Late August and September events:
The last Friday of August, the 28th, the health classes had their first blood drive which was a success! Even when they went class to class for students to sign up, by the day before all or most of the slots were taken up!
This year we are striving again to be the Red Cross top donor for high schools in our area. We thank all participants for letting all of the students become involved in this great community involvement.
On September, the Automotive classes went to the drag strips and took an all day field trip to experience the awesome cars hands on! During the same time. the business classes taught by Mrs. Gaulin also participated in the 2015 Opportunity Enterprise’s Annual Packathon! At the packathon our group of volunteers plus plenty of other programs and schools all came together to pack bags for the runners of the Chicago Marathon.
The students that came to help for the Career Center were not only representing our program but also a club that the classes are involved in called DECA. The club is business oriented but inspires and encourages all members to show community service and to represent the club well because helping a community to keep it strong is very important.
Events Approaching Soon:
In October Mrs. Gaulin’s Entrepreneurship class will have a store in the commons of the career center that is a replica of a real life store. The students have from now until they open to decide what they want to name it, what the theme is and what products they actually want to sell in the store. This year’s class has big shoes to fill after last year’s grand opening had record profits and the year as a whole generated enough profit that the program could get new technology and more modern technology that will actually be in businesses today, like an updated POS system that could be similar to a local store such as Target or Maurices so the student have hand on experience when they apply to jobs anywhere.
In addition to the store opening in October, the Automotive class will be having a free winter car check on Saturday, October 10th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. with no appointment necessary! Call 219-531-3170 for more information (ask for Karl or Tony). The location: Porter County Career and Technical Center, 1005 North Franklin Street, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Teacher Shout Out:
For this month, Mr. Carmack is highlighted! He not only is a great teacher for his students but is a role model for every student in the Career Center.
The moment you walk into his classroom you feel the positive atmosphere the implements in his teaching. He teaches the morning and afternoon Modern Machining classes of juniors and seniors. He actually has two classrooms; one is for the textbook or presentation learning while he has a workshop so students get hands-on experience.
Unlike most machining classes after each concept the students learn they can immediately try it out in their own workshop so they can see all the words they read about the activity come to life. Whenever the student’s accomplish something difficult the is a great supporter and has a ‘Superman Strength Pose’ because he knows working on something difficult can be discouraging to understand but helping them stay encouraged through all projects makes him a hero to all students,
We are thankful for Mr. Carmack and the is a great addition to the collaboration of great people that make up the Porter County Career and Technical Center.
Student Shout Out:
Mr. Carmack was asked which two students who have been going above and beyond and have stayed in the classroom; he chose Jenna Hammonds and Harry Douglas. Jenna Hammonds goes to Washington Township High School and also works at Task Force Tips. This is Jenna’s second year and final year in the program as a senior and is a kind and hard-working student that benefits the program as a whole.
Jenna was asked what her favorite part of the class is and she said it was learning about all of the different machines there are and actually getting to perform the things they learn rather than just seeing them in a book.
The second student, Harry Douglas goes to Valparaiso High School as a junior and this is his first year in the program. Harry was asked what his favorite part of the class is and said he liked seeing the plans for a project then actually being able to see the plans come to life in his own work. Both students are a great addition to the Career Center family and also help add to the great and reputable atmosphere we create for everyone that walks in. Every student stands out in one way or another but recently Harry and Jenna had shown Mr. Carmack hard work and dedication in a positive way.