Items from Around the Shops

With all of us waiting so patiently for the NOCTI scores to come in, other great things are happening in the shops this week:

1) On Tuesday, 3M visited our Collision Repair program, providing a wonderful presentation to the students.

2) Our Welding students have been given a very significant project by Harley to build racks to hold bumpers to assist those on the assembly line.

3) Today, a representative from Lincoln Tech visited to present scholarship money to the following students (who all placed at the Skills USA regional competition). Here is the list of honored Man/Tran students:

Nick Trout (Power Equipment) - $3,000
Chris Rodriguez (Collision Repair) - $2000
Garrett Brown (Power Equipment) - $3,000

Recent Athletic Highlights

Man/Tran students in Athletic News: 1) Friday - Abdiel Narvaez (Auto) pitched the home opener for the Spartan varsity baseball team. He held the other team to just a few runs and contributed offensively to the win as well. 2) Friday - Boys' track team wins the meet against 3 or 4 other teams. Luis Diaz (Collision) placed in multiple running events. 3) Monday - In the Varsity Softball team's loss to Littlestown yesterday, Dani Aikens (Metal Machining) contributed two doubles and two RBIs to the offensive attack.

Spring 2011 Meet the Team Night

This evening in the gym was a fantastic kick-off to the spring sports season. We (the folks in the crowd) were introduced to many of the members of the baseball, softball, girls' soccer (York Country Day) and boys' tennis (York Country Day). I only saw Man/Tran students represented on the baseball teams. They are: Pedro Rodriguez (Collision Repair), Kyle Noll (Welding), Evan Gardner (Welding), and Blake Crumbling (Diesel). Good luck to all spring athletes, and a special thanks to the Athletic Director, Mr. Caruso, for organizing the event.

Great Day for 11th graders

In addition to completing their graduation project presentations yesterday (Corin Sappe, Auto, was in a suit!), the 11th graders in Man/Tran had the opportunity to work in the technical area ALL DAY LONG! Most of them loved it! What was even better, though, were that several of the technival teachers took the time to explain the NOCTI exam tasks to these juniors in preparationg for their NOCTI test next year. Mr. Deatrick in Diesel was one of these instructors. Mr. Seitzer in Welding was another one. The picture above is the example of the best work produced by a 12th grader for the NOCTI exam. Those welds are fantastic, and they were completed by senior Tyler Kibler.

NOCTI Test

Yesterday, our 12th grade students completed the hands-on portion of the NOCTI exam. In the top picture, you can see a power equipment student being tested by one of the judges as observed by Mr. Gentzyel, Math teacher. In the bottom picture, you can see two Collision Repair students showing their skills on front ends. Most of our seniors took the test seriously, and I thinkt aht the results will come back in favor of improved NOCTI scores this year. When seniors return to school tomorrow, they will be scheduled a time to take the written portion in the Media Center.

Upperclassmen Only

This is just a reminder that Monday, 3/21/11, will only be a school day for 12th grade students to complete their NOCTI performance assessments. Over the past couple weeks, Mr. Heidler (Collision Repair Instructor) and Mr. Deatrick (Diesel Instructor) have had dedicated students (for example Steve Kondor - Collision, and Josh Hisey - Diesel) arriving as early as 6:30 am to practice their skills for this exam. How awesome! Thanks to the teachers for providing the additional time to the students for that purpose!

Tuesday, 3/22/11, will only be a school day for 11th grade students to complete their graduation project presentations in their technical area. Students spent a great deal of time working on these projects. This past week in particular, I saw extra effort from several Automotive students (Devin Eckert, Grant Nix, and Matt Moser) and Power Equipment student Daniel Pueltz to put the final touches on their projects. Good work, and I look forward to seeing the presentations on Tuesday.

Visit from Lincoln Tech

Yesterday, our Collison Repair and Auto Tech students were privileged enough to have a visit from Lincoln Tech. Pictured above is an alumni of Lincoln Tech demonstrating and facilitating air brush techniques. The other representative from Lincoln Tech also brought Dunkin Donuts for the students, so of course she was an instant friend of the shop! Thanks to TJ Bankert (the alumni) and Krystel Hubble, High School Admissions Representative for visiting with us, and we look forward to a return visit in the near future.

And the Testing Begins for 11th graders....

This week, PSSA testing for 11th graders will begin. This morning, there will be a short meeting with all 11th grade students to outline the incentives for scoring Proficient or above. Some of them include: a free parking pass, dress down days, no having to take a PSSA remediation course, etc.

Here are some test taking tips:

1) get plenty of rest the night before
2) eat a good breakfast
3) eliminate choices with each question that don't make sense

Do well, 11th graders! Show the skills you've built in Reading, Writing, Math and Science over the past several years.

Getting Prepared....

While 11th graders are preparing for the PSSA's and for presenting their graduation projects and the 12th graders are preparing for their NOCTI occupational exams, the new 9th and 10th grade students are getting the opportunity to complete their competencies. Pictured above are first year students in the Automotive and Metal Machine shops. Keep up the good work!

Friday after school was the annual All-School Bowling tournament. As you can see in the pictures above, there were many students who participated, and they all had a GREAT time! I saw two Man/Tran students, Chris Stauffer (Diesel) and Jesse White (Auto), having a fantastic time. I was trying to convince them both to join the bowling team next year, since they both had pretty good scores.

Honor Roll Social

In the pictures above, you see some of our Man/Tran students enjoying themselves at the Honor Roll Social. I'm very proud of these students who have demonstrated a high level of academic dedication in addition to the dedication in their technical programs. Congrats to all who earned the Honor Roll for the second marking period.

Hard at Work in Collision Repair

As you can see, students in the AM collision repair shop were busy at work. One very impressive thing I saw was an upperclassman, Chris Rodriguez, working with the 9th grade students during one of their first times in the paint booth.

Mr. Heidler also told me that for the next unit of study, he plans to have the students, in groups of 4, learn the material ahead of time and teach it to the rest of the class. That is going to be awesome! I can't wait to see some of those lessons!

Today is the Honor Roll Social during period 9. I hope to capture some photos of Man/Tran students enjoying themselves during a well-deserved break for earning a spot on the Honor Roll for the 2nd marking period.

Diesel Students Hard at Work

Yesterday was a typical Monday here at Tech. I was able to walk through all the shop areas and see our students hard at work. Above we see two students in the diesel shop working with an engine. Mr. Deatrick has done an amazing job this year in providing a solid, competency-based education for these students. He's been a great addition to our staff!