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Jerry Zucker Middle School Participates in Cards for the Courageous Campaign

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The City of Charleston Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families sponsored a community service project for students in the Charleston County School District.

The local project was called the “Cards for the Courageous Campaign” in which youth, ages 5-25, were asked to make cards for first-responders, military members, and veterans in honor of the September 11 Day of Service.

Three teachers at Jerry Zucker Middle School of Science, Ms. Michaels, Mr. Fast, and Ms. Gerideau-Grant, decided to collaborate on the project.  The middle school students in the Art, PLTW Pre-Engineering, and Computer Applications classes created original cards.

Thanks to everyone that made this project possible!

 

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Military Magnet Academy Hosts “Rover Ruckus” FIRST Tech Challenge Season Kickoff Event

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IMG_1883On Saturday, September 8, 2018, Military Magnet Academy’s “Robo Eagles”, along with “Rohming Robots“, MMA’s sister team, hosted the First Tech Challenge game season kickoff “Rover Ruckus!”

The exciting event was staged for competitive robotics teams from throughout South Carolina to kickoff the new season! In the 2019 First Tech Challenge season, teams will explore STEM concepts through a challenging, and out-of-this-world space themed game.

Lead event organizer and MMA Robo Eagles team advosor Ms. Carla Ferrette-Clark said, “This kickoff event was super exciting and informational!”

Copy of IMG_8010Teams participated in 3 workshop sessions:

  • Programming Options/Tips
  • Engineering Notebook
  • Design Process

Participating teams also enjoyed a group collaborative activity, “how to make toast” to showcase their critical thinking skills.

MMA 1 RoboticsThe teams eagerly watched the annual FTC Game Release video and enjoyed the field walk-through. This opportunity gives each team a chance to prepare for the season’s events.

7 robotics teams in all participated with a total of 74 registered guest.
Ms. Ferrette-Clark shared a special thanks to a member of the CCSD CTE Support Team for their support, “I would like to thank Ms. Tralice Reddock, one of our CTE District Representatives for coming by to see what the Rover Ruckus was all about!”

Also, Ms. Farrette- Clark shared her thanks for 2 Military Magnet students that helped with concession sales during the robotics season kickoff: Lalove Shine & Joshua Brooks.

Thanks to everyone that made this robotics event possible for students from Military Magnet Academy, as well as students from 6 other participating teams!

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Students Launch School Year with NASA Career Fair and Astronaut Visits

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Article written by Sully Recine with CCSD Office of Strategy & Communications: http://www.ccsdschools.com/news/what_s_new/students_launch_school_year_with_n_a_s_a

On Wednesday, Aug. 29 almost 1000 Charleston County School District students from over 20 schools attended the STEM Career Fair where they saw demonstrations of NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System.

The event, hosted by Charleston County Government in conjunction with an event fostering partnerships with local businesses and NASA, allowed students to explore STEM-related businesses and participate in hands-on learning experiences and interact with NASA staff.

As part of the Career Fair, retired astronaut Dr. Don Thomas spoke to the attending middle and high school students and later in the week visited students at St. Andrews School of Math and Science, Angel Oak Elementary, Mary Ford Elementary, Sanders-Clyde School and North Charleston Elementary. 


Chad Vail, Work-based Learning Partnerships Coordinator, CCSD Career & Technology Education Support Team, said career exploration of this nature not only improve academic performance but improves students’ knowledge of career options during the critical years when they are also beginning to venture beyond the orbit of their parents.NASA

The students listened intently as Thomas described his time in space and the many space flight experiences he had. Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Thomas became an astronaut in July 1991. Asked by a student what he took from those experiences, Thomas replied, “it changed me in two ways. I now have a keen appreciation for how fragile the earth is. And secondly, ask yourself how you view your place on planet earth. When I am asked where I’m from I say, ‘I’m from earth’,” he told the students. “We all are. We are all earthlings here and we all have to do our part to take better care of our planet.”

SPAWAR was one of the over 25 business vendors on hand. Kelly Thompson, Career Fairs and Career Academies Project Lead for SPAWAR said their participation in the Career Fair and similar events is for a number of reasons. “It helps not only in the workforce but in the community as a whole. But the goals is to get kids interested in science and math, and introduce them to SPAWAR and show them that this is a place that they can come and work locally. We want to keep kids in this area for our workforce.”

Their booth featured Meeper Bots which demonstrated mechanical engineering aspects of toys made of legos with blue tooth capability. The students learned about aero-dynamics, load and various aspects that in turn introduced them to the SPAWAR robotics program.

NASAWando High School 10th grader Ian Barrett was excited to attend the career fair with his engineering class and listen to a real astronaut speak about living in space. And while he has not yet determined his career path, engineering seems like a fun choice he said.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our community for collaboration and commerce,” said event organizer, and Charleston County Government Operations Officer Kevin Limehouse. “We feel this expo was more than just connections with NASA. It allowed like-minded businesses and organizations to meet and work together.”

 

Check out the gallery of pictures from the event below – additional pictures posted to the CCSD Facebook page.

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CCSD Students Participate in Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeships Signing Day

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Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeships logoOn a beautiful morning in July, 56 students and recent high school graduates (including 26 from seven Charleston County School District schools), were honored at the 5th annual Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeships Signing Day. Trident Technical College (TTC) and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce host the celebration and lead the way on this innovative program.

DSC_2655Students, graduates, business leaders, and other community members gathered at TTC’s Thornley Campus (formerly known as Main Campus) for a breakfast, roundtable discussion, and signing ceremony. CCSD Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Gerrita Postlewait and two CCSD grads who participated in the Apprenticeship program, Stephen Maddy (West Ashley Class of 2016) and Byrone Porcher (Wando Class of 2017), were part of the panel.

After the discussion, the following CCSD students and recent grads signed their contracts/letters of intent (24 of the 26 were present):

Automotive

Magda (Iris) Guevara—St John’s High School—Hendrick BMW
Tyler Spigner—West Ashley—Hendrick Dodge
Christopher Schmidt—Wando—Toyota N. Charleston
DM Smith—West Ashley—Hendrick Dodge
Zyaire Singleton—West Ashley—Hendrick DodgeDSC_2676

Bookkeeping/Pre-Accounting

Danielle Olivetti—JICHS—Greystar

CNA/Pre-Nursing

Makayla Walker—West Ashley—MUSC
Jasmine Chavis—West Ashley—MUSC

Culinary Arts

Cameron Dolan—Wando—Wild Dunes
Mackenzie Riley—West Ashley—SNOB

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Brandon Borerro—West Ashley—NCFD
Walter Houk—Wando—City of Charleston FD

Engineering Assistant (PLTW) 2+2 track

Daryll Masanque—R.B. Stall—Boeing

HVAC

Nolan Nickels—West Ashley—Cullum
Kevin Ramirez Nunez—West Ashley—LimRic
David Chestnut—West Ashley—MUSC

Hotel Operations

Grace Earle—Charleston County School of the Arts—Wild Dunes
Harrison Naugle—Wando—King Charles Inn

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Reese Allen—Wando—VTL
Marcus Gore—West Ashley—KION
Alexander Simmons—Wando—VTL

Machine Tool Technology

Thomas Jur—West Ashley—PK Precision
Adam Koecke—Wando—Metalworx
Zayadul Islam—Garrett—Venture

Networking

Brian Hawkins—West Ashley—City of Charleston DOT

Programming

Joseph Marsey—West Ashley—Boeing

Through the Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeships program, TTC connects qualified high school students with participating employers. The employers interview and hire the students, who then begin employment while taking high school and college courses. At the completion of the apprenticeships, students will have earned a high school diploma, a TTC certificate, a journeyman credential from the U.S. Department of Labor and two years of work experience.

All costs associated with the program, including tuition, books and most materials for apprenticeship-related courses at Trident Technical College, are covered while apprentices are working for a participating employer. Currently, there are over 120 business partners who have or are interested in hiring youth apprentices for the 2018‐19 academic school year.

Photo courtesy of Trident Technical College

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Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston Hosts 2 Career Exploration Camps for CCSD High School Students

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Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston (CAC.C) hosted two very special week long career camps this summer for students considering a career in architecture. These two camps allowed twice the number of students to attend this summer after a very successful pilot camp last summer. 

A total of 23 CCSD high school students completed the 2018 Architecture Career Summer Academy.  The first of the week long camps targeted rising freshmen and sophomores,  and the second week targeted rising juniors and seniors.IMG_5184

“The program was enormously well received by the students.” said Ray Huff, Director of the CAC.C.  Prof. David Pastre, assisted by Ms. Roxann Phillips from Garrett Academy of Technology, coordinated the two one-week programs.

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Students in the camps participated in many activities including fabricating a “concept room” from pre-cut wood, visiting the LS3P office in downtown Charleston, a walking tour of Charleston’s historic architecture, sketching concepts for various projects, using tools like a 3D printer and a laser cutter to create a model of their concept, including developing the design proposals for a small urban park that was reviewed in the traditional architecture jury format with many parents attending.

Students also got to visit Clemson’s new Zucker Family Graduate Education Center located on the old Navy Base in North Charleston adjacent to the Clemson University Restoration Institute, Warren Lasch Conservation Center and Energy Innovation Center’s wind turbine testing facility.

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“The goal in offering these career camps was to excite young students about the valuable role of architecture in our everyday experiences, so that they may consider architecture as a career,  shared Huff. “Even if they chose not to study architecture, the academy presented them an opportunity to develop an appreciation of good design in their lives,” Huff added.

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The camp was held a location that is still relatively new for the extension of the Clemson University campus in Charleston,  701 East Bay St. Charleston, SC 29403, also known as the old Cigar Factory building downtown.

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Check out these additional pictures from both weeks of this wonderful career camp – Thanks to everyone that made this amazing work-based learning opportunity possible!

 

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C. E. Williams Middle School Hosts SeaPerch Under Water Robotics Camp for Girls

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Rising seventh and eighth grade girls from C. E. Williams Middle School participated in a special camp this summer.

Led by CTE educator John Shell, participating students got to design and build their very own SeaPerch Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).

Thanks to the Shadowmoss Neighborhood Pool for hosting the students and their underwater robots for a SeaPerch style event at the end of the week.

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Successful Summer Camp at Buist Academy Encourages Female Students to Learn Computer Coding

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Buist3Students participated in a whirlwind of fun, engaging, and hands-on computer science activities during the “Yes, We Code” Girls Coding Camp held at Buist Academy this summer. Participants had the opportunity to experiment with different computer programming languages, website development, game design and 3-D computer animation.

Students used CSS and JavaScript to create a website and silly wanted ad posters. They explored Blockly coding and even created their very own a Flappy bird game for their smartphone. They defeated enemies while learning python programming through educational “gamification”.Students also got to visit the local Apple Store on King Street where they learning about Swift Code programming, and even learned code that made their robots dance!

Thank you Pamela Rijo for sharing this CTE success story!

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Garrett Academy Students Earn Adobe Illustrator ACA Certifications

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Students from Garrett Academy and Technology recently participated in a “Meme & Logo Contest” sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The focus of the design competition was “Preventing Gun Violence At Your School- Know the Signs 2018 Project Sentry”

Garrett Academy CTE student Tamara Pendarvis earned honorable mention in the contest.

The following 13 students, many pictured above, earned their Adobe Illustrator ACA Certification this year.

  • Aonjhane King
  • Teneva Stewart
  • Sole Walters 
  • Bernard Porcher 
  • Tamara Pendarvis 
  • Jermel Chisolm
  • Reginald Wigfall 
  • Brandon McGee 
  • Christopher Mailloux
  • TreyVon Hawkins 
  • Jacob Lisbon 
  • Khanayza President
  • ZaKaylia Broughton 

Thank you Ms. Anita Hepburn for sharing this good news about Garrett Academy of Technology students’ success!

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CTE Student from Burke High School Wins Statewide Logo Contest for Shred360

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Charleston, SC – Mr. Micah Brown, Digital Art & Design CTE Instructor at Burke High School, encouraged one of his students to enter a logo design contest for Shred360, a paper shredding company based in Columbia.

Burke senior Hesham Hikal was the winner of this year’s logo design contest, which included a $500 prize!Shred360 logo

Over 1,000 entries were submitted for this year’s contest, which is open to every student in the state of South Carolina. Hikal’s design will be placed on the back of one of Shred360’s trucks by the end of June, and will remain there until June 2019.

“It feels really good to be selected as the winner out of all those entries,” said Hikal. “We have a great thing going thanks to Mr. Brown, and I hope this award shows what we are all capable of in this class, and at Burke.”

Shred360 opened its doors 11 years ago, and has used this state-wide contest to determine their company’s logo each year of operation. “It’s an honor winning two logo competitions consecutively since the inception of the Digital Arts program here at BHS,” Brown stated. “I look forward to the coming years and connecting with the community to enhance learning in this way.”

Last year, a student from Mr. Brown’s class won a contest sponsored by the local branch of the insurance brokerage and consulting firm, NFP. The business was looking for a logo to place on souvenir bags for a health expo in which they were participating.

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It is also noteworthy that Mia Washington, another Burke HS student in Mr. Brown’s class,  finished in the top eight in this year’s Shred360 competition.

Thanks to Shred360 for providing this terrific project-based learning opportunity for SC students!

Student Run IT Help Desk at Military Magnet Academy Celebrates First Year Success

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Ms. Carla Ferrette-Clark, CTE Information Technology  Instructor at Military Magnet Academy provided the following recap of the first year of a student run computer & IT support team formed to provide assistance to teachers and students at their school.

The MMA Eagles Help Desk is our piloted Tier 1 support program. The students that participated in this program took roles as help desk technicians. They supported the faculty and staff at Military Magnet Academy with technical issues that ranged from smart board troubleshooting, printer jams, and school wide equipment inventory just to name a few. The students developed a website which allowed our faculty to submit technical assistance request tickets for tracking as well as customer surveys that would allow feedback to the students (Google Sites, Google Forms). The students were offered a real world experience through problem-solving strategies, critical and creative thinking, and communication and collaboration skills.

Participating MMA Students

  • Michael Archie
  • Khalin Brown
  • Benney Fernandez
  • Ernest Gentile Jr
  • Donald Lauer
  • Jacob Rowe

The program was establish through an agreement between Military Magnet Academy administration, Ms. Judith Wyndham, Director of Customer Support Information Technology (aka CCSD Help Desk) and Ms. Darcy Stewart with CCSD Information Technology.

Participating students had the opportunity to experience in-service training sessions on troubleshooting techniques and tips, mock interviews, and a host of other activities that would assist with increasing their technical skills.

We greatly appreciate the support given by our wonderful Technology Department and look forward to the future of this program. Last Friday, Ms. Wyndham, Ms. Stewart, and Mr. Welch came in to close out the semester with a session with the students on employability skills and a wonderful lunch for the students. The students were also presented with awards and recognition during our Annual Senior Awards Night

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