Apple is rolling out a new laptop in October that will be much better than today's laptops.

However, that said, my daughter is using a six-year-old laptop from Apple and it's great for her...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, can't imagine starting high school and not having a dedicated laptop in this day and age.

+1 I'm a high school English teacher. I love the Macbook Air for students; time and again, I've seen Macbook Airs survive falls that destroy other laptops. Plus, they are so light and portable, and are super fast to start up and use.

Apple is discontinuing the Air laptops though.

Yes, that rumor has been circulating for quite some time. The specs of the current Air, though, far exceed those of the "new Macbook", so I'm excited to see the final product when Apple (inevitably) produces a hybrid of the two. As of today, though, the Air is a great buy, and the OP could pick up a great deal buying one refurbished from the Apple site (and an even better deal if they ARE discontinued in October!).

I may have to hoard the remaining Airs. Our DD's school requires laptops for middle school students and the Air has been great. We also have a larger Air at home as our main home computer.

Ask the school. If they don't specify anything, you might be able to get by with a Chromebook, which you can get for $200, if cost ( or worry that your 9th grader will lose/break a $1200 Mac) is an issue. They have web access, and all of the Google Classroom apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) that should be sufficient for a 9th grader. The school should tell you what their policy is though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, can't imagine starting high school and not having a dedicated laptop in this day and age.

+1 I'm a high school English teacher. I love the Macbook Air for students; time and again, I've seen Macbook Airs survive falls that destroy other laptops. Plus, they are so light and portable, and are super fast to start up and use.

Apple is discontinuing the Air laptops though.

Yes, that rumor has been circulating for quite some time. The specs of the current Air, though, far exceed those of the "new Macbook", so I'm excited to see the final product when Apple (inevitably) produces a hybrid of the two. As of today, though, the Air is a great buy, and the OP could pick up a great deal buying one refurbished from the Apple site (and an even better deal if they ARE discontinued in October!).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, can't imagine starting high school and not having a dedicated laptop in this day and age.

+1 I'm a high school English teacher. I love the Macbook Air for students; time and again, I've seen Macbook Airs survive falls that destroy other laptops. Plus, they are so light and portable, and are super fast to start up and use.

Apple is discontinuing the Air laptops though.

yes. any everyone has a macbook.

Hello, it's 2016 ---yes, your high school student needs a computer...

Yes

Rising lol

Anonymous wrote:Yes, can't imagine starting high school and not having a dedicated laptop in this day and age.

+1 I'm a high school English teacher. I love the Macbook Air for students; time and again, I've seen Macbook Airs survive falls that destroy other laptops. Plus, they are so light and portable, and are super fast to start up and use.

Yes, can't imagine starting high school and not having a dedicated laptop in this day and age.

Depends on the school. Many have them as a part of the required equipment (that or an ipad, etc.) some even have one included as part of the fees. Others have full computer labs and mobile laptop carts (Maret is one I can think of) available for use at any time, so a student wouldn't need their own during the school day. I will say- them having their own helps with a shared home computer as many assignments require internet usage, word processing and/or power point, etc.

Call the school and ask. We asked the dean of 9th grade students at the school where our DS will start in September, and we were told no, no need to buy anything (and the dean said most teachers don't allow note-taking by computer, unless there is some kind of special needs accommodation.

Yes, she should have her own.

We already have a laptop at home that DD used for all her middle school work. Now that she is starting high school, will she need a computer that she can bring to school? We do not want her to bring our one laptop to school. Do most high school students have a laptop at school?