Grant Career Center
December 2013 News
Students Share with Those in Need
In response to the great need felt by families during the winter holiday season, Grant Career Center’s Student Advisory Council led the
charge to raise money to provide meals and necessities during the
holidays for families at the Career Center. The students volunteered
to coordinate the school’s efforts to raise money as well as to shop for groceries and gifts, sort
food drive contributions and wrap and distribute all the items to the Grant Career Center families
in need.
Student Advisory Council members set goals for the students and staff and watched as the money began flowing in. Each career and technical program pledged to raise money and to help
achieve the goal. The methods were as varied as the programs themselves.
Culinary students started our days with deluxe hot chocolate and coffee, the engineers created
personalized key chains, name tags and engraved chocolate bars. The Teacher Academy students offered green apple lollipops, and the Horticulture students sold flowers by the dozen! The
Auto Collision students detailed cars and cleaned and buffed headlights with all proceeds donated to the holiday fund while the Allied Health Science students hosted an evening of ZUMBA
dancing and baked goods!
The Cosmetology students and past graduates hosted a Cut-a-Thon and cut and styled hair for
cash or canned food donations. They also hosted a Bake Sale during the Cut-a-thon that offered
delicious treats all day long. This amazing group of young ladies raised a total of $638.67 and
brought in 1,771 cans. It was a monumental effort that involved great planning, sacrificing and
a very big heart. For their outstanding efforts, the Cosmetology program has been awarded the
Loving Cup once again this year. (It really never leaves their department!)
Some classes simply collected money from its students for the privilege of wearing street clothes
rather than their uniforms, listening to music while they work, and taking special breaks. The
staff also helped out with special dress down days with the proceeds to benefit the cause. Students participated in a Penny War, collecting pennies and change that was earmarked for holiday
perishable food. Altogether, staff and students have raised a total of $5,035.36 to this point.
The students also held a food drive throughout November to provide food baskets to the families
in need. The students responded with a total of 3,518 food items that went to help 49 families at
the Career Center. The students are currently participating in a two-sack challenge to fill boxes
of food for the upcoming holiday.
A special thank you is extended to all area businesses, parents, and friends who participated in
this fund-raising endeavor. The help was greatly appreciated by those families who struggled
with extra needs this winter holiday season.
Carpentry Program Out and About on Construction Projects
The senior Carpentry class started on their second project of the year at the Stamper residence in Bethel. A few years ago, the class built
a deck around the Stamper home and they were
pleased with the experience so they came back
when the need arose for a new equipment storage building.
The class is currently working on a 30’ by 60’
pole building in the middle of the farm. The
challenges of this project arise from its location
once again. Instructor Bill Pride said, “There is no electricity so we are working from a generator and we have to park the bus and walk to the site, carrying all of our equipment and supplies with us.” The seniors are now setting trusses on the project and braving the elements in
the ever-changing Ohio weather!
The junior Carpentry class is currently out on the jobsite
when the weather permits. The students have been working
on an all metal storage building for the Williamsburg School
District maintenance department. Much of the work on the
project was completed at school as they pre-fabricated much
of the structure under roof, then dismantled the walls and
transported the pieces to the
jobsite.
The students have enjoyed the opportunity to be out in the
community and build a facility for the school that will be a part
of the community for a long time. Many skills have been mastered including layering of clothes for working in all types of
weather!
Ambassador Team Prepares for
Career Exploration Activities
An Ambassador Team was recently selected to represent Grant
during the upcoming Sophomore and Eighth Grade Career Exploration activities. Team members include Erin McKee and Sarah Holman, Allied Health Science; Melissa Dameron and Alexandra Nissel, Cosmetology; Roger Thornberry, Automotive Service Technology; Kaitlyn Clark, Criminal Justice; Lexi Martin and Miranda Berry, Medical Information Tech; Anna Wiegand, Teacher Academy; Jake Robinson, Engineering Design; Justin
Moeller, Carpentry; and Rose Steel, Horticulture.
The students recently came together for a day of team building activities, personality assessments, and building tours and training. The Ambassadors learned a lot about themselves and
the programs at Grant and will put that information to good use. The students will continue to
prepare for their responsibilities and will debut their new skills at the Eighth Grade Parent Night
on January 8, 2014.
Engineering Design Partners with UC Clermont Engineering Program
A collaboration with the UC Clermont Rapid Prototyping class and the Engineering Design program yielded great results for all. The students met at
UC Clermont in late November and worked to create a projectile launcher.
