants to save any work they do at school to work on at home or vice versa, you will need to purchase either a USB Flash Drive* or a CD-RW**.

This is NOT a requirement, but a suggestion if they need to work on a project at home and at school (some examples are: Mr. Pye’s autobiography project; Mrs. Ellis’ and Mrs. Granata’s Lion Witch and Wardrobe summary).

I have found a Kingston Data Traveler USB flash drive - 128 MB for $10.50 (including Shipping & Handling) if purchased from www.CDW.com in a quantity of 25 - 50. If you would like to be included in an order, please fill out the tear off below and return in an envelope addressed to Mrs. DiPalma, with a check made out to BCS (write “flash drive” on bottom of check). Deadline is September 5.

This 128 MB size is adequate for what the students will be doing as long as there are not too many pictures to be saved. I have also checked local stores to find Flash Drives. None are priced as low as CDW.com. There is a place called Computer Buyers Warehouse located at 6835 14th Street West (US41).  I have told them that we will be giving their store as a source to look for Flash Drives, so they should have a good supply. You might also check Office Depot, Circuit City, Staples and K-Mart or Wal-Mart. If this is an inconvenience for you or a cost that you don’t want to incur, I would suggest CD-RW’s. I will purchase a quantity of them along with cases and make the CD and case available at school for $5.

Cap
 
*What is a Flash Drive? It is a small, portable memory card that plugs into a computer’s USB port and functions as a portable hard drive with storage space from 128 MB to 2GB capacity. USB flash drives are easy-to-use as they are small enough to be carried in a pocket or book bag or hung around the neck or wrist and can plug into any computer with a USB drive. USB flash drives also are called pen drives, key drives or simply USB drives. USB flash drives are faster, hold more data, and are generally more reliable than floppy disks, which were previously the norm for portable storage. Like many such drives, this model features a removable cap (which protects the USB connector) and a hole or loop through which a string or wire loop can be attached (barely visible in this photo, on the flash drive's lower right corner).

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**What is a CD-RW? CD-RW’s are CD’s that can be treated like floppy disks, writing data onto them multiple times.

 

 

If you have any further questions, please email me at mdipalma@bcspanthers.org

Martha DiPalma

I would like to purchase _____ Flash Drive(s) for my child(ren) at $10.50 each. Check made out to BCS with note “Flash Drive”, is attached.

 

Parent’s signature __________________________________________

 

Student(s) name(s) ___________________________________________