Many people have been asking similar questions when they now walk into the Commons: Why is that big screen TV hanging on the wall?
Well, the answer is simple. It is there for WSPN viewing. The hope is that more students will become aware of what is going on within the WHS community and will enjoy the multimedia and news content.
Soon, an interactive computer tower, also known as a kiosk, will be connected to the screen for people to navigate through the network, displaying WSPN to all interested viewers.
The TV and computer kiosk was made possible by a recent grant from the Wayland Public Schools Foundation. The Wayland High School journalism class and WSPN club members hope this investment will benefit students by helping them access WSPN in a more convenient way. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
![Seniors Garrett Batt, Tom White, Emmanuel Nzaramba and Jack Calverley work together in preparation for the Spring Fling. “We decided to host this because March is kind of a slow month [in which] there’s not really that much happening, so I just thought it would be fun to put pep back into everyone so people could look forward to something this month,” senior Delcie Peter said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-20-at-10.28.14-PM-1200x832.png)
Mat Lau • Jan 22, 2009 at 9:02 AM
Seemed pretty useful during inaugaration.
David S • Jan 16, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Big Brother is watching you.
CLOCK LOVER! • Jan 15, 2009 at 9:02 PM
I think the educational benefit of forcing kids to read an analog clock was of greater educational value then this TV. Being able to read a clock is a very basic skill that far too many WHS students struggle with. BRING BACK THE CLOCK!
Gifford Delle • Jan 14, 2009 at 10:37 AM
alright, first of all it’s thoughtless and idiotic to say that no one cares about WSPN. Whoever thinks that is either a freshman, or someone who refuses to get involved in their school, there are soooo many people who write articles, take pictures, and express themselves via wspn. A LOT OF PEOPLE CARE
how can all of you haters be so blind to see the great oppurtunities that WSPN gives students. It is the best possible way to get involved and obviously is one of the most important organizations in the school, if you think nobody cares than you are just a lonely pathetic CLOCK LOVER! seriously folks, just wear a watch or CHECK UR FREAKIN CELL PHONE! unless u cant grasp that concept…
maybe this tv will finally get all u un-interesting people involved in a very interesting website
Liz Doyon • Jan 12, 2009 at 1:40 PM
I agree with Cam, don’t trash WSPN because you are jealous of its ingenuity and success.
Anon- That TV was purchased for the use of WSPN not for outside news sources.
Cam Tenny • Jan 10, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I think it’s bogus how people are trying to imply that if you don’t like WSPN, you don’t actually care about your school community. What a moronic argument tactic.
Also, stop posting anonymously, y’all. Own up to what you say, and people will take you more seriously.
And, @2010: The problem, then, is not what they used the grant money for — they clearly had no other choice there — it is that they applied for so unpopular a grant to begin with.
ARGUE ARGUE ARGUE
RANT RANT RANT
ARGUE ARGUE ARGUE.
That concludes this comment. Now go enjoy your weekends, and get off of WSPN.
student • Jan 10, 2009 at 8:44 PM
wowww, everyone who is making these general statements, supposedly speaking for the entire school is EXTREMELY mistaken. as mentioned, i check wspn daily, and if i don’t use the media center that day at school i check it at home. i know SO many people that find the articles extremely interesting and informative.
i agree that it is annoying that you can’t see the clock, but i’m sure wspn has thought about this already and once they turn the TV on (which they haven’t yet, so stop complaining about something you haven’t even experienced yet) i’m sure they will address this problem.
hey “enough,” do you only really think whoever controls the TV will really be dense enough to blast the sound, which is showing news and doesn’t even need sound to begin with?
if you really dislike the tv for whatever particular reason, just ignore it! it’s not that big of a deal, and the purpose is to inform everyone about the great site and journalism class.
anon • Jan 10, 2009 at 4:28 PM
they should put more stuff than wspn on that tv. They should put the news, weather, sportscenter that kind of stuff on it. I think that would make it a lot better use of money.
student 2 • Jan 10, 2009 at 3:00 PM
whoever is “student” i totally agree with you. I look at the articles, videos, and pictures daily. I also see many people looking at wpsn when in the media center. The tv would bring a new and exciting environment to the commons. Also in response to “enough” I highly doubt people would purposly damage the television.
whSenior • Jan 9, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Personally, I’m pretty neutral about WSPN. Sure, it’s not something I’d go out of my way to read, but it occasionally has some good articles about sports or events that I otherwise wouldn’t hear about. However, I agree with many who have posted here that we already have plenty of opportunities to see WSPN, making the new tv pretty useless.
