York Tech Hosts Truancy Taskforce

Save the date for this important event! Did you know that 4 students drop out of school every school day? That's a staggering amount of students that are not getting the education they need to be successful adults.

On September 21, the York County Truancy Prevention Intiative will hold this free summit at York County School of Technology from 4 - 7:00 P.M. This event is open to the public and will address varied topics in its breakout sessions: Talking with dropouts, Attendance policies for kindergarten and first graders, current laws, alternatives to fines, and more.

Is this event for me? Yes! Whether you are a teacher, student, parent, school resource officer, administrator, or judge, there will be a topic that will interest you.

To register for this event, log on to www.unitedway-york.org and click on the summit link on the left side of the page.

Tips for Teens - Start your year off right!

Dr Wright sent this email out to the staff right before the start of school. I think it so appropriate for the start of the school year:

1) Stay Calm - hard advice to follow sometimes, but well worth the effort!
2) Take Good Care of Yourself - get plenty of rest, eat right, exercise, make good choices about your personal well-being.
3) Improve your relationships - Communication is a two way street - do some talking, do more listening. Learn to apologize when you make a mistake.
4) No one can predict your future - Many students come to Tech for a fresh start. Make a mistake yesterday? Start again today.
5) Find a positive role model - Look to your mentors, family friends, a public figure that you admire. I find many role models at Tech - great attitudes, great work ethic, outstanding citizens.
6) Do your best every day - set goals, and work hard to achieve them.

These six items were written by mother, Marje Knudsen, of Beaverton, Oregon. Really great advice for the beginning of a school year!

Ninth Grade Open House - Meet The Team Night

Tomorrow evening, Aug 25, we host our first Ninth Grade Open House from 6 - 8 PM. Parents and students are invited to come walk around our very large building, meet their principal, have a tour, talk to our Athletic Director, and sign up for the parent portal. We are excited about the new school year and hope our new students catch the enthusiasm!

On September 1, the Athletic Department sponsors our fall sports Meet the Team night at 6 PM on the athletic field. We had some awesome firsts last year in our Sports program, and this year we join forces with York Country Day to offer even more sports programs to our students.

First day for students in grades 9 and 10 is Monday, Aug. 30th. See you then!

School Calendar & Uniforms

Just learned today that the school calendar should be arriving in homes around the first of August. It is always hard to believe how quickly the summer passes each year. Student testing dates are being added to the online calendar today and the student uniform information is being posted. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

New Web Calendar Posted

I always think it amazing that one school year comes to an end, teachers and students leave the building, but the work on the next school year begins immediately. Parents, please take a look at the school calendar on the school website. Although it will take another two months for you to receive your printed calendar in the mail, you can begin looking at dates and holidays now. Have a great summer!

Congratulations Jennifer Tsan

Jennifer Tsan has been named the 2010 Valedictorian of the Class of 2010 at York County School of Technology. Jennifer will be attending college in the fall to pursue a career in Web Design. We wish her the best. She is pictured with Ms. Nadine Brooks, Engineering/Construction Academy Principal. Andrew Shearer has been named as the Salutatorian of the Class of 2010. Both students were honored with a special merit award at the Commencement Ceremony on June 8, 2010 at the York Expo Center.

Sports Banquet

Last night was our annual sports recognition banquet, and it was great to see our young ladies and gentleman dressed well and proud of themselves. York Tech has had a lot of firsts this year in the sports arena...our winning football season, our softball team division win, the golf team, and our very fine cooperative effort with York Country Day for next year, so that we can offer girls basketball, soccer, and tennis. We are very fortunate to have the passion of Mr. Zortman and Mr. Caruso to drive our program, and I look forward to next year with great anticipation.

Senior Dinner - Senior Powerpoint

I must echo the comments of Dr. Wright about the Senior Dinner. What a great time! For the first time, we were able to show the unfinished Senior Powerpoint. Most of the time, most seniors get to see this once...if at all, at graduation. Dashae Francis had enough of it finished to roll the baby picture portion throughout dinner and give everyone a look at the rest of it. She's been working on it for over three months, every day! I've included a slide from the dinner that will be added. Kudos to Elijah Scott and his dad. They provided wonderful entertainment. Eli played the sax and his dad accompanied him.

State Testing is Complete!

