In a greater outpouring of support tha had been anticipated, over 175 volunteers had registered and were assigned to work teams at the Abbot & Day schools for NetDay '96 by 7:30 Saturday morning. Local townspeople as well as volunteers from Sun, Cascade, Lotus, Mack Technologies, BayNetworks and Powersoft arrived bearing armloads of tools & supplies to support the Westford schools. NetDay '96 was organized at the nationwide, statewide and local grassroots levels to enable our students to connect to the Internet.
Teams to run wire, configure software, connect cables and hang moldings as well as to answer phones, deliver messages, pick up pizza and reassign tools were critical to the success of the day. At noon, students from both schools logged onto the internet and their respective school's home page with their newly aquired connections, and officially registered their schools with Mass NetDay. This is the first official use of the Westford Schools home page, which was developed under the direction of Janet Tortora and Tin Yau Ying.
In addition to registering the schools with Mass NetDay, several Abbot & Day students created the Net Day News, a publication for the kids and by the kids. Under the direction of library media specialist Sandy Kelly, students at the Day School spent the morning researching NetDay and how it will impact their education, a well as interviewing organizers and workers and surfing the net. Abbot students used a Quicktake digital camera to prepare a slide show under the direction of computer teachers Linda Schaye and Sandy Martinez. Many of these pictures will be imported into the newsletter.
In order to be a part of Mass NetDay's partnership, which provided the schools equipment and consulting at a reduced cost, Westford NetDay had to commit to connecting five classrooms in each partnership school. "Our initial goal was to connect five classrooms in each school," said Janet Tortora, co-chair of Westford NetDay. "Our reworked goals included all of the fifth grade classrooms at both buildings. From a curriculum standpoint, internet access becomes very important to the fifth grade."
But motivated volunteers did more than that. At the Day School, 10 classrooms were wired for connectivity, as well as the computer lab, the library and the teacher's lounge. According to Tim Martin, technical director for the Day School, teams added 57 network cards to the computers, as well as software and web browsers to each, giving students 57 more possible connections to the Information Super Highway. Computers at the Day School are on carts so that they can be transported between the classrooms. Depending on the project at hand, additional computers are often borrowed from the computer lab so that each student has the maximum potential to gain the information.
At the Abbot School, 12 classrooms were wired, as well as the teacher's lounge, computer lab and nurse's office. Network cards, as well as software and web browsers were installed in the computers in the lab and in several classrooms. "We had a great bunch of people," said Mike Larson, Abbot School Champion. "We had people who knew how to get the work done and we actually accomplished more than we had planned to! What remains the most significant is that everyone was a volunteer."
A second Massachusetts and Westford alike will celebrate a second NetDay on April 5, 1997. Tortora commented that at this time, the seconary goals have not been determined. However, she reminded the community that the funding that was received was intended to cover the cost of the equipment for NetDay '96, and that additional funding would be required to meet any goals for 1997.
WestNET was formed to support education and technology in Westford Public Schools. Tax-deductible donations of used equipment and funds will be used to provide tools for students and teachers to succeed in the 21st century via the internet. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can participate in the next several months, please contact Janet Tortora (692-7273) or Beth Peterson (392-0925), or visit our site on the World Wide Web.
 Over 100 volunteers showed their support at the Abbot School on NetDay |  Another 70 volunteers were on hand at the Day School on NetDay |
 Tim Martin, Day School Technical Leader registers the Day School with Mass NetDay |  Superintendant John Crisafulli helps with site preparation at the Day School. |
Press Release from September 19, 1996
Press Release from October 17, 1996