OCM BOCES to Offer High School Welding Program at McEvoy Campus

This fall, high school students in the southern area of Central New York will have the option of learning a new type of career as part of their high school curriculum. Through its Career and Technical Education Programs, the OCM BOCES McEvoy Educational Campus (serving the Districts of Cincinnatus, Cortland City, DeRuyter, Fabius-Pompey, Homer, Marathon, McGraw and Tully) will begin offering two-year Welding Technology Program for high school juniors and seniors in September of 2012.

In Central New York, there is currently a high demand for welders. Students completing this OCM BOCES program will become industry certified, providing them with the knowledge and technical skills to prepare them for positions as entry-level welders or advanced placement in post-secondary education.
Skilled Welding Technicians have multiple job options and are a vital link in the manufacturing, construction and facilities maintenance industry.  The OCM BOCES Welding Technology program teaches students many different welding processes including arc welding, MIG welding, TIG welding, brazing and soldering, as well as cutting, heat-treating and metallurgy.

Students will gain knowledge of electrical systems, power sources and different welding technologies, as well as the use and interpretation of visual symbols related to welding.  The Welding Technology program includes technical math and science, welding print interpretation and measurement.
For more information about the OCM BOCES Welding Technology program, students can talk to their school guidance counselor or call the OCM BOCES McEvoy Educational Campus Guidance Office at (607) 758-5261.

Pictured: Earlier in March, nine students from the Fabius-Pompey, Homer and McGraw School Districts came to OCM BOCES to learn about a new welding program that will be offered at the their McEvoy Educational Campus starting in the Fall of 2012. Students had the opportunity to hear about the program, learn about college welding programs and career opportunities available and even try out the trade.

Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser at McEvoy Campus - March 28

OCM BOCES’ SkillsUSA and Epicurean Club students from the McEvoy Education Campus will be holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 on their campus (1710 NYS Route 13) in Cortland. The dinner will take place from 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM with the money raised used to support the students in their upcoming occupational competitions for ProStart and SkillsUSA.  The cost for dinner is $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for seniors (65 and over) and $4.00 for children (12 and under).

For more information, contact Kay Kraatz, OCM BOCES’ McEvoy Campus SkillsUSA Advisor at 607/758-5140.

Cosmetology Students Hit the Runway for A Walk to Remember Hair Show

On Monday, March 12, 2012 OCM BOCES senior cosmetology students from the Irvin E. Henry Campus hosted the "A Walk to Remember" competitive hair show at Barbagallo’s Restaurant in East Syracuse.

Senior cosmetology students competed in five categories and were  judged by the Cosmetology Community Advisory Board in the categories of Big Hair with a Flair, Fantasy, Vintage Hollywood, In the Jungle and Masquerade. Students competed by designing and creating hairstyles, makeup and clothing choices using their fellow students as models. The model students were then judged by walking a runway.


Following is how the students placed in each category:

Big Hair With a Flair
1st Place - Cecelia St. Andrew from Solvay High School (design modeled by Jessica Copp from Liverpool High School)
2nd Place - Brianna Popps from West Genesee High School (design modeled by Elise Walker from West Genesee High School)
3rd Place - Elise Walker from West Genesee High School (design modeled by Brianna Popps from West Genesee High School)
4th Place - Aimee Burgess from Solvay High School (design modeled by Cecelia St. Andrew from Solvay High School)

Vintage Hollywood
1st Place - Emily Carter from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Braylee Knittel from Liverpool High School)
2nd Place - Chelsea Clarkson from Baker High School (design modeled by Jessica Messina from Westhill High School)
3rd Place - Keely Wilcox from Chittenango High School (design modeled by Cassandra Westcott from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
4th Place - Cassandra Westcott from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Keely Wilcox from Chittenango High School)

Additional Category Entrants
Marisa Haskell from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Chelsea Maitland from West Genesee High School)
Nafeesa Jenkins from Baker High School (design modeled by Hailey Harding from Baker High School)
Braylee Knittel from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Emily Carter from Liverpool High School)
Carly Reikes from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Justine Zajac from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
Alexa Speach from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Alexandra Gitzen from Baker High School)
Jessica Viola from Westhill High School (design modeled by Teresa Onoff from Westhill High School)
Justine Zajac from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Carly Reikes from Liverpool High School)

In The Jungle
1st Place - Ashley Curcie from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Alexandria DiMartino from Liverpool High School)
2nd Place - Chelsey Williams from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Tiffany Elsworth from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
3rd Place - Teresa Onoff from Westhill High School (design modeled by Jessica Viola from Westhill High School)
4th Place - Alexandria DiMartino from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Ashley Curcie from Liverpool High School)