We're almost through the first week of May, and with the exception of one more 4 Sight test, testing is complete for the year. We have great news to share! 94% of our graduating seniors completed the NOCTI skills assessment this year and 72% of them achieved a rating of proficient or advanced. That's an increase of 7% over last year. Even more exciting is that there was a significant increase (13%) of those seniors that scored advanced. Now THAT's good news for YCST. Our staff continues to be dedicated to student achievement.

Friday!

The week just flew! Seniors left on the Senior Trip to Florida on Thursday morning, Students of the Month were recognized by the board last night at the JOC meeting, PSSA's are wrapping up for another year.

Seniors should be watching the mail for their Senior Dinner Invitation and Commencement Packet. Lots to read...the excitement of the last month of school is only beginning.

Next week, we celebrate National Teacher's Week. We have awesome teachers at Tech. Say "thanks" for all their hard work this year. It is appreciated!

Race Against Racism

The Tech team of runners was awesome this year in the Race Against Racism. Congrats to Dr. Wright, Ms. Ludwig, Ms. Pavlick, Mr. Kessler, Ms. Stiger, Ms. Hillier, Ms. Kemmery, and Ms. Schaeberle for supporting such a worthy cause. York Tech is dedicated to providing a safe environment for our students and staff, free of racism and bullying.

2010 Prom

Junior class advisors Jody Kessinger and Marie Malandro are breathing a sigh of relief this week. The Prom "Vegas Nights" was a wonderful event at the Yorktowne this past Saturday night. It is so great to see our kids have a great time and look spectacular. Davon Talley from EC is the 2010 Homecoming King, and Adrian McLane from AH is the Queen.

SKILLS USA results

Our students returned from last week's State SKILLS USA competition and I saw some medals being proudly displayed yesterday as they walked through the halls. Congrats to Derek Stiles who took a first place in the State Competition and will represent us well at the National Convention in June. Derek also won a $2500 scholarship to Penn College of Technology.

Hannah Mummert, Tiffany Leas, Brittany Keller, and Kelsea Scarborough placed second in the Health Knowledge Bowl. They each won a $1500 scholarship to Penn College of Technology. These young ladies are juniors so look out next year. I expect great things from all of the them!

Off to State Competitions

Two groups of students are off to state competitions today:
Skills USA students are headed to the Hershey/Lebanon area.
TSA students are headed to 7 Springs in western PA. We wish them the best of luck and know they will represent us well.
Got your tickets for Donkey Basketball game this weekend? There are an awful lot of staff willing to climb on those donkeys to support our kids!

Report Cards to be issued early!

Student report cards will be mailed out tomorrow AM instead of the scheduled April 12 date. It's time to take a look at the Cumulative GPA list for the Class of 2010 and see who is currently ranked in the top 10 of the senior class.
One of the top 10, Christina Nelson, has worked in my office all year as a cooperative education student. She is currently finishing up banners that were donated by the Class of 2009 for the mall area.

Prom Court Announced

Congratulations to the following students who have been named to Prom Court 2010: Deaven Brown, Ben Dehoff, Kyle Finkenbiner, Davon Talley, Tavon Vasquez, Kristy Grove, Megan Hicks, Adrian McClane, Emma Preseinger, and Becky Weaver. York Tech's Prom will be held on Saturday, April 24 at the Yorktowne. Junior class advisors, Mrs. Kessinger and Ms. Malandro have been working hard to produce a quality event. Prom is always a highlight of the year. The students look so nice and have such a great time dancing and being with their friends.

Class of 2010

And so it begins....

NOCTI testing always precedes the last two months of school; the most exciting time of year for our seniors, the busiest time of the year for our seniors. I visited all of the technical areas yesterday during the hands on portion of the testing. The students were all focused and doing their very best. I'm not sure they appreciated having me photograph them, but those photos are used over and over to demonstrate the skills that our students acquire during their tenure at YCST.

March Students of the Month

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated as March Students of the Month:
Arts & Human Services Academy - Tanquasia Thomas, Gilkady Almanza
Engineering & Construction Academy - Shirene Humphrey, Kyle Finkenbiner
Manufacturing & Transportation Academy - Jesse Blair, Deaven Brown

Student of the Month recognition has been a long-standing tradition at YCST. How are they selected? Each academy selects and votes on their two monthly selections based on academic and technical performance, attitude, attendance, and that special something that makes these students stand out. A letter goes home to their parents and they are invited to attend the board meeting. I love this part of the recognition. Who is more proud on that evening? Student, parent, teacher or principal? It always is a toss-up, and an event that our Joint Operating Committee looks forward to.

NOCTI Testing - March 22

NOCTI testing always coincides with the beginning of Spring, the fourth marking period, and the final rush of the school year. Hard to believe that we're at that point in the year! The testing is required for all seniors and the hands on portion will be held on Monday, March 22nd. After the testing has concluded on that day, we have a variety of activities for seniors, including a career fair and information session about commencement.

Currently, students from Mrs. Kohl's and Mrs. Miller's Early Childhood Education Class are competing at the State FCCLA Competition at Seven Springs Resort in western PA. Because this co-curricular organization is so closely tied to the technical curriculum, her students usually do very well. I'll look forward to hearing about the results tomorrow afternoon.

Ultimate Chef Competition

Congrats to Briana Standing for being part of the winning team at the Ultimate Chef Competition at the Pa School of Culinary Arts. Kudos to Chef Gianopoulos for making such a terrific recommendation.

Ahhhhhh....It feels like spring. Today is the first day for Spring sports (even though the track team has been out running in ALL kinds of weather this winter.)

Congrats to the bowling tourney winners. Girl's highest game and series honor goes to Meranda Poole, and guy's highest game and series honor goes to Tyler Garner.

Our second parent night is tomorrow night at 6:30 in the Spart Inn. Got something on your mind? This is your opportunity to speak with an administrator. Hope to see you there!

Busy week at the Tech school! Kudos to Mrs. Plunkett and three of her senior Cosmetology students: Danielle Hoover, Keshla Morales and DeaDra Potter for working as hair stylists for the Red Lion Area High School "Little Shop of Horrors" musical. Their work was awesome and the students at Red Lion were most appreciative!

Shop Bowling Tourney today after school. Prizes in a variety of categories. Fun for all! Speaking of bowling, best of luck to Cheyenne Brown, Devin Throne and Elijah Scott who are bowling in the Reading Regional Bowling Tourney today!

PA High School Computer Fair Results

On March 2, Jennifer Tsan and Derek Stiles entered the PA High School Computer Fair at the Lincoln Intermediate Unit. Jen entered a website on South Africa, and placed first in the district for the Curriculum Based Website category. Jen and Derek entered the Information Based Website for the company, Phantom 4-Wheelers. There was stiff competition in this category, but they placed first. The State competition will be held on May 25 at Dickinson College. We are extremely proud of these two students. Their instructor is Ms. Lisa Pison.

Did you know?

Our staff has been involved in diversity training for the past two years with Dr. John Leeke from the Washington DC area. Over 100 staff members have already completed the three day training. Our school demographics have changed so much in the ten years that I have worked at the school. This quote from the Spring edition of Teaching Tolerance Magazine says it all, "Never before have we had so many young children entering schools populated by teachers who reflect neither their race, nor their language tradition, nor the community from which they come." The York Tech staff and administration are committed to student achievement.

March 1 One Call Message

I've had phone calls from parents today about the message last night - a little lengthy!

If you miss part of the message, you can always hear it again by doing one of the following:

* Log on to the school's website - click on the One Call link at the bottom of the home page OR

Call 1-877-698-3261. Follow the prompts and press 1 to hear the latest school message.

Welcome Mary Yarnal, Assistant Supervisor of Adult & Continuing Education

York Tech welcomes Mary Yarnal to our staff as the new assistant supervisor of Adult and Continuing Education. Mary comes to us from Indiana County Tech Center where she worked as the Adult Ed Coordinator and Grant Writer. We look forward to Mary's expertise as she joins our staff.

Just a reminder that this Friday, March 5th is a snow make-up day and school will be in session. Parents received this reminder last night via our One Call system. Not getting the messages? Please make sure that your academy office has your up to date phone number.

March 1 - Today is yearbook picture day and all students are being photographed in their technical area. Important info for the seniors! Thursday is your day for the annual photo. The '10 photo will be taken at 8:15 AM in the gym. If you have opted out of the dues, you may still be in the photograph. Wear a solid black t shirt and be included in the photo.