BPS IT Newsletter

A large number of BPS Chromebooks and chargers are at the end of their lease cycle and must be returned. The schedule for student returns is as follows. Parents, please check your email for more specific details and remind your students to bring their chargers also. Students receiving a new device over the summer will not receive a charger if they do not turn the old one in.

Class of 2024 - Chromebook and Charger return is after the student's last final exam. All devices must be turned in before graduation rehersal on June 3rd.

Classes of 2027, 2028, and 2029 - Chromebooks and Chargers will be returned after either the student's B Block exam on June 13th or A Block exam on June 14th. Students will be notified of which day they should return their device and charger. Add devices must be returned by June 14th.

Class of 2030 - We will be collecting 6th grade Chromebooks and Chargers at 9:00 on Thursday, June 13th in the BMS Cafeteria. All devices must be returned by June 14th.

Please contact Deb Conroy at dconroy@bpsdk12.org with any questions.

The Robotics Teams at DiPietro Elementary School showcased Mission 3 of their Make

Wonder Robotics Competition to family members, Administrators & representatives from the

Bellingham Educational Foundation as well as members of the BHS Robotics Team on

Wednesday, April 10th. Student members displayed their creativity, teamwork & problem

solving skills throughout this event and we are so proud of them.

Students at Stall Brook and DiPietro Elementary schools are working hard on projects for their upcoming educational fairs. First, they researched their topic and wrote about it. Next, they made a video with green screen technology and then took it a step further and learned how to create a QR code to share their videos. Do you want to know more about penguins and volcanoes? Scan the QR codes for a sneak peek!

New Look! We’ve updated the Parent Dashboard Page for quicker access. When you log in you will see a District Links section. Here you will find the links to the School Calendar, Bus Transportation forms, Student Handbooks, and any other important links that may be needed throughout the School Year.

You will also see any beginning of the School Year forms requested under the District Forms section coming this summer!

Have you ever just closed a browser tab in error while several others are open? To restore a tab you accidentally closed, please perform the following steps below.

Windows Desktop/Laptop:

If you accidentally close a tab in error, you can retrieve it by simply pressing the Ctrl + Shift + T keys and bring back the closed tab.

Mac:

If you accidentally close a tab in error, you can retrieve it by simply pressing the Cmd + Shift + T keys to bring back the closed tab.

Did you see that Google launched their pen tool to annotate while presenting in Slides and you can (ALMOST) remove backgrounds from images in Slides?

Pen Tool in Presentation Mode: Please try it with me HERE. For more information please click HERE

Remove Background, the rollout for this feature has begun and while it has not yet hit BPSD accounts, keep an eye out! For more information please click HERE.

When you need to leave your workspace, it is very important to lock your computer screen so nobody else can use it “as you.” We are all responsible for keeping our passwords private (not sharing) and if someone else were to do something in your name, you would be responsible for that action.

Best practice is to secure your computer if you are going to step away outside of your space or are not able to see your computer for a long period of time. Basically, if you are leaving your classroom/office, this applies to everyone.

Windows

If you are logged into a Windows computer all you need to do is press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys and you will see an option for “LOCK.” When you are ready to log in again, hit your spacebar and enter your password and you’ll be right back where you left off.

Mac

If you are logged into a Macbook, all you need to do is press the Command+Control+Q keys. When you are ready to log in again, hit your spacebar and enter your password and you’ll be right back where you left off.

Chromebook

Look at the bottom right of your Chromebook where the time is shown. Click on the time and you will see a pop-up window with a “Sign out” option. Sign out of the Chromebook and when you are ready, you will log in again with your Google account login and password.

None of these practices are very time consuming at all, literally a few seconds. The amount of protection you give yourself and the district is overwhelmingly positive.