V I S I O NOntario Council For Technology Education Real Issues.

Refreshing Ideas.Relevant Resources.M

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In This Issue

Spot light on • Conference 2010

Chair of OCTE • Message

Day dreaming • about Summer ?

The Usefulness of • Elementary Tech-nology Education

Preparing a meal • for a prince

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A Message from the Chair

Recently, the executive of OCTE have received numerous inquiries regarding Tech teachers and Special Education qualifi cations. Please read the following excerpt from the Paul Antho-ny memorandum, Director - Teaching Policy and Standards Branch, dated June 12, 2009: “Special Education Teachers with technological education qualifi cations and teachers with general studies qualifi cations may obtain additional qualifi cation(s) in Special Education in order to enhance their delivery of the curriculum in their classrooms. Teachers with technological education qualifi cations may only be assigned to teach Special Education courses if the school board applies for, and is granted, a Temporary Letter of Approval for the teacher. We hope that this provides you with the information required to proceed appropriately with staffi ng in your schools for the coming school year.”

To see the full memorandum, please visit our website at www.octe.on.ca.

David Graves - Chair of OCTE

David G

raves

Spotlight on OCTE Conference 2010

The theme for our 10th anniversary conference on May 6,7 and 8 is “Resources to En-gage Students”. The workshops planned will assist technology teachers implement effec-tive instructional techniques for grades K-12. For more information on workshops, member-ship and conference registration, please visit our website at www.octe.on.ca . The deadline to register at our lowest price is April 1, 2010. Don’t delay – there are still a limited number of rooms available at the Nottawasaga Inn and Conference Centre until March 6, 2010.

Do you have a good instructional strategy to share with technology teachers from across the province? Do you know someone who does? Please contact Mike Sherlock at octe.con-ference@gmail.com by March 27 if you would like to present a workshop or seminar at this year’s conference.

The Conference Committee would also like to graciously welcome Dr. Peter Frise as thekeynote speaker at this years conference

Dr. Peter R. Frise

P.Eng., FCAE Professor of Automotive Engineering AUTO21 Program Leader & CEO The University of Windsor

Dr. Peter Frise holds degrees in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University in Kings-ton and Carleton University in Ottawa. He began his industrial career as an oil well wireline data logging engineer working for Schlumberger Wireline Services in Nigeria and he then moved to Husky Injection Molding Systems in Bolton, Ontario as an R&D engineer and later as a design group leader. In 1985 he joined Carleton University and beginning in 1988, he taught mechanical design there until moving to Windsor where has was instrumental in founding Canada’s fi rst program in Automotive Engineering in 1998.

Dr. Frise works with a number of automotive companies in his present capacity as the Pro-gram Leader and CEO of AUTO21, a federal Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) on the Automobile of the 21st Century.

OCTEis interested in your stories.

Do you have an activity or

event from your school that you want to share?

Write an article, send a picture and we will in-clude it in our

next newsletter.

Send it to:rod.parcher@peelsb.com

Day dreaming about Summer ?

Here is an idea for a summer activity that will keep your shops humming and engage prospective students at the same time. Last summer Thames Valley District School Board hosted a number of Grade 8 Technology Camps where students were intro-duced to the many different disciplines offered in the board. The camps were held at number of schools throughout the board. The students tested their skills and built various “take home” projects.

Shown here are some students from the Huron Park Secondary School camp in Woodstock making a wood project. They learned how to use a design process to develop and fabricate a take home project. These same students developed and fabricated take home projects us-ing computer software and CNC machines. It was a great week and lots of fun for everyone.

Bob Fularski -Chair of Professional Development

The Usefulness of Elementary Technology Education

In his recent book, Shop Class as Soul Craft, Matthew B. Crawford discusses the satis-factions and cognitive challenges of manual work, along with the pride in doing some-thing genuinely useful. With its direct connections to experiential, hands-on/minds-on learning, the technology component of Science and Technology is critically important in engaging all learners (including boys struggling with traditional academic subject areas). Additionally, it is foundational to secondary Technological Education and careers in the undervalued manual trades.

