Career and Technical Education Highlights for September 2018

Business and Information:

Thirty-eight students traveled to Baltimore, MD in July to represent FCPS at the FBLA National Leadership Conference. Robinson Secondary School had a student that earned seventh place in the Impromptu Speaking event. Though only one FCPS student placed in the top 10 in the nation, all students benefited from the skills applied in their competitive event and the knowledge gained by attending and participating in this conference.

On June 29, CyberPatriot teams from Kilmer Middle School and Marshall Academy were featured as part of a segment about the CyberPatriot competition on the Today Show. Those same schools will be featured in an upcoming Scholastic Journal article.

Career Experience:

County-wide: Tech Adventure Camp, hosted by the CTE office, welcomed 350 students to a program designed to allow fifth through seventh graders the opportunity to explore technology and careers through eight classes over two weeks. The campers enjoyed learning the basics of auto maintenance and tool usage; creating healthy foods in culinary arts; designing and printing using a 3D printer; forensics; assembly and maneuvering of a drone; design and building a trebuchet; and setting up a mini-computer. At the end of camp, students went home with impressive projects, useful life skills, and enriching experiences!

Chantilly Academy: Summer was a bustling time for many students at Chantilly Academy. CyberPatriot (Cyber Security) camp and the first ever, Girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) were a huge success. Both camps were generously sponsored by Northrop Grumman and were full of interactive, fun, and project-based learning opportunities.

CyberPatriot Cyber Security Camp was filled with over 80 students from more than 15 middle and high schools in Fairfax County Public Schools. Instruction was provided by Chantilly Academy instructors and previous students that have graduated. Additionally, instruction was highly enhanced by industry cyber security experts from Northrop Grumman. The core curriculum and program design for this camp is

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from the Air Force Association CyberCamp Program and culminated with an exciting mock cyber competition.

The first-ever Girls in STEM Camp was a huge success with over 40 elementary and middle school girls. The camp provided girls with an opportunity to experience the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For girls new to STEM, the camp provided a fun way to explore unfamiliar subjects — potentially discovering new areas of interest. For girls already interested in STEM, the camp was able to build upon an existing interest or knowledge. We hope that the camp encourages and inspires the next generation of female STEM professionals. The campers benefited from 's Girls in STEM club members as mentors for the week. The week ended on a high-note as Northrop Grumman generously provided staff and materials to host a STEM fair full of interactive activities for the girls to participate in.

Edison Academy: Student Internships Seven students participated in internships offered to Edison Academy students. Details of the internships are listed below:

• Two Electrical Construction and Engineering students interned with Facilities Management over the summer. • One Electrical Construction and Engineering student was hired for an internship at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Operations and Maintenance. He will continue to work through the school year. • One Cyber IT student interned with Computer CORE over the summer and will continue into the 2018-19 school year. • Three Cyber IT students interned over the summer with Fairfax County Public Schools Department of Information Technology and two of them will continue interning during the school year. • Six summer internships were offered by Beckstrom Electric for students over the summer. • One student who interned with Fairfax County Government’s Department of Vehicle Services continued to work for them over the summer and has been encouraged to apply for a fall internship to continue his work.

Workforce Development/Jobs for Graduates Employers are starting to respond to requests for information on their hiring successes with students. Thus far we have confirmed that three electrical students went to Beckstrom Electric and have begun, as of August, their training as full-time apprentices, two electrical students went to Fairfax County Government as building inspectors in training, one electrical student is working full-time for a

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construction company, and two automotive technology students have been hired full time by Fairfax County Government Department of Vehicle Services to train for mechanics positions.

Falls Church Academy: Falls Church Academy will be hosting an “Academy Experience” for FCPS staff interested in visiting and learning, hands-on, about the programs offered to students. The event will be held on October 31, 8:30- 10:30 a.m. Any CTEAC committee members interested in attending, please contact Jill Burrer, Career Experience Specialist at the academy, [email protected], or 703-207-4244.

Marshall Academy: In September, Criminal Justice had a guest speaker from the Fairfax County Explorer program speak about the benefits of students joining the Explorer Program (ages 14-18). Both speakers were students in the Criminal Justice I class.

Another guest to the criminal justice program was Lt. Steve Thompson from the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy. The students have learned about the process of the criminal justice system and Lt. Thompson elaborated on this topic and more specifically on the area of Corrections. He also discussed what a recruit goes through during the six-month Academy.

On Friday, September 7, 2018, Johnson and Wales Charlotte demonstrated a delicious vegetarian dish in Culinary Arts. They also shared the admissions process and scholarship opportunities.

In June, Marshall Academy hosted 75 students for the CyberSecurity basic and advanced camps. The week included alumni guest instructors, industry speakers, and ended with a capture the flag competition.

West Potomac Academy: West Potomac Academy is in the planning stages for upcoming job shadows, clinical observations, and internships for the year with their many business partners.

Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS):

FCPS Students Bring Home Awards from 2018 National FCCLA Conference Atlanta, Georgia FCPS FCCLA chapters joined more than 7,500 FCCLA student leaders, members, and advisers at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, from June 28 – July 2 to participate in the annual FCCLA National Leadership Conference (NLC). The theme of this year’s conference was “Inspired by FCCLA”,

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which inspired attendees to make the right choices and commit themselves to making a positive impact within their families, schools, FCCLA, and communities.

