It’s the fourth quarter and the calendar is full of student showcases, senior awards, and of course our annual Fashion Show on May 4-5. Students have been passionately engaged and working hard on their skills, projects and our seniors are putting the final touches on their post secondary plans. We held a hiring event in March and over one hundred seniors interviewed with local business for open positions within their related fields of interest. On May 11th we will celebrate and honor the students who will be entering the workforce directly after graduation at our Signing Event. We hope to see you at a spring Central Campus event. You won’t want to miss seeing our talent on display!

Looking ahead to the 23/24 school year, we are adding to our Business, Culinary, Welding, Health Sciences, Automotive, and Hospitality & Tourism programs. We are also expanding our paid student “earn and learn” opportunities where students can earn Highschool credit, college credit, and a paid internship or registered apprenticeship. Our enrollment is booming and we want our entire community to know the opportunities students have right here in Des Moines Public Schools!

We look forward to seeing you this spring.

Tascha Brown

Director of Career and Technical Education and Central Campus

1800 Grand Ave

Des Moines, IA 50309

515-242-7589

Centralcampus.dmschools.org

April 21st - Central Campus greenhouse sale begins

April 21st and 24th - No School

May 29th - No School

When your student will not be at school, please make sure to contact your child’s home school and also Central Campus. Our attendance systems do not share information between schools.

• Phone: 515.242.7653

• Email: Terriann.Kent@dmschools.org

We strongly encourage students to initiate contact with their teachers when they are gone from school to ensure they are staying on top of classwork.

Mark your calendars for celebrations we'll be having that highlight the work that's been done in the various programs within Central Campus. Additional details will be provided as we get closer to the date.

May 1st - Ocean Week, Multipurpose Room

May 4th, 7pm - Fashion Show, Auditorium

May 8th, 4-8pm - Art Show, 3rd Floor

May 11th, 4pm - Workforce Signing Night, Auditorium

May 15th - FFA Banquet

May 16th, 5-7pm - JROTC Program Celebration, Auditorium

May 18th, 6-7pm - Early Childhood Careers Program Celebration, Multipurpose Room

Mr. Tim Brickley - Business Academy

With 24 years of business teaching experience, though in his first year with Des Moines Public Schools and Central Campus, Tim Brickley loves to help students find their passion by giving them hands-on experience to grow their skills and turn their part-time interests into full-time careers. Along with teaching students, Mr. Brickley spent last summer as an extern with Des Moines Parks and Recreation Marketing department where he developed social media posts and promoted events and projects. Below are details regarding the Business Academy classes that are provided.

Want to learn how to start your own business, use social media to market your product or even invest in real estate? Central Campus’ Business Academy can help you do that and more. With classes open to all high school students grades 9 through 12 and no pre-requisites, find the classes that will take your earning to a higher level.

Here is a look inside each class:

Small Business Start-Up: How do you start a business? Using hands-on projects and simulations, students learn the tools to start their own businesses. They even draft business plans and pitch their ideas in competitions.

Entrepreneurship/E-Commence: Turn your hobby or interest into a side hustle that can earn you real money. Students in this class learn how to design and build out an e-commerce business. Each semester students compete for the best new business, pitching against students from across the nation. Students can also earn University of Iowa credit.

Accounting: How does money work inside a business? Accounting students work through the entire accounting cycle to understand how money makes the business world go. Students also compete in an accounting competition with the Iowa Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Investment and Real Estate: Want to make money? Using simulations and competitions, this class will teach you how to buy and sell real estate, and how to determine the right investments for your earning goals.

Content Marketing: Learn how to sell your own products or the products of a business. Hands-on projects and simulations give students practical experience to understand how marketing works.

Social Media Marketing: Learn why and how to use social media to sell products and businesses. Students can even become certified as a social media marketer through Stukent.com.

Graphic Communications partnering with Landus

Landus, one of our business partners, invited students from Central Campus and Greene County High School to collaborate on a project. Central Campus Graphic Design teacher, Tim Rice, teamed up with the Art Teacher at Greene County to create a design that reflected the Landus theme of "Bridging the Gap". Twenty-five students created artwork using colored chalk on blackboards that highlighted new agriculture technologies that show how urban and rural areas relate to the farming industry. The artwork was then on display for the attendees of the Innovation Connector Event, that Landus was hosting, in the coming weeks. Check out some of the artwork below.

