From the Desk of the Principal

1760 Roanoke Boulevard Salem, Virginia 24153 Spring 2015 From the Desk of the Principal This has been an exciting year for students at Burton… students have learned and achieved at high levels and teachers have worked to afford students great learning opportunities that in- corporate the ideals behind the Burton/RCPS Strategic Plans. Burton had the opportunity to recognize 69 Honor Graduates and 102 Certified Graduates at the awards assemblies in May - details included in this issue! Please see below for exciting learning opportunities (and rewards for their labor) that were provided to students who attended Burton this school year: - A multi-program effort to educate students, faculty and others about the importance of Digital Jason Suhr - Principal Citizenship led to a week-long emphasis on the subject. The three major events of the week were of a panel discussion whose members consisted of community/business leaders, a Digital Citi- zenship “fair”, and a moderated debate that was streamed live to the student body. Each of the Digital Citizenship events involved student and inter-program collaboration, activities of which the faculty/staff at Burton are working on to offer more opportunities; From the Desk of the Principal Technology Classes >>CONT. PAGE ONE - Burton had its first ever national winners in CTE classes: First, Mr. Baxter’s Masonry student, Sam McSherry, won the National SkillsUSA Masonry Skill Contest in Kansas City in late June of 2014. In December, Mr. Overfelt’s Motorsports Engine-Building Team comprised of Jimmy Davis, Zach Duncan, Tomas Henderlite, Jacob Hurley, Austin Martin and Jacob Pierce won the National Hot-Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge in Indianapolis, Indiana. Each of the Motor- sports students won large scholarships opportunities to different trade schools as well as other prizes and a trophy that is Automotive Technology on display in the Burton front office!; - Under the tutelage of Burton’s excellent Visual Arts teachers, Center for Visual Arts students Taylor Agee, Katharine The Automotive Technology 2014/15 year went by fast with students studying Bauer and Megan Phillips, were nominated for the prestigious American Vision award. The three Burton students com- for careers in the Automotive Service Industry and working in our shop de- bined to earn four of the five regional nominations and Taylor Agee earned one of the highest honors in the art field: the veloping their mechanical skills. First year students began with a comprehen- National Scholastic American Vision Medal award. Winning the Vision Medal offers Taylor the opportunity to travel to sive safety training program. After learning to be safe in the shop, students Carnegie Hall in New York City to receive her award and to have her artwork displayed in NYC!; learned how to use the tools and shop equipment. Next they learned how to use vehicle service information and perform routine maintenance. First year - 20 students representing three student organizations (FBLA, FCCLA, SkillsUSA) placed either first, second or third in students went on to learn basic engine repair, electrical and electronic systems, their respective skill contest and/or leadership contest at the state level. The contests these students compete in require basic heating and air conditioning, engine performance, brakes, steering and the use at least one of the 4-C’s (collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking). Eight of the 20 students suspension. Towards the end of the year students began working on their own plan to compete at the national level this summer. Representing Burton at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in vehicles and some of the donated vehicles at the school. Chicago, Illinois this summer will be the team of Zion Stores, EvaMarie Pascoe and Chris Karnes in the Digital Design and Promotion event. Students representing Burton at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference are: Josh Second year students started the year with a review of safety and shop basics. Roberts in the Customer Service contest and the 4-member team of Daulton Palmer, Taylor Shirley, Daniel Skiles and Students then began a more in depth study of engine repair, electrical systems, Charles Solomon in the TeamWorks competition. The five SkillsUSA students will travel to Louisville, KY in late June. hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, brakes, steering and suspension, alignment principles. Students competed in the district SkillsUSA competitions, placing 3rd in Automotive Technology, !st and 2nd place in Automotive Maintenance, 1st in We offer a fond farewell to the following staff members: Cindy Wilson – teacher of Floral Design and Landscape Design Motorcycle Repair, and 1st in Power Equipment. Our engine building team competed in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow courses. Mrs. Wilson is retiring and is our longest tenured teacher. She always helped her students achieve success