Additional Category Entrants
Kylie Barrett from Chittenango High School (design modeled by Ollisha Crenshaw from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
Heather Case from Chittenango High School (design modeled by Kaitlyn Hawkinson from Liverpool High School)
Ollisha Crenshaw from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Kylie Barrett from Chittenango High School)
Kailyn Crysler from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Christina Guindy from Marcellus High School)
Alexandra Gitzen from Baker High School (design modeled by Alexa Speach from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
Christina Guindy from Marcellus High School (design modeled by Kailyn Crysler from Liverpool High School)
Kaitlyn Hawkinson from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Heather Case from Chittenango High School)

Fantasy
1st Place - Haley Harding from Baker High School (design modeled by Nafeesa Jenkins from Baker High School)
2nd Place - Elizabeth Zaluzhny from Baker High School (design modeled by Owen Freeley from Baker High School)
3rd Place - Tiffany Elsworth from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Chelsey Williams from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
4th Place - Jessica Messina from Westhill High School (design modeled by Chelsea Clarkson from Baker High School)

Additional Category Entrants
Jessica Copp from Liverpool High School (design modeled by Aimee Burgess from Solvay High School)
Own Freeley from Baker High School (design modeled by Elizabeth Zaluzhny from Baker High School)
Allison Hughes from LaFayette High School (design modeled by Karli Kott from LaFayette High School)
Karli Kott from LaFayette High School (design modeled by Allison Hughes from LaFayette High School)
Samantha Schwarz from Baker High School (design modeled by Jennifer Moore from Baker High School)

Masquerade 
1st Place - Summer LaPointe from West Genesee High School (design modeled by Catherine Commisso from West Genesee High School)
2nd Place - Brianna Martin from Cazenovia High School (design modeled by Cassandra Rolls from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
3rd Place - Morgan Miller from Baker High School (design modeled by Caitlin Kurilovitch from Baker High School)
4th Place - Kori Gray from Marcellus High School (design modeled by Selena Salatti from Marcellus High School)

Additional Category Entrants
Alissa Austin from Fayetteville-Manlius High School (design modeled by Mindi McArdell from Baker High School)
Catherine Commisso from West Genesee High School (design modeled by Summer LaPointe from West Genesee High School)
Caitlin Kurilovitch from Baker High School (design modeled by Morgan Miller from Baker High School)
Chelsea Maitland from West Genesee High School (design modeled by Marissa Haskell from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
Mindi McArdell from Baker High School (design modeled by Alissa Austin from Fayetteville-Manlius High School)
Jennifer Moore from Baker High School (design modeled by Leanna Warner from Cicero-North Syracuse High School)
Cassandra Rolls from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Brianna Martin from Cazenovia High School)
Selina Salatti from Marcellus High School (design modeled by Kori Gray from Marcellus High School)
Leanna Warner from Cicero-North Syracuse High School (design modeled by Jennifer Moore from Baker High School)





For more information, please contact Annemarie Morabito, OCM BOCES Cosmetology Instructor at 431-8508.

OCM BOCES Teacher Marc Cizenski Selected as Mission US Educator of the Year

Pictured: OCM BOCES REACH teacher Marc Cizenski
with a student from the
program in September of 2010

Congratulations to Marc Cizenski, an OCM BOCES alternative education teacher, for having been selected as Mission US Educator of the Year! New York Public Media recently named Cizenski, a classroom teacher for the OCM BOCES REACH program in Liverpool, as the National Mission US Educator of the Year. The award is in recognition of Cizenski’s outstanding efforts to use the innovative multimedia resource to enrich the teaching of American history with students in his classroom and educators across the state.

Mission US is a series of free role-playing games developed to transform the way middle school students learn U.S. history. The second game in the series, "Flight to Freedom," launched January 24, 2012, and immerses learners in the experiences of a runaway slave in the years before the Civil War. The first game mission, "For Crown or Colony?" launched in September 2010, and immerses players in the world of 1770 Boston before the American Revolution. The games, together with a rich variety of supplemental resources for students and teachers, are available at www.mission-us.org. Mission US is produced by public television station THIRTEEN in association with WNET and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"We're thrilled to honor Marc Cizenski as our National Mission US Educator of the Year," said Jill Peters, Executive Producer. "Not only has he developed innovative and inspiring classroom activities around the game, but he is also a vocal and enthusiastic advocate for its use among his colleagues statewide."

"When I was first introduced to Mission US by my principal, it seemed too good to be true," said Mr. Cizenski. "My students have had the opportunity to make the history of America come to life, through the eyes of people their own age. As an educator at an alternative school, 'Flight to Freedom' and 'For Crown or Colony?' have been extremely encouraging – my students are truly excited to be learning."
Mr. Cizenski was chosen as National Mission US Educator of the Year from among six finalists across the country. He will appear with the Mission US team on a panel about how scholarship, technology, and active learning are combining to bring American History to life at WNET's annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning in New York City on March 16, 2012.

Mr. Cizenski was nominated for the national award through his selection as local Mission US Educator of the Year by WCNY, Syracuse's local public television station. WCNY received a special grant from THIRTEEN to conduct in-depth educator outreach and professional development around the effective integration of Mission US into the classroom and curriculum.

Mission US has been developed to get middle school students to care about U.S. history by seeing it through the eyes of peers from the past. All of the Mission US games use state-of-the-art gaming technology combined with standards-aligned curriculum concepts to engage and appeal to today's tech-savvy 21st century learners.

In 2011, Education Development Center (EDC) completed a major research study examining the use of Mission US by 1,118 seventh and eighth grade students in 50 schools across the country. The study found measurable gains in students' historical knowledge and skills, and yielded positive feedback from teachers. A summary of the study's key findings is available at cpb.org/features/missionus. Mission US is also a featured project of CPB's "American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen" initiative to combat the nation's dropout crisis.

Mission US is produced by THIRTEEN in association with WNET. Sandra Sheppard, THIRTEEN's director of Children's & Educational Media, is the executive-in-charge. Jill Peters serves as executive producer, with Michelle Chen, coordinating producer. Christopher Czajka, senior director of educational and community outreach, oversees national outreach for Mission US. The Mission US development team includes historians from the American Social History Project at CUNY, researchers from Education Development Center's Center for Children and Technology, and game developers from Electric Funstuff. Outreach partners are the National Council for the Social Studies, the American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians.

About WNET
New York's WNET is America's flagship public media outlet, bringing quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. The parent company of public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Need to Know, Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley and a range of documentaries,  children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online.  Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Noah Comprende and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJ Today and the new online newsmagazine MetroFocus.

About CPB
CPB, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting.  It helps support the operation of more than 1,300 locally-owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.

Additional funding for Mission US is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Website: www.mission-us.org Facebook: facebook.com/missionus Twitter: @mission_us
SOURCE THIRTEEN/WNET

OCM BOCES Dignity Act Resources

New York's Dignity for All Students Act, known now as The Dignity Act, takes effect on July 1, 2012. The law focuses on the elimination of discrimination and harassment which includes but is not limited to bullying. OCM BOCES will assist districts with their compliance and implementation of the law via training, technical assistance, and resources.

The Dignity Act amended Section 801-a of New York State Education Law regarding instruction in civility, citizenship and character education by expanding the concepts of tolerance, respect for others, and dignity to include:  an awareness and sensitivity to people based on different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions, religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientations, gender identity or expression, and sex.

The Dignity Act also amended Section 2801 of the Education Law, instructing Boards of Education to include language in the codes of conduct to comply with The Dignity Act.  The code of conduct must be amended to reflect the prohibition of discrimination and harassment of students by students or staff – in age appropriate plain language. 

NYSED will provide sample policy, sample code of conduct (definition of terms), guidelines for implementation, curriculum ideas, a rubric to assess level of implementation and compliance, and requirements for professional development for the Dignity Act Coordinator and all staff. 

One dignity act coordinator per school will be identified and specifically trained in issues related to bullying, harassment and discrimination. This person will coordinate efforts in the building related to DASA compliance. The Title IX Coordinator for the district should also receive specialized training. 

The Dignity Act and Uniform Violent Incident Reporting:  Reporting will be done under the same system that currently allows for the reporting of Violent and Disruptive Incidents, though incidents reportable under the Dignity Act will not impact a School’s Violence Impact unless they also fall under a Violent and Disruptive Incident category.

160 Adult Students Graduate From OCM BOCES Syracuse Area Training Programs – Wednesday, February 15, 2012

On Wednesday, February 15 OCM BOCES celebrated the accomplishments of our adult students completing training in our health-related occupations, office technology, technical computer, cosmetology careers, and trade and technical programs. Approximately 160 students graduated from these programs.

This year, the family of the late Kurt Schmeling, an adult HVAC teacher for OCM BOCES that passed away this past November, wss on hand at the ceremony to accept a certificate of appreciation for a newly created scholarship in Kurt’s memory. The scholarship provides $500 a year to deserving students pursuing training in the HVAC field. Donations to the scholarship are being made by Kurt’s family, as well as a variety of organizations with which Kurt was affiliated.

For more information about OCM BOCES adult education programs, contact Joanne Flood, Coordinator of Continuing Education at 315-453-4420.

OCM BOCES’ Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program Kicks-off Syracuse Crunch Game by Signing “National Anthem” at February 10, 2012 Game

On Friday, February 10, students from the OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and students from the Solvay Middle School chorus sang and signed the National Anthem at the Syracuse Crunch hockey game against the Hershey Bears.

Over the past several years, OCM BOCES has developed a strong relationship with the Syracuse Crunch hockey team and for the past seven years, students from the OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program have been invited to sign the National Anthem prior to one game each year.

For more information about the OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program or their appearance at the Syracuse Crunch hockey game, please contact Jeffrey Wilson, Special Education Administrator at 315/488-9034.