Career and Technical Education Highlights for January 2019

Career Experiences:

Chantilly Academy: Chantilly Academy Creates a Career Connections Group At Chantilly Academy a Career Connections Group was recently established by the Academy Student Services team comprised of two school counselors and one career experience specialist. The purpose of the group is to identify and provide resources to high school seniors that need assistance in post- graduation planning and articulation. The group consists of twelve students that met this past month and completed a series of exercises to identify career values and goals. The group will meet monthly both as a group and individually to identify barriers and continue the career development process.

The Auto Collision Program Receives a Grant The Chantilly Auto Collision program recently received a $5,000 grant from the Collision Repair Education Foundation—an organization with the mission to support collision repair educational programs to create qualified entry-level employees and connect them with an array of career opportunities. The generous grant will allow the program to purchase new tools and equipment for the shop.

Chantilly Governor's STEM Academy Receives a Grant from Northrop Grumman Chantilly Governor's STEM Academy was recently awarded $10,000 from Northrop Grumman--a business partner of the Academy for over 30 years. The grant was presented to the Academy as one of the ongoing partnership components to increase STEM activities for the students. The generous grant will also provide support for CyberPatriot; the National Youth Cyber Education Program that includes the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition and annual summer camp hosted by Chantilly Academy. Additionally, FIRST Robotics Chantilly Team 612 will receive a monetary sponsorship to assist in their yearly competition.

Edison Academy: Apprenticeships and Skilled Workforce Career Fair 2018

On November 16, 2018, over 450 students, teachers, and FCPS employees attended the Apprenticeships and Skilled Workforce Career Fair at Edison HS/Academy. Forty-four of the 50 registered exhibitors attended despite a late start due to bad weather in the region. This event is held during National Apprenticeships Month to help bring attention to apprenticeship opportunities and skilled workforce 1

needs of our region. Employers from a wide variety of fields were represented including the traditional skilled trades of the construction and maintenance fields but also security, hospitality, and business/finance employers.

Criminal Justice Field Trip to Flight 93 Memorial

Almost 40 students and parent chaperones made the trek on November 29, 2018, to Pennsylvania to meet with the National Parks Service Regional Manager to learn about the history of September 11, 2001, its impact on our country, the founding of the Department Of Homeland Security, and the establishment of the National Parks Service Memorial Park in Shanksville, PA. Students toured the memorial site of downed Flight 93, listened to recordings of passenger telephone conversations released by families of victims of this terror attack, and learned about the mission of the National Parks in the preservation of historical landmarks.

Gingerbread Workshop Culinary Arts students hosted a community Gingerbread workshop for families of elementary age children on Saturday, December 8. The young children enjoyed decorating the gingerbread houses that were prepared and baked by the Culinary Arts students. The students served hot cocoa and cookies to parents and their children at the end of the workshop.

Criminal Justice Guest Speakers in November The Level I and II Criminal Justice classes enjoyed presentations from Fairfax County Police Property Crimes Detective, a State Trooper, US Marshalls Service, Fairfax County Sheriff’s office, and Virginia ABC bureau of law enforcement in November and December. Each guest spoke on topics related to the “Examining all Aspects of an Industry” units in both curriculums as well as specific tasks/competencies that are within the guest’s area of expertise such as crime scene investigations, Rule of Law, policing, and other relevant topics.

Falls Church Academy: Upcoming Healthcare College and Career Fair Falls Church Governor's Health Sciences Academy and the Academy HOSA Organization are sponsoring a Healthcare College and Career Fair on Friday, January 25, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at . This is a FREE event open to all FCPS high school students interested in healthcare education and future career direction. Representatives from colleges offering healthcare-related curriculum, healthcare professionals, and military representatives who specialize in medicine will be in attendance. Registration is at the following links.

Student registration. Colleges and healthcare professional registration.

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Academy Open House Thursday, January 10, Falls Church Academy held an Open House program to promote classes offered through the Academy. Hundreds of students and parents attended from high schools throughout FCPS. Teachers were thrilled by the turnout and students and parents were pleased to see the classrooms and meet the teachers first hand. In addition to the Open House, interested students have the chance to sit in an Academy class of their choice during the school day to see the class and teacher in action, as well as talk to current students about the rigors of the course before making their class choices for the 2019- 2020 school year.