wheth- Competition in Carlisle, PA and brought home 4th place, and will compete in the national competition. er it was designing floral arrangements or catering to a soon-to-be bride. Pat Carr – teacher of CVA IV and AP Studio Art. Pat worked tirelessly throughout the past few years with our art students and the students love her to no end. Ashley Third year students began the year with an overview of automatic transmissions and transaxles. Students then began Bowyer – vocal teacher in the Center for Performing Arts. Mrs. Bowyer combined forces with our other CPA staff and studying the use of automotive scan tools and advanced engine performance diagnosis, ABS brake systems, engine blue- will have the opportunity to focus on her choral programs at HVMS next year. Barbara Shutt – our illustrious Special printing and assembly, and wheel alignment diagnosis and service. Several students competed in SkillsUSA at the state Education Coordinator and director of several work-experience programs. Mrs. Shutt has done her part to make things level. All of the third year students who were eligible to take the Virginia State Inspection Test passed and will be leaving move as smoothly as possible at Burton and we wish her well as she ‘retires’ again and enjoys married life! Officer Lewis Burton with their State Inspection License. Congratulations on completing the Automotive Technology Program! – Our brave Student Resource Officer is heading out to other ventures. Pat Hyler – our loyal building manager is retiring. We wish her well as she pursues spending time with her ‘grand-kiddies’. Missy Steele - our soft-spoken yet determined guidance counselor who is moving to WBMS to teach English. Her quiet counsel will be missed. Jodylee Edsall - our Building Trades industrious assistant principal is moving to Centeral to be the new Database Adminis- It has been a great year in the Building Trades program. The year started with students earning their OSHA safety card trator. She will do a marvelous job at Central which is recognized in industry. While working on their state competency list, students participated in two communi- much as she did here at Burton Center and ty-based projects including building an overhang for a deck and remodeling a bathroom suited for handicap accessibility. we look forward to working with her in her The deck project was very extensive and the students learned how to install fans and electrical sockets. The bathroom new capacity! remodel replaced a standard tub with a Jacuzzi tub. In addition, the students learned how to replace tile walls and floor within the bathroom area. There were also three major school-related projects that the students completed. The projects It is an exciting time to attend, work and learn included building picnic benches for a swim club, a Lazy Susan for a banquet and stage construction for the play, “Cin- at Burton! With 19 programs operating on derella” for Burton Center’s Performing Arts Department. Our students enjoy learning when they have a hand in building the Burton campus and students lining up to something that they are proud of and that helps someone else. enroll in classes we are nearing capacity. We hope that our graduates find success in their It was another exciting year competing in SkillsUSA as the TeamWorks team placed first at District VII and State compe- future endeavors and we look forward to titions. The current win marks two consecutive years that the Burton TeamWorks team placed first at the State level. The hearing about their achievements in future four members of the TeamWorks crew will go on to compete for the National title this summer in Louisville, Kentucky. years. The year has proved to be very successful and the students should be extremely proud of all they have learned and 2 accomplished. Everyone learned a lot and which makes this past year a success! 3 Technology Classes Technology Classes Computer Information Technology - CIT Cosmetology >>CONT. PAGE FOUR Burton’s Computer Information Technology program has had a As a community service project, Cosmetology students and several oth- very successful year. At the time of this writing, over a dozen CIT er classes hosted a Christmas Cards for Veterans event to write cards for students are studying to pass the CompTIA A+ certification exam. our neighbors at the VA Hospital. This is an annual event started about CompTIA, a vendor-neutral industry certification agency, is na- 10 years ago. Students completed over 2000 cards that were distributed tionally recognized as a testing leader, and the A+ exam is often to the veterans in the hospital and nursing home facility. We also participated in the Head Start Angel Tree service project in December. required by many businesses prior to employment. A+ Certified students who are college-bound have been exempt from taking A total of thirteen second year Cosmetology students took the Work- particular courses in college and have gained part-time employ- place Readiness certification test in February.

Load more