CTE Bulletin

The Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES held its 2024 Annual Meeting on April 3 in the Howard D. Mettelman Learning Center.

The evening included a performance by the Proctor High School Senior Choir led by Dr. Alla Kudelich, dinner, tours of Career and Technical Education programs and the Annual Meeting program.

Hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dessert were prepared by Chef Courto and Chef Hoffmeister’s Culinary Arts classes. The meal began with a salad of fresh field greens with local apples, candied pecans, grape tomatoes and sweet red onion; dressed with a house-made maple vinaigrette. The main course included Chicken Morelle -- a chicken roulade with Utica greens, roasted red peppers and provolone cheese, served with house-made fettuccine in a riggie-style cream sauce and bouquetiere vegetables. The meal was capped off with dessert plates that included a selection of decadent confectioneries from the students of the Culinary Arts pastry kitchen.

Following dinner, attendees toured the Construction Trades, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Education, Electricity/Mechatronics, New Visions and Welding programs where students demonstrated their skills and recent work.

Attendees returned to the Howard D. Mettelman Learning Center for the introduction of candidates for the Cooperative Board by Board President Anthony Nicotera, a presentation of the 2024-25 OHM BOCES budget by Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Scott Morris and remarks from District Superintendent Patricia N. Kilburn, Ed.D.

On March 12, we were invited to Corcoran High School in Syracuse to compete in a welding competition. The competition, dubbed The Thruway Cup, was organized by Jose Ocasio (Welding Instructor Corcoran High School) and Cal Manning (Welding Instructor for Haun Welding). The competition was sponsored by Haun Welding Supply, JPW Construction and Bennit Bolt Works.

The Thruway Cup is a state-wide competition for five different regions throughout New York State. The competition gave students the ability to perform in a real world scenario and network with students from around NYS and industry professionals. At the competition students were given a blueprint for a weldment that they had to build as close to specification of the print as possible. Four finalists from our area will be selected (in the next two weeks) to compete in Rochester, NY in May against the 16 other finalists from throughout NYS. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top three competitors. All competitors were given a gift bag from Haun Welding containing welding safety gear as well a prize of their choosing at the end of the preliminary competition.

Attendees from OHM BOCES are Brendan Lee from Sauquoit, Ava White From Whitesboro and Mikeal Hawkins from New Hartford.

In February, Mr. Peckham and Mrs. Wagner’s MiTech 10 class went on a field trip to Alder Creek Gorge. In December, students began to research the positive effects of outdoor recreation for teens. Students found through their research that time spent outdoors outside of regular academic learning could lead to more in-class productivity and stronger peer relationships.

“The guides were very informative," said New York Mills tenth grader James Baldwin. "For example, we saw many different animal tracks and they knew what animals they were, and told us how we could identify them. They also knew many different tree types and they told us what they were and their key identifying features. In addition to the information we learned, it was also very good for me and my classmates to converse in an out of school setting.”

During the field trip our guides, Coach Emily and Coach Bud, took the time to teach us about various tree species and identifying animal tracks.

On March 18, the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES chapter of SkillsUSA provided mock interviews for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students. It was an opportunity for students to practice their communication skills with professionals, and partners from local businesses and industry volunteered their time to come and interview students. Feedback from interviewers indicated that students seemed to be well-prepared.

Some students were offered the opportunity to follow up with a real interview and job opportunity.

Students at the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Career and Technical Education Center had an opportunity to learn about available jobs in their own community during the Career and Technical Education Center’s annual job fair on March 27 at the Howard D. Mettelman Learning Center.

This event, which included students in CTE and P-TECH, was planned with the help of School to Careers. More than 40 employers from around the region interacted with over 800 students. In turn, students had the chance to assess future career opportunities that await them throughout the region.

Career and Technical Education Center programs focus on preparing students for employment, careers or post-secondary education through the development of technical and 21st-century skills. Working with state-of-the-art equipment, students apply theory and knowledge to a wide range of real life work assignments in shops and laboratories. In addition to technical skills, students learn critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, positive employment attitudes, job seeking skills, familiarization with related career opportunities and college readiness.

Email: mhoover@oneida-boces.org

Website: https://www.oneida-boces.org
Location: 4747 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford, NY, USA
Phone: 315-793-8666
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ohmboces1/
Twitter: @ohmboces