Lots of Great Student Recognition

What a great day! Two Automotive students, Matt Moser and Carl Wildasin (seen in the two pictures above) placed 7th in the state AAA/Ford Competition held today! Awesome!

Even as we speak, I am attending probably the best school board meeting I have ever attended, for the following student recognition events:

1) The usual Student of the Month awards: Danielle Aikens (Metal Machining) and Brayden Cordrey (Diesel) were the M/T students for April.

2) A NOCTI score overview was presented, and wow, did our students do a great job this year, with over 80% of the students collectively across the building scoring competent/advanced (a 10% rise over last years' scores).

3) Students also spent time presenting examples of graduation projects. Grant Nix (Auto) was asked to present to the group his engine rebuild grad project. He was a great representative of our academy in talking about his work.

Baseball and Softball Games Against Fairfield

Yesterday afternoon, our boys' varsity baseball team played against Fairfield. The following Man/Tran students all started for the Spartans: Kyle Noll (Welding), Abdiel Narvaez (Auto), Chris Rodriguez (Collision), and Blake Crumbling (Diesel). Blake contributed a great deal to the efforts offensively with 2 hits and 3 stolen bases! Evan Gardner (Welding) came in during the 5th inning as a relief pitcher.

I also visited the softball game, and they also played against Fairfield. They finally won the game of back and forth rallies and continue to represent the Spartan Nation well, holding a competitive spot in the league standings.

Back at Work

As you can see, yesterday, students and teachers in the Metal Machine and Welding labs were hard at work. The top picture shows Mr. Jamison, Metal Machine instructor, working with several students. Below, Mr. Yarrison is working with several students in the Welding area. The third picture shows some other Welding students hard at work. It's nice to see teachers and students who care enough about their professional training to get right back to work after a break. Good job to teachers and students!

Return from Spring Vacation

Today, teachers and students return from our spring break. Pictured above is a learning tool from the Automotive Shop. Right before we left for break, students in Mr. Kessler's class were using this to learn about fuel injection systems.

I look forward to everyone's return today so that I can be a part of all this great learning.

On a side note, this afternoon, the Spartan track team will face Hanover for the league championship, here at Tech! Also, this Thursday night, we will have two new Man/Tran students named as students of the month at the Board meeting. It's an exciting week ahead!

Great Afternoon for Sports

Yesterday afternoon was a beautiful day for baseball and softball. I was able to attend both varsity home games against Biglerville. Man/Tran 10th grader, Dani Aikens, has been on a hitting streak and added to it yesterday during the girls' win over Biglerville.

AWS

On Thursday of last week, the AWS President, John Mendoza and his wife, visited our Welding students. He presented to the students in the theory room, and then he went out in shop with the students. I even got an autograph!! The best part of it all was that Mr. Mendoza told me that our program was one of the best he had visited.

Also this weekend was the annual AWS Car Show. I was unable to attend, but I heard that the event was a success.

Recent News and Accomplishments

1) Yesterday afternoon at the track meet, we had an all-automotive 1,2, 3 finish in one of the sprinting events!! Mr. Kessler reported that Geraldine Mueses finished first, Ben Aldinger finished 2nd, and Deante Weldon finished 3rd. 2) Currently, we have several Man/Tran students participating in the PA state competition of Skills USA at Hershey. The list includes: Chris Rodriguez (Collision Repair), Dillon Snider (Power Equipment), and Rachel Styers (Welding). Good luck to these and all the students throughout the school participating. We'd love to see everyone place well enough to go to the National Competition. 3) Today is a special day in the Weld shop. Not only are they getting ready for the annual AWS Car Show (their biggest fundraiser of the year), but they will also be blessed with a visit from the AWS president today.

Items to Note

- As of late last week, if you walk down the Collision Repair hallway in M/T, you will see this new sign hanging to direct students, staff and visitors to the Collision and Power Equipment shops. Thanks to our Welding students for making this sign for our technical areas. Now, each technical area in M/T has a sign made by the Welding students.

- On Tuesday, April 28, Mr. Kessler and two Auto students (Matt Moser and Carl Wildason) will travel to Altoona for the 2011 Ford/AAA PA State Student Auto Skills competition. The students were selected to participate based on their aptitude on a written test.

- Today is the last official day of PSSA testing!! I've seen the 11th graders doing a great job, and I look forward to seeing the scores come back in the summer.