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.