TechKnow The official newsletter of Northeast Technology Center Volume 2, Issue 4 | October 2014 Greetings, NTC Pryor students use skills to support grieving community Kasey Janzen, a student in NTC Pryor’s Business Administration, Multimedia, and Graphics program, recently led her classmates in a very special project to help a hurting community. At the end of September, the city of Pryor lost one of its young citizens in an ATV accident. Gage Underwood was a fourth grader at Lincoln Elementary School, and his death was mourned by the people of Pryor and several other local communities. In the weeks that followed Gage’s death, many people donned orange and black in honor of this little OSU fan, and numerous groups looked for ways to support his family. One of those groups was the Adair varsity football team. Adair High School Principal and Head Football Coach Mark Lippe, had recently toured the NTC campus with sophomores as part of the annual Sophomore Showcase. While on tour he witnessed students in the Business Administration, Multimedia, and Graphics program using vinyl cutters to create decals and license plates. He had been searching for a way for his team to honor the Underwood family, and a custom-made decal seemed to be the perfect solution. After the visit Lippe contacted Janzen, a junior attending both Adair High School and NTC Pryor, about creating decals for his players. Janzen and her classmates went to work designing the vinyl decals which were orange - Gage’s favorite color – and displayed his initials with a cross. The 50 decals were delivered to Adair High School and applied to the entire football team’s helmets for the game against Salina. Janzen’s NTC instructor, April Blackwell, used this project as not only a handson project to enhance student learning, but also a community service project. Blackwell encourages her students to use their learned skill set to enhance the community when needed, and this project was a win-win for all parties. Pictured are Mr. Tom Linihan, Adair Superintendent, NTC student Kasey Janzen, and Adair High School Principal and Head Football Coach Mark Lippe. During last night’s board meeting the following re-assignments were approved: Dan Blake will assume the newly created Maintenance Supervisor position responsible for the new central office, the BIS facility (current central office) and other district-wide assignments. Freddie Stimson will take over Dan’s responsibilities as maintenance supervisor at the Pryor campus. We will soon be advertising internally for the maintenance position vacated by Freddie. Jodi Bell, PN instructor at Claremore, will fill the vacancy created by Nita Carlile’s retirement at our Kansas campus, and Cinda Meadors will move to the Claremore campus to fill the void created by Jodi’s transfer. We had no internal applicants for the Pryor PN instructor opening; it will be advertised externally. Nine of our support staff members recently enrolled, through our Adult Education department, in online courses taught by NTC instructors April Blackwell and Liberty Shere. Through our cooperative agreement with OSUIT, these staff members can earn up to 42 college credit hours. Review of applications for a math instructor led us to believe that if we hired from the available applicant pool, we would be offering a job to a math teacher that is currently employed by a partner school. Rather than create ill will with a partner, we have decided to re-advertise in early spring and hire for next school year. Next month, I will share information about a new professional development opportunity for instructors. Keep up the great work! Fred Probis Superintendent Northeast Technology Center Campus Connections Find out what’s happening across the district A fton - Culinary students at Afton are learning more than just how to chop and dice, they are also learning about the history of the food service industry. One of the topics discussed recently was how travel and the spice trade during the Renaissance affected the future of food. Catherine De Medici, brought high style to France in 1533 when she married Henry II. She brought her staff of cooks, along with refined recipes prepared with spinach, artichokes and is also credited with the recipe for ice cream. She is noted for introducing silverware, plates, cups and napkins to the rest of the world. To this day, dishes prepared with spinach are called Florentine after Catherine’s birth place Florence, Italy. To get the students’ recipe, visit extraordinaryhunger.blogspot.com. C laremore - NTC’s EAST program is hosting its annual EAST Night Out on Oct. 27 from 5:30-7 p.m. The event includes snacks, beverages and new information about the various projects taking place in the EAST program. If you’d like to learn more about the EAST program, mark your calendars and plan to attend. Future EAST students and their parents can talk to current EAST students and instructors to learn more about this unique program and how it can guide their future. Business owners can benefit by learning what sorts of projects students are capable of tackling. Numerous local businesses receive thousands of dollars’ worth of work for free, and students gain real-world experience - it’s a win-win partnership. K ansas - Did you know NTC students can earn college credit while completing career training at NTC? For only $8 per credit hour, high school and adult students may earn credit toward an Associate in Applied Science degree with one of the Alliance college partners - OSU Institute of Technology, Rogers State University or NEO A&M College. To date, over 2,000 college credit hours have been earned by NTC students through this Alliance agreement. The number of college credit hours granted for NTC coursework varies by college and NTC program, and more information can be obtained from the student advisors at each campus. At the Kansas Campus, every eligible student in Instructor Wade Friesen’s Electrical Technology program signed up for co-enrollment with OSU-IT. Business & Industry Industry and educational leaders team up for Manufacturing Day 2014 Manufacturing Day is a growing movement among professionals dedicated to increasing the public’s understanding of presentday manufacturing environments and career opportunities. On the first Friday of every October, manufacturers across the nation host open houses, tours, workshops and other events for the citizens within their local communities. Manufacturing Day 2014 was Oct. 3 this year, but at NTC, the activities began Monday, Sept. 29, with a unique tour for teachers. The Claremore Area Chamber of Commerce – in partnership with Claremore Public Schools, NTC, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance and Workforce OK – was pleased to host the inaugural Career Highway Road Trip for Teachers. As part of this event, high school teachers received a guided tour of several local manufacturing facilities and spoke with industry leaders about the skilled labor shortage and possible solutions. “We are very pleased at this important opportunity for our educators to have a first-hand view at today’s manufacturing and industry. We believe this day-trip will help expose educators to the high demand, high skill, high wage opportunities that are available to students,” said Shellie Rhine, chair of the Manufacturing-Industry Task Force of the Claremore Chamber. Participants visited Nupar a division of Baldor Electric, Caseco, Baker Hughes, and AXH. Educators also toured the Claremore NTC Campus to learn more about the programs that prepare students to enter the manufacturing trade. Other activities scheduled during that week included manufacturing tours for students, an open house at the Pryor Campus, and a chili cook off at RSU MidAmerica.