Holiday Cheer for Kids at Inova Before the FCPS winter break began, students from the Medical Assistant (MA) course provided holiday cheer to children admitted to Inova Fairfax Hospital. This cheer came in the form of 75 holiday stockings filled with age appropriate items to help bring joy to kids who may not be home for the holidays. All stockings and items within were purchased by each of the MA students, assembled and delivered to Inova Child Life Services.

25th Annual EMT Visit the Homeless Saturday, December 8, students from the Falls Church Academy EMT class experienced the joy of giving at the 25th Annual Homeless Trip into DC. Thirty-five current students met at Union Station with bags of blankets, hats, gloves, tooth brushes, socks, and many other items given to homeless to keep them warm and healthy.

December is Influenza Month December is Influenza Awareness month. Students from the Falls Church Academy Health Informatics and Billing and Coding classes, who are also members of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) are busy providing helpful tips to students and staff throughout the high school about ways to combat influenza. In addition to awareness bulletin boards and flu fighting tips visible on all FCHS home screens, students asked the school community to wear black on Tuesdays in support of this flu awareness campaign during the month of December. These messages help to serve as a reminder of how not to spread the flu virus.

In addition, each morning during December a ‘flu fact’ was presented during morning announcements. These public service announcements are presented by the students in Health Informatics and Billing and Coding Classes. We are happy to spread the word not the germ!

USU Health Professions Expo Forty-eight dental careers students enjoyed a day at the USU Health Professions Expo at the National Harbor on Friday, November 30. The event began with Dr./Col. Saguil, Associate Dean of Recruitment

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and Admissions with USU talking about the benefits of a Military Medical education and the opportunities the position allows for. Next, the students had the opportunity to talk to various military personnel about their careers in the medical field. Students learned about their specialties and the training and education they received through USU and other higher education institutions. There was also a simulation room where students could practice intubations, IVs, and CPR.

Marshall Academy: Marshall Academy Hosts Middle School Service Learning Career Exploration Days On Wednesday, December 12 and Wednesday, December 19 Marshall and Falls Church Academy students spent the day engaging in Service Learning by providing career exploration to the entire grade 8classes at both Kilmer and Longfellow middle schools.

Marshall Academy Hosts Academy Experience for FCPS Staff On December 20, Marshall Academy hosted Region 2 school counselors, ETRs, and Special Education Department Chairs for our annual Academy Experience. The event included an academy tour, academy class experiences, student panel and ended shopping at Market Day, hosted by the Entrepreneurship program.

West Potomac Academy: INOVA Medical Group Career Night Inova Medical Group hosted West Potomac Academy's Medical Assistant students for a Career Night. Students were met by Inova's Health Professionals and Human Resources to learn about career opportunities within the Inova Health Care System.

Students learned requirements for medical assistant positions, Inova application process, working while attending college, career pathways, and career shadowing experiences.

Academy Dance Students Intern with Local Dance Studios Advanced level dance students at West Potomac Academy, have the opportunity to intern with a local dance studio as assistant dance instructors modeling movement to young dancers, reinforcing classroom management, gaining leadership skills as well as learning about the business side of owning a dance studio.

West Potomac Academy has established business partnerships with local dance studios, Above the Barre and Just Dance. In the Fall, they opened the doors to select West Potomac Academy dancers to participate in the internship program for six weeks. Dancers work around their own schedule after school hours to complete their internship. From this experience, dance studios offer students the

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opportunity to take additional classes and offer employment opportunities to assist throughout the year and at their dance recitals.

Our dance business partners also teach Master Classes at West Potomac Academy and you will see many of their students auditioning and participating in the annual Nutcracker Performance hosted by West Potomac Academy and Alexandria Community Dance, another dance business partner.