OCTE 2010’s elementary sessions offer a comprehensive (with workshops addressing all elementary grades), practical, and inspiring approach to strengthening elementary technology education in classrooms across the province.

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An event created by Bishop Marrocco Thomas Merton

C.S.S.

www.marroccomerton.com

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OCTE celebrates good practice

The following article did not make the deadline for our Fall newsletter but warrants further

attention as it exemplifi es our criteria for “good practice”.

Preparing a meal for a prince

It was a meal fi t for a king, enjoyed by a prince and prepared by a couple of locals. Last week, Murray Zehr, head of Technological Education at Robert Bateman High School, and his student Anthony Eysseric, had the opportunity of a lifetime when they were asked to help prepare a special meal for Prince Charles during his visit to Niagara College.

Thursday morning was just like any other said Zehr, head of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program in Halton.

“I was just answering phone calls, sending e-mails and getting classes ready when I got a call from a former student, Jason Treceira, who is working as the saucier at Niagara College.”

Treceira was one of the lucky students who met famed chef Gordon Ramsay after Zehr arranged for his class to make hors d’oeuvres for the crowd at Burlington’s Indigo store during Ramsay’s book signing in April 2008.

Perhaps this was Treceira’s way of repaying the favour — asking his former teacher to assist in cooking for the Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles visited the Niagara-on-the- Lake campus to commemorate the opening of its new Wine Visitors and Education Centre. This visit included a trip to the barrelled cellar, seeing the grape crush and sampling food made by students in the culinary program.

The menu was to showcase local delicacies, including quail breast with smoked bacon and wild mushrooms in a red wine demi glace, butternut squash gnocchi topped with six-year-old Balderson white cheddar and sautéed honey crisp apples wrapped in phyllo pastry served with chardonnay infused custard and candied grimo hazelnuts — to name a few items.

Zehr received the call at 8 a. m. and was told he could bring one student. “It’s always hard to pick,” he said of only being able to choose one of his 24 students. “They’re all phenomenal, but a lot of opportunities come up all the time, and I try to give everyone a chance to participate in something like this,” Zehr, 32, explained. “Anthony is very dedicated. He comes in early and stays late, he’s really passionate,” he said of the 16-year-old Oakville resident.

“But if I could, I would load up my minivan and take all 24 kids with me each time.”

The college’s culinary instructors decided upon the menu, but organizers thought an extra set of trained eyes in the kitchen would streamline the student-led initiative. Zehr’s experience as a corporate chef in Toronto and nine years as an educator made him a good fi t for the job.

“We were in awe, we didn’t have time to worry or plan for it,” he said, adding the two were at Ni-agara college from 11 a. m.-4 p. m.

Eysseric said he was in shock during the drive from Burlington to Niagara. “I was beyond myself, I was the youngest one in the group so I was a little nervous.”

Eysseric helped prepare the dessert and the trout — a skill he picked up during his apprenticeship at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club.

“This weekend it fi nally hit me, I starting calling around and telling people the news.”

The situation was stressful in the campus’ kitchen. “We were working with the government’s head health inspector,” explained Zehr.

As the Prince’s visit approached, the kitchen was put into lockdown and fi ve helicopters surround-ed the building.

“Military security (offi cers) were everywhere; coming out of cornfi elds, popping from trees. Appar-ently they were there all night to make sure security wasn’t breached,” said Zehr, who managed to snap a few photos in the kitchen before all electronic devices were taken from the cooking crew.

Zehr and Eysseric were about 12 feet away from Prince Charles as he was making his speech. “How many people can say they had the opportunity to cook for royalty,” said Zehr, who said these events help make his students more competitive in the workplace.

“We’re educators…we have to offer our students as many unique opportunities as we can. They work very hard and we have to encourage and reward that.”

Head of Technological Education at Robert Bateman High School Mur-ray Zehr, top, and student Anthony Eysseric, helped prepare a meal for Prince Charles when the Prince was touring the Niagara region last week. “How many people can say they had the opportunity to cook for royalty,” said Zehr.

Eric Riehl –Special to Burlington Post

Reprinted by permission of:Christina Commisso, Burlington Post, Nov 11, 2009

Preparing a meal for a prince. AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME: