Students compete in New York State SkillsUSA Leadership Competition

Approximately 40 students from the OCM BOCES Henry and McEvoy Education campuses in Syracuse and Cortland joined thousands of other Career and Technical Education (CTE) students from across the state for this year’s New York State SkillsUSA competition. The competition was held at the New York State Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 25. During the contests, students competed with their peers using the knowledge and hands-on skills they have gained through their CTE courses.

OCM BOCES students who competed in New York State SkillsUSA are:
From the Baldwinsville Central School District:
Emily Arthur (Job Skills Demo)
Daniel Belair (Internetworking)
Paige Bell (Occupational Health & Safety)
Sarah Brown (Related Technical Math)
Jenna Griffo (Job Interview)
Tyler Myers (Collision Repair Technology)

From the Cazenovia Central School District:
Tyler Shepard (Automotive Service Technology)

From the Chittenango Central School District:
Kaleen Cole (Nail Care Model)

From the Cincinnatus Central School District:
Anthony Allen (Restaurant Service)
Lacy Crane (Culinary Arts)

From the Cortland Enlarged City School District:
David Hines (Automotive Service Technology)
Megan Howard (Nurse Assistant)
Irina Khrushch (Delegate)
Darien Ostrander (Job Skills Demo)
Eleni Stewart (Commercial Baking)

From the Homer Central School District:
Chaylyn Cleveland (Job Interview)
Dylan Chochran (Food Prep Assistant)
Connor Munn (Computer Maintenance)
Jack Ryan (Customer Service)

From the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District:
Karly Kwasigroch (Health Knowledge Bowl)

From the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District:
Maya Bey (Nail Care)

From the Liverpool Central School District:
Alexa Mentel (Commercial Baking)

From the North Syracuse Central School District:
Crista Baird (Food Prep Assistant)
Michelle Cross (Health Knowledge Bowl)
John Flanagan (First Aid/CPR)
Samantha Holzapfel (Health Knowledge Bowl)
Kaylie Laflair (Job Skills Demo)
Joshua Sackett (Employment Application Process)
Jessica Wanke (Health Knowledge Bowl)
Nicolette Wing (Cosmetology)

From the Solvay Union Free School District:
William Chasteen (Culinary Arts)
Karen Harris (Early Childhood Education)
Cody McCarthy (Automotive Refinishing Technology)

From the Syracuse City School District:
Kevin Hernandez (Customer Service)

From the Tully Central School District:
Michael Spain (Collision Repair)

From the West Genesee Central School District:
Roman Hevko (Restaurant Service)

From the Westhill Central School District:
Aaron Negus (Computer Maintenance Technology)

Pictured above: Alexa Mentel from the Liverpool Central School District will compete in the New York SkillsUSA competition in the Commercial Baking category. She is pictured above practicing her cake decorating skills before the regional-level SkillsUSA competition in February.

For more information about OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education Programs, contact Robert Leslie at 431-8407.

OCM BOCES Students Awarded with Tools for Success

Congratulations to the 12 OCM BOCES Automotive Technology and Automotive Collision Technology students recently recognized for their outstanding achievements through Snap-On Tools for Success awards program. The students, selected by their OCM BOCES classroom instructors for their excellent automotive technology, math and science skills, as well as outstanding classroom participation, attendance and attitude, each received a certificate of excellence and a Snap-On Tools screwdriver, valued at over $50. Of the four from each classroom, one student was chosen to receive a black-handled screwdriver award, representing the “best of the best” in their field.

