The first marking period was coming to an end for senior Samantha Carty.

All the teachers at Hammonton High had finalized their grades, and report cards were ready to be released to the students and parents.

However, the only way Carty was going to be able to view them would be if she had access to a computer at home. Why? The school no longer prints report cards.

Over the summer, a letter was sent home informing parents, guardians and students that report cards were no longer going to mailed home or given to students in homeroom. Instead, they were going to to be online through the Parent Portal website.

But when and why was this decision made?

Mrs. Linda Fiorentino, who works in the guidance office, explained that the decision was made over this past summer.

“The school wanted to switch from paper to online to not only save paper, but to get everybody more technology friendly,” she said. “The teachers are now all provided with iPads to use while teaching, and any teacher can be reached at any time via email. It’s a quick and new advanced way to view every little thing about the student.”

Some students miss getting a paper copy of their grades.

“I don’t like the report cards being online because I really liked hanging it on my refrigerator,” said Carty.

Senior Eddie Aldridge explained that his opinion on the topic depends on how good his grades are.

“I used to not like the grades being online, but now that I get good grades I wish they were printed out,” he said.

Not only did some students dislike online report cards; some teachers did as well.

“Online report cards reduce the event for parents to view their children’s grades,” said history teacher Mr. Dan O’Malley. “The school should still be mailing a copy home.”

Mrs. Teah Daniels, who teaches drafting, agreed, saying, “I don’t like them because parents don’t know what they’re getting.”

.