Student Ranking in STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events • Madison High School earned a gold medal in Teach and Train. • Sandburg Middle School earned a gold medal in Nutrition and Wellness. • Fairfax High School and Lanier Middle School earned gold medal in Food Innovations and a gold medal in Promote and Publicize FCCLA. • Lanier Middle School earned a silver medal for the Advocacy STAR event, and a silver medal in Chapter Service Project Display • Lake Braddock Secondary School earned a gold medal in Life Event Planning.

Chapter Award Carl Sandburg Middle School FCCLA in Alexandria, , was selected to receive the 2018 National First Place Middle School Student Body Award for their Straight Out of the Garden project and received a $1,000 award. The student body award recognizes chapters that promote to youth the advantages of eating right, being fit, and making healthy choices.

Carl Sandburg Middle School FCCLA members learned about food insecurity and how some communities lack access to fresh vegetables. Their project involved “debunking” the myth that middle schoolers would not use a salad bar during lunches by surveying over 500 students about their school lunch preferences and access to fresh vegetables. The schools FCCLA members applied for grants from the Virginia FCCLA Leadership Foundation and the Carl Sandburg Middle School PTA to finance building raised garden beds in the courtyard adjoining the Family and Consumer Sciences Food Lab. The FACS Food Lab opens to this courtyard and students wanted to grow foods that could be featured in FACS labs and, potentially, on a school salad bar. The FCCLA members worked with Technology and Engineering students to design, build, and install the garden beds, and Art students to supply inspirational stepping stones in the garden.

Skills USA Skills USA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Skills USA provides educational programs, events, and competitions that support career and technical education (CTE) in the nation’s classrooms. This past summer a senior from West Springfield competed in Louisville, KY. The student earned a fourth place out of 33 in the Restaurant Service competition.

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FACS In-service All FACS high school teachers attended afternoon sessions at to view the nutrition assessment lab and the new kitchen facilities housed in the Peterson Health and Sciences building. Information related to the new topics of study in the field of nutrition were available as well as information related to early childhood education and human development and family studies.

Health and Medical Sciences:

Twenty-three eager Exploring Health Science students from Chantilly Academy are scheduled to observe an open-heart surgery at INOVA Fairfax Cardiac Dome on Monday, September 17, 2018.

Medical Assistant students at Chantilly Academy are learning about pulse rates on HAL, our newest simulated patient manikin.

Patient Care Technician students began studying wounds and wound care. They were introduced to medical moulage and will participate in a patient simulation lesson with the licensed practical nursing students next week.

Marketing:

The fashion marketing students, under the direction of their teacher Julie Pickering, started a clothing closet in 2011 for a teacher who lost her life. Paige's Closet serves Herndon High School by providing new and fashionable clothing for those in need. This year the students have decided to turn Paige's Closet into a Fashion Boutique, which will be sponsored by Booz Allen, complete with trend boards and styling services.

The entrepreneurship students from Chantilly Academy will be traveling to Virginia Tech for their annual trip to visit the entrepreneurship program. Students will explore the entrepreneurship opportunities that Virginia Tech offers. For more information please visit the Virginia Tech entrepreneurship program website.

The Region 2 DECA District Leadership Conference will be held on Monday, November 5, 2018, at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly. Approximately 100 judges are needed to support this event. If you are interested in judging, please register by going to the FCPS Region 2 DECA Leadership Conference – Judge Registration November 2018 site or contact Amy Granahan at [email protected].

The marketing students assisted with the South Lakes HS PTSA Food Pantry and were part of an interview with ABC News 7, Fairfax County high school food pantry awarded for contribution to community.

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Technology Education and Engineering:

Kick-Off Technical Trainings

This summer, Technology and Engineering Education provided summer trainings courses on CNC Machines, VEX IQ & EDR and Autodesk Inventor for MS and HS teachers. Although optional, there was an outstanding turnout for all courses totaling to 47 TEE teachers.

2018 TSA National Competition Congratulations to Kim Gadson and her students from Twain Middle School on their huge success in Atlanta, Georgia at the Technology Student Association (TSA) National Conference. Twain MS was recognized as "Top Ten" recipients in an outstanding ELEVEN events, most notably 3rd Place for Microcontroller Design and 2nd place for Website Design.

Congratulations to Ivan Chirinos and his team of students for placing 4th in Computer Integrated Manufacturing. This is a very rigorous challenge this year with a lot of great competition.

Sparking a Love of STEM Former Oakton HS student, Leela Ayyar, has published a book called, “STEM Girl” which is about a girl, Elara, who loves all things STEM. “Being a STEM girl has its challenges–from being the only girl in robotics club to understanding that no one is born good at math. But Elara is determined to show her friends how fun learning about STEM can be, so they can all be STEM girls together!” Read the full article introducing Elara who loves all things STEM.

Robert D'Souza and his Lanier “SPINNERS” team initially took part in the Northern Virginia Region KidWind Challenge competition in March 2018 and placed 1st. This win qualified them for the KidWind National competition 2018 at Chicago, IL in May 2018.

At the 2018 Nationals the team did extremely well and won 4 awards; the “Wind Geek Award” (for the highest percentile score on the Knowledge Test), the Best Teamwork Award, the Big Tunnel Award (for building and successfully testing a college level wind turbine), and they placed 2nd overall in the nation against a very competitive field of 40 Regional champion middle schools from various states all over the country. This award also carries a cash prize of $500.00.

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