The following OCM BOCES students were recognized with Tools for Success awards. Those marked with an * were selected for the black-handled screwdriver award:

Automotive Collision Technology (Instructor, Matthew McGiveny):
David Bird (Baldwinsville Central School District)
Austin Lyke (Baldwinsville Central School District)
Jeffrey Rivers (Solvay Union Free School District) 

*Koty Schwenn (North Syracuse Central School District)


Automotive Technology (Instructor, Samuel Azria):
Muhammad Qubaisy (Jamesville DeWitt Central School District)
*Eric Shorney (Baldwinsville Central School District)

Zachary Williams (Marcellus Central School District)
Brandon Woodward (Chittenango Central School District)

Automotive Technology (Instructor, Erick Dodge):
Brad Delavan (Jamesville DeWitt Central School District)
Joe Granholm (Baldwinsville Central School District)
*Justin Hildreth (Baldwinsville Central School District)
Nick Romeo (Baldwinsville Central School District)

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.

Pictured above: OCM BOCES Automotive Collision Technology Instructor Matthew McGiveny shakes hands with his student, David Bird from the Baldwinsville Central School District.

Pictured above: The complete group of student award winners for the 2013 Snap-On Tools for Success Awards program at OCM BOCES.

Adult Literacy Celebrations being held in May

Be sure to mark your calendars now for two upcoming events honoring the accomplishments of OCM BOCES adult education program students. 

On Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m., the OCM BOCES Center for New Careers (in Cortland) will hold their Adult Literacy Celebration and program graduation at the McEvoy Educational Campus (1710 NYS Route 13) in Cortland.
On Wednesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m., OCM BOCES will hold its 30^th Annual (Syracuse-area) Adult Literacy Celebration and program graduation at the Palace Theatre (2384 James Street) in Syracuse. 

Hundreds of graduates from the OCM BOCES GED, External Diploma and other literacy programs will be invited to attend and be recognized for their accomplishments. 

Several student testimonials, illustrating personal and educational struggles prior to coming to OCM BOCES, will be given during the ceremonies. OCM BOCES will also recognize their 2013 Partners in Literacy.

The public and media are asked to mark their calendars and plan to attend these celebrations. For more information on  OCM BOCES adult education programs, call 315-453-4466 (in Liverpool) or 607-758-1111 (in Cortland.)

Cazenovia High School Principal to be honored by OCM BOCES

On Wednesday, May 8, 2013, OCM BOCES will present Eric Schnabl, Principal of Cazenovia High School with their 2013 School Library System’s Administrator/Advocate of the Year award. The ceremony honoring Schnabl will take place at the OCM BOCES Henry Campus Rodax 8 Conference Room at 12:00 noon. 

The intention of the award is to honor an educational administrator or library advocate in the OCM (Onondaga, Cortland, Madison) region who has made significant contributions to school librarianship. 2013 is the first year that the award will be presented to a school building principal. Mr. Schnabl has demonstrated innovative administrative initiatives in the area of school libraries and the importance of the library connection to instruction.

Schnabl was nominated for the award by Vicki Reutter, a librarian for Cazenovia High School. In her nomination letter, she commended Mr. Schnabl for not only advancing the high school’s library program, but also the school’s educational standing.

With Mr. Schnabl at the helm, Cazenovia was ranked third for academics in Upstate New York by Business News and was awarded the 2012 NAAE Outstanding Secondary Agriculture Program, named the 2011 Model School for Project Lead the Way, ranked 154 in New York state high schools by U.S. News & World Report, and named an Outstanding Secondary School by the U.S. Department of Education, Mrs. Reutter writes.

In her letter, Reutter also highlights Mr. Schnabl’s ability to recognize the importance of a library media specialist in helping a school adjust to the curricular demands created by the new Common Core Standards. “Basically, I feel he has been a strong literacy advocate for our school, and has definitely supported my program on a daily basis,” Mrs. Reutter said. “We've had budget cuts and staff cuts, and I know he has taken these to heart and tried to come up with creative solutions.”

As an example, Mrs. Reutter cited the principal’s decision to approach teachers’ aides with an innovative idea for library staffing.

"His interpersonal skills paid off when we had staff cuts and there was no one to staff the library after school," Mrs. Reutter wrote in her nomination letter. "Mr Schnabl went literally door to door asking staff members to adjust their hours to cover the library, and was successful finding an aide to agree."

When Cazenovia High School English teacher Christie Brenneck needed additional copies of a novel that was added to the curriculumn, Mr. Schnabl came to the rescue. "Previously, the 12th grade teachers had taught different units at different times in order to share books, but we were still short," Mrs. Brenneck said. "As we had no funds for additional books that year, Eric went to Barnes & Noble and came in the next day with two bags filled with books for my students."

OCM BOCES Superintendent J. Francis Manning will present the award to Mr. Schnabl during the May 8 award ceremony. 

“His program support, moral support and respectful treatment of students, staff and teachers are just a part of his hopeful and positive nature, making it a pleasure to work with him,” Mrs. Reutter said.

For more information about the OCM BOCES School Library System or their Administrator/Advocate of the Year Award, contact Marcie Mann, Interim School Library System Coordinator at 315/433-2665. 

Cosmetology Students Hit the Runway for Beautiful Me Hair Show

The “Beautiful Me” competitive hair show was recently held at Barbagallo’s Restaurant in East Syracuse. OCM BOCES senior cosmetology students from the Irvin E. Henry Campus hosted and participated in the show as runway models. 

Senior cosmetology students competed in four categories and were judged by members of the Cosmetology Community Advisory Board. The competition categories were Fantasy, Generations, Exotic Jungle and Romance. Students competed by designing and creating hairstyles, makeup and clothing choices using their fellow students as models.

At the show, the students presented their designs by walking a runway in front of a live audience in order for the designs to be judged.

Congratulations to the following students for placing in the competition:

Katelyn Graham (Chittenango High School) - first place in the Fantasy category
Amber Holdsworth (Liverpool High School) - first place in the Exotic Jungle category

Carra Morre (West Genesee High School) - first place in the Romance category

Elisabeth Thomas (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) - first place in the Generations category

Maya Bey (Jamesville-DeWitt High School) - second place in the Romance category
Scott Jordan (Baker High School) - second place in the Generations category
Courtney Spraker (Baker High School) - second place in the Fantasy category
Kayla Valenza (Westhill High School) - second place in the Exotic Jungle category

Cara Jordan (Cicero-North Syracuse High School) - third place in the Romance category
Rachel Knapp (Baker High School) - third place in the Exotic Jungle category
Marina Locastro (Cicero-North Syracuse High School) - third place in the Generations category
Daisia Noboa (Solvay High School) - third place in the Fantasy category

Stephanie Azocar (Liverpool High School) - fourth place in the Romance category
Danaysia Rucker (Cicero-North Syracuse High School) - fourth place in the Exotic Jungle category

Courtney Bevard (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) - fifth place in the Exotic Jungle category
Alisa DiMaria (Cicero-North Syracuse High School) - fifth place in the Romance category

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

Recognizing OCM BOCES graduates who have gone above and beyond

OCM BOCES is currently seeking nominations for their Career and Technical Education (CTE) Alumni Hall of Fame. Nomination forms are available in the main offices of OCM BOCES’ CTE buildings and are available for download by clicking here. In order for candidates to be considered for induction in 2013, nomination forms and all supplemental materials must be received by OCM BOCES Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education, Robert Leslie, no later than Friday, April 19, 2013.

One graduate from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Campus in Cortland and one graduate from their Henry Campus in Syracuse will be selected by the CTE Advisory Committee to be honored at their respective campus’ completion ceremony in June. The winners will also have a commemorative plaque placed in the "Hall of Fame" at their respective campus of graduation.

The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to recognize individuals who have graduated from OCM BOCES programs and who demonstrate leadership in their field. By identifying successful graduates, the hope is to provide positive role models for current students, while making the public aware of the accomplishments of former OCM BOCES students and the potential for success through the high quality programs offered by the organization. 

OCM BOCES District Superintendent Jody Manning said, “As school districts across the United States work to align their curricula with Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS,) it is becoming essential to provide lesson content connected to the real world. Career and technical education programs provide an ideal opportunity for that relationship to occur.”

