Eighth Grade Career Exploration Project is Underway

Grant Career Center

January 2015 News

In the past few years we have

shifted our career exploration

focus to the middle school

grades, specifically the eighth

graders of our district. This

early exploration allows the

students and their parents the

opportunity to start on a suc-

cessful career pathway.

In mid-December, all eighth

graders viewed a presentation

showcasing all the programs

and activities of the career

center. Students filled out an

interest survey and selected

the program that most inter-

ested them. Using survey in-

formation, the students were

scheduled into three programs

to visit on their Career Explo-

ration Day at the Career Cen-

ter.

January 6 through 9 saw the

invasion of eager faces and en-

ergetic bodies to participate in

the activities planned by the

career training programs’ stu-

dents and staff.

Activities included anatomy

lessons in Allied Heath Sci-

ence, hair rolling and foiling in

Cosmetology, Egg Drop pro-

jects in Engineering Design

and welding in Metal Fabrica-

tion. Equine Science visitors

could be seen brushing manes

and picking hooves.

Students could be seen scoop-

ing and eating muffins in Culi-

nary Arts, finding vegetables in

the Natural Resources garden,

and meeting a variety of ani-

mals in Veterinary Science.

Follow-up activities are

planned in the home school

to prepare the students for

their transition to high school

in the fall.

In late-January, all eighth

graders and their parents will

be invited to Grant for a Par-

ent Night Event where they

will receive information from

many sources to help create

their Individual Academic Ca-

reer Plan. Administrators and

staff from the Middle schools

and Grant are all involved in

creating activities that will

benefit the eighth graders

and help parents guide their

students into college and ca-

reer awareness.

December Students of the Month

The December Students of the Month were announced in early

January to recognize students for their outstanding efforts in

the classroom or lab setting. We are very proud of these stu-

dents and their exceptional efforts.

December Students of the Month include Christian Burger, a

Williamsburg senior in the Metal Fabrication program who was

nominated by his science teacher, Mr. Adam Heist. “Christian is always respectful and hard-

working. He provides insightful answers and always gives his best in my classroom!”

Jon Alsept, a senior Auto Collision student from New Richmond, was recognized by Mr. Mike

Patten for his special efforts in the holiday fundraising efforts and the pedal car competition en-

try. Jon gave up his time over the holiday break to come in to school and work on the project.

Ian Wahoff, a Criminal Justice senior from New Richmond, was nominated by Mr. Doug Flamm

for his fundraising drive to purchase Class A uniforms for the senior class. “Without Ian’s ‘get-it-

done’ attitude, his class would not have been able to afford their new uniforms.” Several fund-

raising events collected the needed funds to purchase uniforms for the entire class.

Our final December Student of the Month is Mikie Simpson, a senior Metal Fabrication student

from Felicity-Franklin, who was nominated by Metal Fabrication instructor Ken Ayers. “Mikie was

our fundraising champion for the Holiday Family Fund and sold $200 worth of metal cut-outs to

benefit the fund.

The Grant Career Center Cosmetology students recently participated in a

local SkillsUSA contest to earn spots on the team competing at regional

competition in early March. The students were competing for the oppor-

tunity to represent Grant in the SkillsUSA Cosmetology contest where they

will showcase their skills in haircutting and styling as well as the Nail Care

Competition.

Seven junior and senior students participated in the Cosmetology competition that included a

written test and a technical haircut and style on a mannequin. The participants received an in-

struction sheet with the representation of a cut and style that they were to interpret and to re-

create in a given amount of time.

Felicity-Franklin senior Allie Rodriguez took part in the competition because she wanted the ex-

perience of competition to increase her skill set. “The competition gave me a great opportunity

to build experiences for my career and showcase my skills.”

In the Nail Care contest, four junior students competed for a spot

on the team. The winner of this competition has the honor of

serving as the nail model for this year’s competition and the

competitor for the following year. This allows the students to see

the contest first hand and prepare their artwork for the contest.

Winning the Cosmetology competition and a spot on the Regional

Team was New Richmond senior Candice Kirtley. The Nail Care

contest winner was Bethel-Tate junior Kelsee Lee. We wish you

both the best of luck at the Regional Competition!

Cosmetology Department Announces the Winners of the SkillsUSA Local Competition

Automotive Career Days at the Cavalcade of Customs

Customs and judged by mem-

bers of the International Show

Car Association. The students

were proud to bring home a

third-place ribbon for their ef-

forts.

Instructor Mike Patten said

the students learned so much

through the customization

process. “The students had

the opportunity to utilize de-

sign skills and then follow

through with the process.