Students from both schools worked as teams to meet the challenge of the
assignment and to win in one of the five categories in the design contest.
Students were judged on accuracy, consistency, greatest shooting distance,
best design solution, and best esthetics.
Students worked at both campuses and spent lots of time emailing ideas and designs. The project took the teams through the design process, building of their creation, and the actual operation of the launcher. The students provided proper documentation of the design as well as the
finished product on competition day.
When the day of the competition arrived, Grant instructor, Tobin Huebner, and UC instructors, Dexter Hulse and Chris Goodman, were anxious to see what their collaboration would bring. The students gathered
with their creations and plans, and the launching began. Students saw
what worked, what worked well, and what didn’t work at all. The instructors were excited to see that the competition brought out the best
in the students, and they accomplished much more than they expected.
The students at Grant gained tons of confidence through the project as
they saw that their skills stacked up well against the college students. Senior Taylor Carpenter said, “I learned that time management and communication are the most important part of working efficiently as a group. I also
learned that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and that these
should be taken into consideration, and most importantly, everyone’s ideas
are important. Team work is essential to a group project and the work
should be split evenly according to member’s strengths and weaknesses,
so that everyone has a chance to contribute to the project.”
Metal Fabrication Students Visit Enerfab Facilities
In mid-December, the Metal Fabrication program headed to
Spring Grove Avenue to visit the facilities of Enerfab. At Enerfab, students saw large scale production of holding tanks
created from carbon steel, stainless steel and copper. These
tanks are used in area breweries, beverage companies and
food preparation facilities. After that visit, they moved on to Brighton Tru-Edge Heads, a division of Enerfab that creates the lids that seal the tanks. The lids that were being fabricated
ranged in size from 6 inches to 25 feet.
Junior Kim Pruit was very impressed with the project that they saw during their visit. “I liked
that they were working on loading a huge tank onto a truck for shipping. It is cool that they
work on huge projects and are serious about getting the job completed.” Brylee Emerson
learned that Enerfab takes job safety very seriously and was amazed at all the things they can
do with steel. It is always a great learning opportunity for students to see industry applications
of their newly learned skills and look toward their future career placement.
Students of the Month
The October Students of the Month were announced in early
November to recognize students for their outstanding efforts
in the classroom or lab setting. We are very proud of the students and their exceptional efforts.
October Students of the Month are Jess Riley, a junior in the
Biotechnology program at Bethel-Tate who was nominated
for her research on biotechnology topics outside of the classroom. Garrett Freeman, a senior Auto Collision student from Williamsburg was recognized by
Mrs. Pfeffer for his consistently great work in English as was Michael Rinehart, a Metal Fabrication junior from Bethel-Tate who was nominated by Mr. Jackson for excellent work and a great
attitude in his English class. Courtney Jervis, a junior Culinary Careers student from Bethel-Tate
was nominated by instructor Gary Forsee because she comes to school every morning to help
the cooks prepare breakfast for the students. “She certainly goes above and beyond all expectations we have for our students!”
Three of the November Students of the Month were chosen because of their amazing efforts for the Food Drive!
Carpentry instructor Chad Graybill nominated Jacob Zieger
because he was the “Food Drive Hero” and prodded his
class along to meet their goals and bring in their donations. “Jacob stayed on top of his responsibilities and reminded his classmates every day until the challenge was
met.” Jacob is a Carpentry junior from Bethel-Tate.
The next two students recognized in November are Hope
Roush and Alexus Tumbleson, junior Cosmetology students who combined to bring in 1,032 food items for the drive. The girls were true champions
as they worked to secure donations and haul the bounty into school each day.
Our fourth student to be recognized was Cody Johnson, a New Richmond senior in the Carpentry program. Cody helped a young boy who was being attacked by a dog in his community.
Congratulations to all of our Students of the Month!
Engineering Concepts and Math Applications
Classes Visit the Engineering Design Program
The Engineering Concepts and Math Applications classes from
Bethel-Tate High School visited the Engineering Design department at Grant to see how parts for their crane project were manufactured. The ECMA class had been working on an electromagnetic nail that was suspended
from the crane and the nail holder was created and manufactured in the lab at Grant. The part
was produced from acrylic sheets cut on the laser cutter and was then suspended from the
crane.
The ECMA students had a chance to meet and talk to the Engineering Design students and find
out more about the career-training program and the projects that the students are completing.
Many of the students are looking forward to enrolling in the engineering program as juniors
and were eager to find out the details from the current students.