Students Connect with Community

CATEC students in the Culinary Arts Program at CATEC prepare a meal for the Charlottesville Senior Center. CATEC has partnered with the Senior Center over the past several years to provide lunchtime catering on a monthly basis. Not only do the students get a change to enhance their culinary skills but they also learn the value of giving back and contributing to the good of their own community......NICE!

Students in several CATEC programs were engaged today in activities that have significance to the futures and to their community.

CATEC students in Auto Tech and Auto Body were part of a presentaton today by the Universiity of Northwestern Ohio.  UNOH,  a 4 year school located in Lima, Ohio, has programs designed specifically to serve students interested in pursuing careers in various automotive industries.  Several former CATEC students have continued their academic and vocational training at UNOH.   Today marks the start of CATEC's tenth annual Auto Body/Auto Tech Career Week.  Students will meet representatives from various trades and schools today through Friday as they explore the possibilities that available to them beyond high school. 

Culinary Arts students were also very busy.  Student chefs spent much of today preparing a meal that will be served to CATEC's Joint Board tomorrow evening.   Representatives from both City and County school boards as well as principals, guidance counselors, and various community members will experience the talents of our Culinary Arts students first hand on Tuesday as part of the annual gathering of the Joint Board.  These students are doing a great job of walking the walk and we look forward to sampling the fare Tuesday evening.

A Lesson in Energy Conservation

Eric Gilchrist, LEAP

This week the Building Trades II students learned how good building practices can lead to major benefits in energy conservation.  Eric Gilchrist, from the Local Energy Alliance Program LEAP,  visited the classroom to talk to the students about how they can do their part to conserve energy, not only at their own homes, but in all the homes they will be building in the future. They discussed changes that can be made in existing structures, and practices to follow when building new construction.  The students were also made aware of the new job opportunites that are being created by this effort to conserve energy and water.  For more information on how you can join this movement and make your own home more energy efficient, click here to visit the LEAP website.

Community Courses Mix With Student Learning

Being in a Technical High School has its advantages. Other than the relevancy of the work we do within our programs, is the opportunity to connect with community members in that particular trade.

As an example, the local community offers a "guest chef" series to adults in the area, typically once a month, centered on a specific cuisine. While these mini-lessons could be offered in the evening, instead they are offered during the day time when our high school students are in session.  Not only will community members benefit from these instructional series but so will our high school students who are learning WITH adults.

See below......

Teacher Training- GoogleDocs

Every other week, as part of our school-wide technology training, faculty and staff spend 45 minutes working on the innovative technology that helps with student engagement and student learning. Today's training was centered on GoogleDocs. Teachers will utilize a GoogleDoc with their students and report back in two weeks on their progress.

Several ideas that the teachers have come up with to try over the next few weeks are:

• One student takes notes during a lecture and shares it with other students to later edit or add value at another time, links, etc
• A collaborative group project with 2 or 3 kids working on one specific part.
• A teacher prompt that allows students to reflect on a previous assignment
• A research project where students can collaborate.
• Our entrepreneurship plans that students create that allow to share with mentors to review.

So, how do you use GoogleDocs? Cloud computing is here to stay and it's important that we create these opportunities with our students.