Student enrollment in our digital arts program has risen rapidly over the past several years. To help support this student interest, we are happy to announce that, this week, we installed 30 brand new Apple iMacs in our design classrooms. They will be used by students taking all digital arts courses, as well as photography and theater production classes.

“The right gear is an integral part of photography,” photography teacher and working photographer Ms. Amy Haskell said. “We need cameras, lenses, lights, tripods and much more. After the photos have been taken, the post-production work starts.”

The Gregory School is fortunate to have an Adobe Suite software subscription available at no cost for each student, faculty and staff member. However, Ms. Haskell said, “Like so many other things, this software does not play nicely with older computers. Many of the newest upgrades don’t function on the last generation of tech. The new computers mean that our photography students will be able to learn the most advanced post-production techniques available today.” 

Digital arts teacher Mr. Stephen Krohn agrees that the new technology will transform his digital arts classes, as well. “These new computers give students many more tools they can use in Photoshop because we are no longer relying on older graphics cards. Access to so many additional tools is especially helpful in the digital painting classes.”

In addition, the screen resolution of the new computers is in UHD or 4K, which makes working with them simpler and more efficient. “Before, the students and I had to zoom in and out to see how pixelated images were,” Mr. Krohn said. “Now, if it’s even a little bit pixelated, it will be obvious immediately.”

Ms. Haskell also pointed out the value of the greatly increased memory capacity of the new iMacs. “They will cut down significantly on the amount of time students are waiting for the computers to 'think' and we will be able to get more done in class. I am so excited for my students to have access to these new computers.”

"These fantastic additions reflect the kind of things that we can help support with contributions to the Annual Fund to dramatically enhance the classroom experience for both our students and our faculty. We are delighted to be able to provide them,” Head of School Dr. Julie Sherrill said.