They learned custom painting

techniques, fabrication of

parts needed to build and as-

semble the car, and most of

all, sportsmanship as they

competed against other high

school and college students.

My students were very excited

for this opportunity and en-

joyed working on this pro-

ject.”

As part of the Career Day

package, students were also

given a ticket good for a re-

turn visit throughout the

weekend to experience the

full show.

aged the kids to get as much

education as possible and

start in the industry a step

above other candidates.”

This year the Auto Collison

students also participated in

the Genuine Hotrod Hardware

Pedal Car Custom Challenge

presented by Summit Racing

Equipment. The object of this

challenge was to create an

award-winning customization,

fully finished and painted pe-

dal car.

The team of Chase Mann,

Josh Hensley, Jon Alsept,

Wes Stevens and Cameron

Walker spent many hours de-

signing and completing the

hot rod customization in a

patriotic theme.

The pedal car was on display

throughout the Cavalcade of

The Automotive Service Tech-

nology and Auto Collision

programs recently traveled to

downtown Cincinnati to the

Duke Energy Center for the

KOI Cavalcade of Customs.

KOI sponsored an Automotive

Career Day on Friday prior to

the opening of the show. The

students and instructors were

given special access to the

displays and merchants.

KOI sponsored presentations

from Cincinnati and Northern

Kentucky employers who dis-

cussed job opportunities in

the region. They focused on

the after-market areas as

well as independent shops

and businesses. Students had

the chance to ask questions

and find out about other ca-

reer options.

According to Automotive Ser-

vice technology instructor

Jason Akers, the industry

speakers encouraged the stu-

dents to stay in school and

soak up as much training as

possible. “They really encour-

New Face in Adult Education Department

The Adult Education Department has a new face to greet you as you stop

by to register for classes. Elley Powers joined the staff as an administra-

tive assistant in late-November and has jumped right into the daily rou-

tine.

Elley is a recent graduate of Cincinnati State Technical and Community

College with a Business degree in Project Management. Elley had 12

years of experience as a project manager with Cincinnati Bell before making a career change.

“I am very excited to be part of the Grant Family and the Adult Education Department. Our de-

partment is currently expanding our offerings, and I am looking forward to working with people

who are looking for new challenges in their life. When I went back to school, I had assistance

from the Workforce One agency and now Grant is partnering with Ohio Means Jobs to do the

same for others! It is nice to be able to share my experience with others.”

With all the unrest in our nation over civil rights issues, the government

students have been having great discussions about current affairs. In

their discussions about the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, Rev. Damon

Lynch’s name came forward in his efforts to calm the unrest and bring

peace to the region. Rev. Lynch spent several weeks in the Ferguson

area speaking to people of all ages.

After some emails from instructor Ron Dunn, Rev. Lynch was happy to travel to Bethel to share

his life’s mission with the students. He encouraged the students “to be a people who are con-

cerned about justice” and engage in ways to stop injustice throughout their lives. He shared

with the students that the challenge for America was to become a nation of equality.

Rev. Lynch shared with the students a video clip featuring Harvard professor Marshall Ganz

and his 28-years of work as a civil rights organizer. In the video, Ganz shared his calling to

help people and make the world a better place. The students all found a message in the

presentation that will hopefully make them more aware of the diversity in the world and to be-

come champions of justice in their world.

Government Classes Discuss Civil Rights with Rev. Damon Lynch III

Anatomy and Physiology Students Decorate the Hallways

Walking through the science hallway has been very educational for students

and staff this year. The classroom activities have been spilling out into the

hallway as the students complete great projects for all to see.

Anatomy and physiology instructor Nancy Weis has created a unique way for

her students to learn their material. “Students learn in different ways. As an

teacher, we are required to teach the same material to all of our students,

but how we teach it is the key to their success and understanding. While I

am not able to teach to each learning style every day, it is important to vary

instruction techniques.”

During a visit to another school, Mrs. Weis saw a painter’s tape art project

on the wall and thought it was a great way for tactile learners to demon-

strate understanding. She adapted the project to her class and had groups of students sketch

out parts of the nervous system from class notes, have them approved, and then “taped them

to the walls”. Each day brought more definition and color to the walls as the projects took

shape.

Allied Health Science seniors Mariah Harvey and Kylie Watts

worked together on the a brain project. “We loved being out of

the classroom and being creative with our project. It really added

a new dimension to learning because we had to draw the chart

and do research to make sure we got it right. It reinforced the

learning, and we feel like it took it to a higher level of under-

standing. ”

Mrs. Weis said, “Students were excited about the project and the buzz that was created by

passersby in the hallway and it has exceeded my expectations. I had the students place labeled

sketches with their creations so that the education continued to all who walked by.”