Manning added, “CTE programming provides students with a Regents high school diploma, backed by the academic proficiency, technical skills, knowledge and training they need to succeed in college and future careers. The hands-on work that CTE students complete, provides them opportunities to directly apply problem-solving, reasoning, communication and mathematical skills that they will use throughout their lives.”

Each year, thousands of CTE students graduate from high school with their career goals at the forefront of their minds, equipped with the academic, leadership and job skills to help them down their chosen career path. These students know exactly where they are and where they will go next to further their academic and hands-on education and training. The OCM BOCES CTE Alumni Hall of Fame was established to honor such individuals who graduated from OCM BOCES and who demonstrate leadership in their field.

Alumni Hall of Fame nominations are solicited and reviewed by a subcommittee made up of members from the OCM BOCES CTE Advisory Committee. In order to be considered for the award, nominees must have graduated from an OCM BOCES CTE program, they must be engaged in an occupation related to their program of completion at OCM BOCES, they must demonstrate leadership in their field and they must exercise civic responsibility.

Nomination forms for the OCM BOCES Alumni Hall of Fame are available in the main offices of OCM BOCES’ CTE buildings and online at www.ocmboces.org. In order for candidates to be considered for induction in 2013, nomination forms and all supplemental materials must be received by OCM BOCES Director of CTE and Adult Education, Robert Leslie, no later than Friday, April 19, 2013. For more information, please contact Robert Leslie at 315/431-8406.

Following is a listing of CTE Programs at OCM BOCES:

Thompson Road Campus in Syracuse

Automotive Body Collision Technology 

Automotive Technology 

Certified Nurse Assistant 

Computer Technology 

Construction Technology 

Cosmetology 

Criminal Justice/Police Science 

Culinary Arts 

Early Childhood Education 

Floral Arts 

Graphic Communications 

Health Occupations 

Medical Laboratory Technician 

Pastry Arts 

McEvoy Campus in Cortland

Automotive Collision Technology

Automotive Technology

Construction Technology

Graphic Communications 

Cosmetology 

Computer Technology 

Culinary Arts 

Criminal Justice 

Health Occupations 

OCM BOCES students among millions from across the world to participate in World Education Games

On Tuesday, March 5, 2013 and Wednesday, March 6, 2013, more than 100 OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) students at the Irvin E. Henry Education Campus in Syracuse, are participating in online World Math Day activities with millions of others from across the world. This is the first year that OCM BOCES students have participated in the event, which is part of 3P Learning’s World Education Games. 

The games allow students to compete online with others from across the world. According to a press release, students from 236 countries and territories are expected to compete in the 2013 World Education Games. 

Each student registered receives a unique username and password allowing them to play whenever they are available during the official game period. When students sign-in, the program picks real opponents from around the world for them to compete against. Each game lasts just 60 seconds with the goal of answering as many math questions correctly as possible. 

The actual Math Day competition takes place whenever the date anywhere in the world is March 6. For students at OCM BOCES, that means competition can begin at 5:00 AM on Tuesday, March 5 and will continue through 5:00 AM on Thursday, March 7. OCM BOCES CTE students will compete as part of their applied math classes on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6, 2013 from 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM and from 1:30 PM to 2:15 PM each day. 

Teachers at OCM BOCES are excited about participating in the games this year saying, “Participating allows students to have fun doing math and helps address the need for mental math practice so students aren’t always reaching for their calculator to do basic math computations.”

During the competition on March 5, students from OCM BOCES answered almost 12,000 questions correctly, which is more than all the questions they answered correctly during the previous two weeks of practice! Great job!

OCM BOCES students compete in the World Math Day competition on March 5, 2013.

Students use a map to select their opponents from around the world.

Each competition lasts for 60 seconds with students answering as many questions as possible before selecting new opponents. 

Students are able to see their progress in comparison to their opponents as they answer questions.