MONROE

It’s about 4,300 miles from Waxhaw to Frankfurt, Germany. Or one click.

Waxhaw donated $30,000 to Waxhaw Elementary last month, adding 48 netbooks to its computer carts. The netbooks will enhance teaching from science to geography.

“A lot of teachers were wanting to use them,” Principal Cheryl Lawrence said, but had only two dozen iBooks to share among classrooms. Now, if students are researching another country, it’s only a click away, complete with pictures and information that may not be available in the library.

Teachers can also share educational sites with her students while preparing them for middle school where computers use is more prevalent.

Netbooks are small laptops with Internet access. Filters will keep students off of inappropriate Web sites, Lawrence said, and a light will flash if students are off task.

Computers will be kept in the library for teachers to check out. Teachers begin training next week to learn how to use them.

Funding for the computers came from the town’s general budget, Mayor Pro Tem Martin Lane said, with money set aside for annual charitable donations. Waxhaw also plans to donate money to South Providence and, in future years, Kensington Elementary, Lane said.

“I’m not very computer literate,” he said, and just recently learned how to text on his cell phone. Back in his own school days, he said there were only two computers in the whole school.

With technology on the rise, he said it’s imperative that students prepare for a global market and jobs that require computer skills.

The end of pencils and paper may be near, he said.

“The Town of Waxhaw is responsible for the well-being of our entire community, and our children are our future,” Mayor Daune Gardner said in a press release. “If we equip the children with the skills to better our community in the future, there is no downside to that.”