As someone who often does their homework in the library, I use school computers almost every day. WSPN is the home page on Firefox, so if there is anything that interests me I can look at it then. Why would I want to view it in the commons as someone else navigates, or navigate in a setting where I can only see the screen by looking at a huge tv?
What seems even more useless than the big screen is the fact that there is nothing new about the content that will be displayed. The screen won’t show the new headlines or high-quality images, but simply a larger version of the website, presumably navigated by whoever feels like using the kiosk. (Correct me if I’m wrong about this. The article didn’t mention it, so I assume that the tv will literally display the same website that shows up on every WHS computer)
Additionally, to those who feel that since we have already bought the TV, there is no point in expressing our concern about wasteful spending–if WSPN is as popular among parents and residents as they claim, hopefully those who are in charge of giving these grants are reading our comments and concerns. Maybe if they realize that their grants are going to waste on useless electronics, they will try putting money into different programs. I have no doubt that WSPN is worth supporting, but I don’t think that this idea was well-researched. In the same way that the i-pods duplicated the experience of the language lab, the new tv will only duplicate the experience of logging onto any school computer.
Student • Jan 9, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Whoever “Enough” is, I completely disagree with your comment. WSPN is a great site, and actually, I check it on a fairly regular basis. When I’m in the media center I always see people reading articles or looking at albums. Maybe the actual WSPN site gets a lot of hits because it’s the home page, but then why would articles get so many hits? You have to be interested and click on them in the first place. If you don’t like WSPN, you don’t have to click on the articles. And why would anyone break a tv… you don’t have to watch it and it’s interesting for a lot of us to see what’s actually going on in school by looking at the tv because we actually care about our school community.
2010 • Jan 9, 2009 at 1:53 PM
A lot of people are misinterpreting the facts about the grant. Wayland couldn’t have used the grant money for something else. This Grant was specifically given for the project of putting up the TV. Also you might say that Wayland Public Schools foundation should have given money for fixing toilets and other projects like this, but they couldn’t have. Their purpose is to fund new exciting and experimental projects that enrich the learning experience not simple maintenance. Also, on a side note, the clock will be coming back soon – it’s not permanently hidden.
Dihydrogen Monoxide • Jan 9, 2009 at 11:55 AM
The TV would be fine if it didn’t get rid of the clock. I can’t even tell what time it is.
J • Jan 9, 2009 at 11:09 AM
ITS BLOCKING THE CLOCK!!! AT LEAST MAKE THE TV A HUGE DIGITAL CLOCK!!!!
Enough • Jan 9, 2009 at 9:05 AM
I bet the speakers on the TV go loud enough that you can’t “just ignore it” as whs student said. The fact is that it’s obtrusive, and it’s forcing us to swallow a specific news medium.
Secondly, a vast majority of the high school doesn’t like WSPN; as stated before, the only reason why the website gets as many hits as it does is because it is the homepage of every computer in the high school (and possibly the other schools too, of that, I’m not sure). I have never known a single instance of someone going to WSPN to check the news, learn about the community, or anything else. In fact, I have never known an instance where someone voluntary went to WSPN other than to laugh at the “Ask Vilma” thread. What makes you think that people trying to enjoy themselves at lunch would behave any different? People would probably put their trash on it and, more likely than not, it would break from someone screwing around and crashing into it.
stop complaining about the TV • Jan 8, 2009 at 8:56 PM
while many of you are complaining about the fact that there’s a TV in the commons, and wishing that the money was used for other purposes, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s paid for, it’s there, and it’s not going anywhere.
and do you people really think it was just bought on whim? WSPN must have had to propose the project to the foundation, and argue their case. The parents on that committee aren’t stupid, they knew exactly what they were buying, and why. it was privately funded, the school had no part in it.
some of you seem to be under the impression that WSPN has deep pockets, or that the town pays for a lot of it. neither of those statements are true. the town only recently started funding a very small portion of WSPN, and that was mostly because there’s now a journalism class. The site is designed mostly with free software. It looks as good as it does because of the huge time commitment that many of its members make.
stop complaining about the TV. it’s not what I would have used the money for, but it is kind of cool. I think WSPN kind of knows what they’re doing, they did win that whole award thing last year. you haven’t even seen it turned on, chill out.