INOVA Mount Vernon Hospital Partnership Recognized The Foundation for FCPS and Dr. Scott Brabrand welcomed over 300 business and community leaders to the State of Education Luncheon on Tuesday, November 27. The keynote address was given by J. Stephen Jones, M.D., CEO, Inova Health System. The event recognized the 2017-18 Partners of the Year, teacher grants, and emphasized the theme, "Building the Workforce of the Future."

West Potomac Academy, A Governor's Health Sciences Academy, honored its business partnership with Inova Mount Vernon Hospital as being a finalist for Workforce Development Partner of the year.

Since 2016, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital has provided West Potomac Academy Health and Medical Science students with information and real-life career experience in the healthcare industry in four core areas: career exploration, clinical observation, volunteerism and workforce development. Four students are now full-time employees at the hospital.

Academy Students Attend Careers in Healthcare Symposium at INOVA Mt. Vernon Hospital West Potomac Academy Health and Medical Science students visited Mount Vernon Hospital for a Careers in Health Care Symposium on Thursday, October 25, from 5-7 p.m. The symposium was designed to provide an opportunity for students to explore a variety of career pathways within the Health Care Industry, learn how the careers are interrelated, and be able to ask the experts questions.

Students met with professionals from Health Care Administration and Finance, Biomedical-Engineering, Information Technology, Lab, Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition and Food Services, Pastoral Care, Pharmacy, Radiology, Rehabilitation, Human Resources, Hospital Volunteer Program, and Surgical Services. They participated in tours of the Lab, Pharmacy, Radiology, and Rehabilitation departments. The symposium event was sponsored in partnership between Inova Mount Vernon Hospital and West Potomac Academy, a Governor’s Health Sciences Academy.

Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS):

The FACS department collaborated with the Art department to create an instructionally sound cross curricular lesson meeting both ART and FACS competencies. The theme this year was Disney vs. Pixar! The Arts Department students were commissioned by the FACS students to build the display stands that

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would showcase their baked goods, the FACS department developed their own scratch recipes experimenting with flavor, color, and texture to create cupcakes, student had to use communication skills to describe their process to a panel of judges.

Dec 3rd Dining – IN The fifth annual Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Day, "Dining In" for Healthy Families initiative led by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) took place on and during the week of December 3, 2018, which coincided with the birthday of AAFCS founder Ellen Swallow Richards.

The "Dining In" initiative highlights the benefits of families preparing and eating a healthy meal together, such as reducing the likelihood of children being overweight or obese and increasing children's chances of eating healthy foods, performing better academically, and having positive family relationships. Visit the “Dine In” With Us! website for more information.

Marketing:

The Sports and Entertainment students at James Madison High School had the opportunity to visit FEDEX stadium home of the Washington Redskins. The students toured all aspects of the stadium to include the Club level lobby museum of Sean Taylor’s locker, suites level, press room, and locker rooms. The tour guide allowed the students to sneak onto the field!!

Marketing students from visited the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This work-based learning experience provided students an inside look at the sport and entertainment industry. The students received tours of both facilities and had the opportunity the see the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl trophy.

Chantilly High School marketing students have been busy participating in several work-based learning activities. Students in marketing emailed potential employers to inquire about job opportunities, and students in Introduction to Marketing completed job applications and job interviews.

In December, Entrepreneurship students from around the county participated in market days at their schools. Students had the opportunity to purchase items that they in turn repurposed and sold during lunches. This activity is just one of many that provide students hands on learning.

The Fair Oaks Classroom on the Mall marketing class hosted the annual Holiday Gift Wrap Center at Fair Oaks Mall. Marketing programs from across the county assisted with this entrepreneurial experience. Students from the mall marketing program serve as managers of the store. Proceeds from this activity go back to the schools that participated.

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Virginia DECA is seeking judges for the Virginia DECA State Conference on March 2 in Virginia Beach. Interested individuals please visit the DECA State Leadership Conference website for more information on judging.

Technology Education and Engineering:

STEM Competition Team Grant The Technology and Engineering programs at and are recipients of the STEM Competition Team grant. Each school will receive $5,000 that will be used towards starting or growing their VEX Robotics team.

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