McEvoy Education Campus Open House and Student Fundraiser – Wednesday, November 2

On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, students from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus SkillsUSA and Epicurean Club will be hosting a pulled pork sandwich dinner fundraising event. The fundraiser will be held during the campus’ open house from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM at the McEvoy Education Campus (1710 NYS Route 13) in Cortland. Each meal includes a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and a beverage for $5.00. All money raised will be used to support the students in their ProStart and SkillsUSA occupational competitions. Dinners can be pre-ordered by calling 607/758-5140. 

OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus Announces SkillsUSA Officers

The OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus in Cortland recently announced their SkillsUSA officers for the 2011-2012 school year. Skills USA is a national organization serving teachers and high school/college students preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. The organization provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development and builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills.

The OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus Skills USA officers for 2011-2012 are:
Juniors:
Darien Ostrander from the Cortland City School District – President,

Megan Howard from the Cortland City School District – Vice President,
Jessica Tobias and Lacy Crane, both from the Cincinnatus Central School District – Co-Treasurers,
Kaya Clark from the Tully Central School District – Secretary,
Kayla Dingman from the Cincinnatus Central School District – Reporter, and
Bradley DeGroff from the DeRuyter Central School District – Parliamentarian.

Seniors:
Mackenzie Edinger from the Tully Central School District – President,
Samantha McMahon from the Marathon Central School District – Vice President,
Stephen Sherman from the Cortland City School District – Treasurer,
Taylor Latta from the Homer Central School District – Secretary,
Stephanie Underwood from the McGraw Central School District – Reporter, and
Amber Shelley from the Tully Central School District – Parliamentarian.

Congratulations to all the 2011-2012 SkillsUSA officers!

Pictured above are the 2011-2012 SkillsUSA junior student officers from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus. Below are the 2011-2012 SkillsUSA senior student officers from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Education Campus.

OCM BOCES 14th Annual School Library System Conference – November 9, 2011

The OCM BOCES School Library System, in conjunction with the School Library Systems at Oswego County BOCES and the Syracuse City School District, will hold their 14th Annual Fall Conference, “School Libraries: Every Student’s Future Starts Here..,” this Wednesday, November 9, 2011. The conference is being held at the Doubletree Hotel (6320 Route 298, Carrier Circle) in East Syracuse from 8:00 AM until 3:30 PM.

The keynote speaker is Doug Johnson, who has been the Director of Media and Technology for Mankato public Schools in Minnesota since 1991. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member of Minnesota State University since 1990. His teaching experience has included work in grades K-12 both in the United States and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Johnson is the author of five books, a long-running column in the Library Media Connection publication, the Blue Skunk Blog and his articles have appeared in over forty books and periodicals. Doug has worked with over 160 organizations around the world and he has held leadership positions in state and national organizations, including ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education and AASL (American Association of School Librarians.)

A series of workshops will be held throughout the conference, on topics related to school libraries in the digital age, social media, exploring new learning, electronic learning and Common Core Standards.

For more information on the School Library Systems at OCM BOCES, Oswego County BOCES or the Syracuse City School District, or on their fall conference, please visit the OCM BOCES School Library System’s website at http://sls.ocmboces.org or call 315/433-2670.

BOCES Students Contribute to Ronald McDonald House

Early in the 2010-2011 school year, OCM BOCES students from Janet Clark's laboratory technology classes, and Robin Willey's health occupations classes at the Irvin E. Henry Campus, began a recycling project to support the Central New York Ronald McDonald house. The students were learning about recycling and reducing as part of their science curriculum and decided to do some recycling of their own for a good cause. In October of 2010, the students began collecting pop tops to support the charity. Their efforts caught on and were supported throughout their school, becoming somewhat of a contest between classrooms. In all, the students and staff collected more than 70 pounds of pop tops, which were donated to the Ronald McDonald house on June 7, 2011.

The students involved in the collection efforts brought the donations to the Ronald McDonald house on the 7th and performed a variety of community service projects while they were there. Some of the tasks that the students completed at the home included assembling toys for the residents, cleaning out a shed, weeding gardens, sweeping the parking lot, picking up trash and thoroughly cleaning the inside of the house. The students were also given a tour of the facility and had the opportunity to see how their efforts would benefit others. The trip provided a very rewarding experience for the students!

OCM BOCES STARS High School Student Places in Competitive Art Exhibition

Congratulations to Zack Davis, an OCM BOCES STARS Alternative High School junior from the Jamesville DeWitt Central School District, for recently having placed third in the 39th Annual Teenage Competitive Art Exhibition! Six students from the STARS Alternative High School, and hundreds from school districts across Central New York, entered various works of art in the exhibition, and Zack's work placed third in the 3-dimensional division. On June 4, Zack was presented with an award during a ceremony honoring all winners at Syracuse's Community Folk Art Center on East Genesee Street.

OCM BOCES Deaf Program Students Attend Naturalization Ceremony

Earlier this year, students and teachers from the OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Solvay High School attended a naturalization ceremony at Syracuse's Federal Court House. They were able to witness a former OCM BOCES student and classmate, Tamla Too, as she became an American citizen. While 28 other candidates spoke their oaths of citizenship, Tamla used American Sign Language to take her oath. The experience was very moving for the students, staff and Tamla's family.

Five OCM BOCES Students Recognized by Syracuse Auto Dealers Association

Each year, the Syracuse Automotive Dealers Association (SADA) presents seven awards for excellence to local Career and Technical Education students exploring the fields of automotive technology and automotive collision technology. The students, from OCM BOCES, Central Tech Vocational Center and the Johnson Center, are selected by their classroom teachers on criteria such as classroom attendance, participation, technology, math and science skills, attitude, capacity to diagnose issues and ability to work with others.

The association has been presenting the awards for 16 years, with the concept developed by Lew Goodman, the now deceased, president of a Chrysler dealership in Syracuse. Barbara Rothschild, Executive Vice-President of the SADA said of the awards “With an ever increasing need for skilled technicians, we believe that this is an opportunity for the auto dealers to meet prospective auto body and auto technicians. Over the years, many [of the students] have become employees of our dealerships.”

This year’s SADA awards were presented at a luncheon ceremony at OCM BOCES on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. The awards were presented by SADA President, Bruce Rapp, along with Jim Barr of Crest Cadillac/Acura and Mark Weaver of Drivers Village. Referring to the field of automotive technology, President Rapp said, “It is one of the most important aspects of our business. [It is the good work of] the service and body shops [that] brings customers back. I am thrilled to honor these young men today.”

The 2011 SADA award winners from OCM BOCES were:
Joseph Bugacki, an auto technology senior from the Jamesville-Dewitt CSD
Max Ford, an auto technology senior from the North Syracuse CSD
Chase Lee, and auto collision technology senior from the Cortland City SD
Derrick Mitchell, an auto collision technology senior from the Fayetteville-Manlius CSD
Justin Rowley, an auto technology senior from the McGraw CSD (pictured above receiving his award from SADA President Bruce Rapp)

For more information about the OCM BOCES Automotive Technology, Automotive Collision Technology or other Career and Technical Education Programs, contact Robert Leslie, Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education at 315/431-8407.