January Tidbits of Classroom News

Health Science 

Post by: Sharron Bean

The Health Science seniors who are interested in obtaining a Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) certificate are actively engaged in training. The training consists of 126 classroom hours of theory and 60 hours of clinical training. The clinical experience is at Presidential Oaks, which is a familiar place for Health Science students and is a neighbor of CHS. Upon successful completion of the theory, clinical, a written state exam and a skills exam students will be licensed to practice as an LNA in New Hampshire. It is a great opportunity that has proved to provide successful employment to support students as they pursue their post-secondary experience.

Students are beginning to prepare for the HOSA State Conference which is on March 19-20, 2013 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. The HOSA State conference is a time for all interested Health Science students in the state of NH ( 9 schools, approximately 400 students) to gather for leadership training, team building, and a chance to meet other students interested in being future healthcare professionals. It is a great experience that is in a safe environment for students to learn and grow.

Students from all three Health Science classes participated in the “Be a Santa to a Senior “ program and were featured in an article in the Concord Monitor, Insider.
http://www.theconcordinsider.com/article/chs-students-collect-gifts-for-area-seniors

Automotive 

Post by: Phil Bill & Scott Mayotte 

Twenty four automotive students have signed up and are starting to prepare for the Ford/AAA competition. The competition is co-sponsored by AAA and Ford Motor Company. Its objective is to encourage talented young people to pursue careers as automotive service technicians. This is a nationwide competition for 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools. Schools may enter one team (2 students). Auto technology students take a state qualifying exam which is taken on line. The ten teams scoring highest on the state qualifying exam then move on to the "hands-on" state finals. In the "hands-on" competition, new Ford Motor Company vehicles are uniformly "bugged" so that each team has identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time. The winning two-person team from each state and their instructor are provided expense-paid trips to the national finals in June 2013.

Students win scholarships, trophies, jackets, certificates, trips and automotive equipment. Instructors are eligible to win training engines, equipment, trophies, trip and prestige for their schools. Awards start at the State Qualifying Exam level. Opportunities with the Ford ASSET program will be available to many of the competition finalists. The names of each contestant are submitted to AAA affiliated service facilities, Ford Motor Company dealers, and many other sponsoring organizations that have a need for automotive technicians and other service specialists. This competition complements other Ford and AAA efforts to promote the training and certification of qualified auto service technicians. These activities enlarge the pool of trained auto repair personnel available to serve the public.

    Criminal Justice

    Post by: Scott Lane

  An Exciting Career Path

There are few Career and Technical Education programs that give a student more employment options than Criminal Justice. Traditional police law enforcement, working as a uniformed police officer, is often viewed as the conclusion of this career path. But for many it is simply the start of a rewarding and exciting career.

Specialized law enforcement assignments can include S.W.A.T. operations, air support, K-9, criminal investigations, community resources, traffic enforcement, and under cover narcotics enforcement just to name a few.

There are few areas of society that are not regulated in some manner. Wild life officers, park rangers and Forest Service rangers help protection our outdoor resources. Border Patrol Agents, Immigration and Customs Officers support our Homeland Security efforts. The legal field employees court officers, criminal investigators, and facility security experts who often start their careers in traditional law enforcement roles.

These specialized law enforcement assignments are exciting, rewarding, and sought after by many. You can take the first step down any of these career paths in the C.R.T.C. Criminal Justice Program.

Cosmetology 

Post by: Kim Hannon

The junior and senior class pulled their resources together to put a smile on a child’s face for the holidays. The senior class had a very successful open salon night during the month of December. The proceeds went toward purchasing gifts for three young girls.

What skills are we learning now? In the salon lab juniors are perfecting their up-do and braiding techniques. The senior class is working on their artistic talent by practicing clipper cutting and hair stenciling designs. This service will be a new added on to our salon menu.

Our 2nd Annual Hair-Fashion is in the works. We have invited students from other career and technology centers to join us for this event. The theme this year is “What decade inspires you? Teams of students will create the hair and fashion of their favorite decade.

Graphic Arts

Post by: Tom Mungovan

This month in Graphic Arts will see the installation of a Smart Board and new 50” Flat Screen for classroom instruction. The new technology equipment will enhance learning functions and increase classroom discussions during our critique process. Internships are being geared up to start sending students out and about to experience a real life working environment. Projects being worked on were a complete game board design done by the seniors. The had to work in groups and design a real life working game board complete with instructions, game pieces, box design and actual board to play on. They did a tremendous job as all of their designs were top notch and ready to play. The juniors worked on DVD covers, book jacket designs and gained valuable experience in Photoshop and Illustrator. Both classes will be working on department logos for the CRTC. Stay tuned for the winners! Running Start dual enrollment classes will be offered this month for Manchester Community College, with the addition of these 3 new classes it brings up the total credits one can earn in Graphic Arts to 12 after high school graduation

Teacher Preparation

Post by: Val Flanders

Teaching with Technology

The advancement of technology has had a direct impact on the career of teaching. Today’s teachers are expected to integrate technology into their daily instruction and assessment. Students in the Teacher Preparation program are learning how to teach with technology.

The main technology focus for Teacher Preparation I is the interactive whiteboard. Students are using a program called Smart Board to design math and literacy lessons. They create their teaching materials on the computer. Then while they are teaching the materials are projected onto the interactive whiteboard. The preschool children use a special tool that allows them to move objects on the board. For example, if the student was teaching counting, he may have a picture of a penguin with a 3 on it’s belly. The preschool child would then move 3 fish over to feed the penguin. The Teacher Preparation I students are embracing this technology and have been quite creative when planning and teaching their lessons.

The main technology focus for Teacher Preparation II is the iPad. Every senior is going to get an iPad to use for the rest of the school year. There will be several apps that all of the students will have that will help them during the class portion of the program. They will be able to use the iPads to take quizzes, take notes, and complete research. Students will also be able to use the iPads for their internships. They will complete a digital journal and portfolio to document the growth of their professional skills. They will also be able to customize the iPads by choosing apps that are appropriate for teaching the children in their internship classrooms. The Teacher Preparation II students are eager to begin this exciting experience this month.

Information Technology

Post by: Joe Messineo

Intro to C# programming has been officially certified as a Running Start program. Courses taught through the Running Start program are college courses taught at the high school by credentialed high school faculty as part of the daily class schedule.Students who participate in a concurrent enrollment program are able to earn high school credit and college credit simultaneously.

Taking a college course while still in high school helps students learn about college expectations and sharpen academic skills while offering them a chance to discover what college classes are like before they arrive on a college campus. That means students will have a Running Start on other first-year students who have no prior college experience.

Accepting the challenge of taking college coursework shows that a student is serious and wants to make the most of his/her educational career