Graphic Communications Business Partners

Landus

Ink Space

Carter Marketing

Root Cos Marketing

This year, Central Campus has been committed to closing the gap for seniors! In order for all students to have access to a high-quality job after high school, seniors took part in Senior Preparation Sessions that focused on resume building, interview preparation, mock interviews and culminated in a first ever Hiring Fair. Over 40 businesses came to Central Campus on March 9th with the intention to hire students after graduation. Business leaders shared with staff that the Central Campus students were so prepared and poised. We are so proud of our students!

Spring is in the air! Beginning April 21st and going through May 20th, the Central Campus Greenhouse Plant Sale will occur. Students and teachers have been working hard to share some beautiful options for you to purchase and take home.

Follow the greenhouse on Facebook or Instagram: @CentralCampusHorticulture.

This segment will focus on ergonomics, a fancy term for body mechanics, positioning, and efficiency, specifically related to the workplace, but can be useful for anyone finding themselves in a prolonged position that could potentially adversely affect and/or put strain on muscles/joints/tendons of the arms, wrists, fingers, or neck.

Some key things to consider are if you feel pain, stop, and adjust. Stretch, reposition, and/or take a movement break. Aerobic activity helps sustain strength, improve cardio conditioning, and counteract strain of sedentary activities such as computer use. See below for other helpful tips and be good to yourself!

Posture And Positioning

• Maintain good posture, use a chair with back support while using a keyboard.
• Keep feet supported on floor/footrest reducing pressure on your lower back.
• Take 1–2-minute breaks incorporating stretches 3 times/hour if able.

Work Technique

• Alternate tasks to make changes in your working position to avoid making the same movements for prolonged periods of time.
• Relax fingers and knuckles when doing keyboard work.
• Lay pens/pencils down when typing.
• Hit the keys softly, studies have shown average users hit the keyboard 4X harder than necessary.
• Relax your grip on your mouse as well.
• Rest eyes by refocusing on distant objects every few moments.

Work Environment

• Keep keyboard, pointing device, files, and telephone within easy reach.

· Maximize comfort/efficiency by adjusting screen font, contrast, pointer size, speed and/or color.

• Position the monitor of your device so that:
1. Your neck is in a neutral or straight position centered directly in front of your monitor, slightly below the top of your head, so that you are looking with a slightly downward gaze.
2. Excessive glare or reflections from windows and/or lighting is lessened.

The ‘Pec Corner Stretch’ shown above is very therapeutic and can also be done in a doorway. Stretching should be relaxing, it is not meant to be painful. Adjusting your body while completing this stretch will vary your results, so I encourage you to experiment in finding what works to get your desired stretch.

For more information, check out this website from the University of Pittsburgh:

Ergonomic Tips for Computer Users | Environmental Health and Safety | University of Pittsburgh

Have a great day,

Nurse Jasmine Lester, BSN, RN 515-242-7779

Please reach out with any questions you have, email, call, or stop by.

Jasmine.lester@dmschools.org Office # 2503

Apprenticeship Opportunities at John Deere

Hiring is underway for customer service representatives and welding apprentices at John Deere. Selected students will complete two years of instruction at Central Campus and approximately 2000 hours of on-the-job learning with John Deere. Apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeship will receive a nationally recognized certification.

Schedule Changes for SY 23-24

Students and parents should keep an eye on their student and parent emails from Central Campus. Staff will be working to resolve schedule conflicts and changes for next year. We may need to reach out for your input.

Course Requests for SY 23-24

The course request link for students new to a program at Central Campus is open.

• The link can be found here for current students who attend a DMPS HS or MS.

• Students who attend out-of-district or private schools should ask their home HS counselors for their unique link.

• Seats will be given on a first come, first served basis.

DMACC Drop Dates

Classes that offer DMACC credits have the following drop windows:

• No Transcript Penalty – Jan 19 – Feb 27

• Drop with “W” (Withdrawal) – Feb 28 – Apr 17

• Drop with “F” (Failing) – Apr 18 – June 2

Grades for these classes are recorded on both the DMPS and college transcripts.

John Hickling, School Counselor, Student Last Names A-L, John.Hickling@dmschools.org

Jennifer Scott, School Counselor, Student Last Names M-Z, Jennifer.Scott@dmschools.org

Mary Moua, Counseling Assistant, Mary.Moua@dmschools.org

Diana Lovan, Future Ready Coach, Diana.Lovan@dmschools.org

Discover Central Campus & discover your future. Eight advance career academies, 33 specialized programs offer multiple pathways to career readiness.

Email: centralcampus@dmschools.org
Website: https://centralcampus.dmschools.org/
Location: 1800 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone: 515-242-7846
Facebook: facebook.com/CentralCampusDSM
Twitter: @CentralCampusDM