SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's about bridging the digital divide, said Larry Connelly.

Connolly, the co-ordinator at the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre, was overwhelmed with excitement when he found out Weledeh Catholic School was one of 12 schools in Canada selected to receive a laptop for every student in grades one to six.

The computers come from the One Laptop Per Child pilot program organized by the Belinda Stronach Foundation, named after its founder, the former Ontario MP and Magna International heiress.

The school found out at the end of September it was one of the schools selected. There will be 229 laptops given to students plus extras for teachers.

"This is wonderful," said Simone Gessler, principal at Weledeh Catholic School. "The possibilities are endless."

The foundation is distributing up to 5,000 laptops to children ages 6 to 12 in aboriginal communities across the country.

Connolly first heard about the program in April from a presentation from the foundation.

In May he wrote a letter to the foundation with Merrill Dean, Weledeh's principal at the time. In the letter they gave the foundation information about the school.

Without hearing a response from the foundation for such a long period of time the news came as a shock to Connolly when the school was selected.

"I didn't hear anything," said Connolly. "They never gave us any indication from start to finish whether or not we would be successful."

The laptops are slated to arrive at the school at the end of January.

"The teachers are so excited about the opportunity," said Gessler. "There is absolutely no lack of excitement on this project."

The laptops arrive customized for students with specific programs dealing in subjects of literacy, math, as well as health. Connolly estimated the cost of each laptop as $250 each.

"A child can bring this home and bring this to their family, to their parents, their grandparents, it's just phenomenal," said Connolly.

"For those of us who are less fortunate they'll now have the opportunity."

The laptops belong to the students but both Gessler and Connolly said there are still logistics to work out.

"Right now we're just in the planning stages of what it would look like to implement their use in the classroom," said Gessler.

Both of them agree the donation will help the school continue to integrate technology into the classroom.

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