whs student • Jan 8, 2009 at 8:15 PM
the tv was provided by a grant from the wayland public school foundation (wpsf). they provide funding for new and innovative approaches in education. as far as the tv goes, it is to support wspn which is run by students for students. they agree with wspn that it would be great if more people got involved/paid more attention.
wpsf provides money for ipods in the language building, smart boards, those computerized overheads, new computers, and other stuff. yes, it’s all stuff that we don’t need and could live without, but it expands our learning environment and allows our school to keep and/or stay ahead of other schools as far as developments go.
this money is not taken from the town or the school. it is not removed from the budget of anything else, it is a donation from a foundation funded by parents. the money would not be going to a new high school because that is from the town and it is not the purpose of the wpsf.
the only downside to the tv is that the clock is down. maybe wspn will be able to put up the time for us.
and for those who think it’s obtrusive, just don’t look at it! cheerleaders put up posters all over the commons (one of the more recent ones had a glaring spelling error) and that could be considered obtrusive too! just ignore it!
the invisible man • Jan 8, 2009 at 2:59 PM
maybe it was not school money that payed for the tv, but it was money that could have served a different purpose than a big screen tv in the middle of the commons. so technicality aside, the result is the same: a misuse of resources. all those benefits of wspn that you listed sound great, but wayland students already experience those benefits everytime ehy log onto a computer. this is money that couldbe going towards field trips, supplies, teachers and faculty, lunch scholarships, maybe even renovations or the new high school; all the things a school needs money to pay for, especially especially in such a difficult financial time
el hombre • Jan 8, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Don’t we have better things to do than spend more money on WSPN? The town already has to pay for server space and all of that. Tons of other programs could actually use the money, and some programs need that kind of money just to continue existing.
it’s a waste of money (and I can’t see the clock anymore).
Anonymous • Jan 8, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Adviser:
Don’t accuse us of not reading the article. We know it was a grant paid for by the Wayland Public Schools Foundation. The point I’m trying to make is that the grant could have easily been used to pay for something else. Instead of advertising a TV to the parents to put in the commons for viewing school news, the same amount of money could have been advertised for new text books, new white boards, or new computers to replace these outstandingly crappy 6-year-old iBooks in the Academic Center.
What educational benefit does the TV provide if it is only used to view school news? What educational benefit COULD that grant have provided? I believe this will go down as one of the worst causes that a grant has paid for at Wayland High School (closely behind the language building iPods that have been used so few times that they are beginning to gather dust in the corner of the language lab).
adviser • Jan 8, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Make sure you thoroughly read an article before commenting on it. The grant for the Commons TV came from the parents of Wayland, via the Wayland Public Schools Foundation, who felt that this was a great use of their money. Knowing what’s going on in the school, what students are saying and doing in various school activities, is essential in the development of a close-knit community, and that knowledge also helps students get ideas of how they can get involved. WSPN serves that purpose. The TV is not, in my opinion, so obtrusive that you can’t get away from it if you’re uninterested, and I think we should be grateful for the generosity of the parents of Wayland. No school money paid for this initiative.
Shanimal • Jan 8, 2009 at 11:50 AM
It doesn’t really benefit us at all. If we cared in the first place, we’d go on the website. But, Facebook is more important than WSPN news. I think the school could have spent that money a little more wisely.
Anonymous • Jan 8, 2009 at 10:56 AM
What a waste. We’re being forced into watching media. Just stop it. Seriously. The only reason WSPN gets as many hits as it does is because it is the homepage of WHS. This hit count simply means how many people used the internet today. I have lost lots of respect for the high school with this big screen TV. We can’t simply look away from the TV if we don’t want to view it. It’s still there. This TV and the grant received for this mission is such a waste and either the TV or the grant can be used for educational purposes rather than forced media.
alizee • Jan 8, 2009 at 8:05 AM
I love when the school gives money to us for things we don’t actually need. Nobody cares.
anonymous • Jan 8, 2009 at 7:43 AM
hm interesting
whs student • Jan 7, 2009 at 10:58 PM
What a waste of school funds, this money could be going towards something useful like textbooks, but instead it’s going towards some useless piece of equipment that no one will use and will probably break because WHS students won’t respect it.
Is it not enough that all WHS computers automatically have WSPN as their homepage?