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Viking utures
September 2018
Lowndes County Schools Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education
“What I am to be, I am becoming�
Volume 18, Issue 1
Work-Based Learning
Lowndes High School and Community Partners
In this ISSUE
Work-Based Learning (WBL) is designed to be a bridge between the school, employers, and the families within our community! We have a had very busy and robust August...placing over 50 students at the worksites of over 45 employers. We are very grateful to all of our partners and highlight each of them and their individual contribution to our WBL program on our social media accounts. Please follow us on Instagram and Twitter @lhs_wbl to see all the great things that are happening in the Work-Based Learning Program and to see all of our amazing partners that have employed our students this year!
News From: FFA FCCLA FBLA AFROTC HOSA
Automotive SkillsUSA Hahira TSA
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Pictured from left to right: Cody Williams, Landon Hutchinson, Marquez Gardner, Tyson Wysong, Mr. Andre Newson, Jenny Clark, and Kylee Jenkins (not pictured: Johnathan Patterson and Kinnidy Walden) Johnathan Frazier obtained a job working in his field of study at Black Crow Media as a graphic designer. Johnathan will be placed as a Youth Apprenticeship Student (YAP) in our WBL program. We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunities that it will provide not only for Johnathan as he works with the preeminent power in radio, marketing, and advertising in the Southeast; but also for the future students from our Graphic Design Program whom we can also place with Black Crow Media in the future.
Highlighted in this months Viking Futures are two employers and our parent meeting. A special thanks Valdosta Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for employing 8 of our students as recreational aides, one as a maintenance worker and another as a senior-center programming aide. We are thrilled with this partnership and all the ways that our students will grow working for this amazing company.
Pictured left to right: Johnathan Frazier and Jay Mathews
Parents play an integral part in the success of our WBL program. We had a great turnout and participation rate at our parent meeting! Thank you to all the parents who have partnered with us in the Career-Related education that we provide your students!
New Faces to Lowndes High CTAE Work Based Learning Jason Van Nus Work Based Learning Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator
Andrea Bridges Teaching as a Profession Teacher Work Based Learning Coordinator
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA Students Attend COLT This summer 42 students from Lowndes County Schools FFA chapters attended Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) in St. Simons, GA. In attendance were students from Hahira Middle School, Lowndes Middle School, Pine Grove Middle School, and Lowndes High School. Each summer, the Lowndes County Schools FFA Advisors provide their chapter officers with leadership development to build relationships, develop teamwork, and plan their upcoming school year in FFA. This year’s theme for Chapter Officer Leadership Training was “Chart Your Course.” The Lowndes FFA Officers were encouraged to develop skills that will help them chart a course to success through their time of leadership in FFA. The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, changed its name in 1988 to reflect the growth and diversity of agriculture. The Georgia Association has more than 41,000 members in 333 chapters, making it the third largest Association in the nation. The FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success, through agricultural education.
Bennett Leads at National FFA Convention, Herring Named Star Finalist Indianapolis-Ian Bennett will serve as a National Officer at the upcoming National FFA Convention, October 23-27. Landon Herring was named as a Star in Placement National Finalist. Eighteen other Lowndes FFA members have been named National Finalists as well. Currently, Lowndes County FFA will have a delegation of 52 including these finalists, members, parents, teachers, and administrators attend the convention. Ian Bennett was elected last year to the position of Southern Region Vice President for the National FFA Organization (653,359 FFA members, aged 12-21, in 8,568 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). At the FFA National Convention he will preside over a session (65,000 expected attendance), Co-Chair another, give a Retiring Address, and speak in the Opening Ceremony at each of the televised sessions. Landon Herring has been selected as a National Finalist for the coveted American Star in Placement, which is the pinnacle of awards offered by the National FFA Organization. Herring was selected for this award based on his work during his 7 year FFA career at Herring Farms. He and Hunter Corbett will be recognized for earning their American FFA Degrees, which are only given to FFA members who continue their SAEs beyond high school. Also, Gabriella Daugherty will serve as a Delegate to the Convention for the Georgia FFA Association. All the proficiency and agriscience fair applicants from Lowndes County Schools to the National FFA were recently named National Finalists (18 total). They earned this designation through submission of their proficiency applications and research reports for National consideration, following winning State in their respective categories. These Finalists will compete at the Convention in hope of winning national recognition.
Finalists and categories are as follows: Proficiency (1 of 4 in the nation) Courtney Cameron - Integrated Systems Agriscience Research Trevor Ross - Specialty Animal Production Levi Herring - Plant Systems Agriscience Research Agriscience Fair (1 of 12 in the nation) Britton Davis - Animal Systems, Division 1 Joe Corbett - Environmental Systems, Division 4 Cayden Mathews - Environmental Systems, Division 4 Avery Fletcher - Social Systems, Division 6 Morgan Sysskind - Social Systems, Division 6 Connie Rogers - Social Systems, Division 3 Alexis Herring - Plant Systems, Division 3 Cedric Montgomery - Environmental Systems, Division 6 Zach Gay - Environmental Systems, Division 6 Zach Daw - Food Systems, Division 3 Tyler Freeman - Animal Systems, Division 3 Elizabeth Fisher - Power, Structural, and Technical Systems, Division 5 Parker Jones - Power, Structural, and Technical Systems, Division 4 Madison Webb - Power, Structural, and Technical Systems, Division 4 Madison McDonald - Power, Structural, and Technical Systems, Division 3
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA LCSFFA Members and Advisors Attend the Floral Design Trainings Lowndes County Schools FFA members recently attended FFA Floral Design Career Development Event trainings held at Coffee County High School and Eighth Street Middle School. This training was developed specifically for FFA members and FFA Advisors to strengthen their floral design skills as well as build confidence in their own creative ability. The training was led and sponsored by South Region Agriculture Education and generous donations from many floral companies. FFA Advisors/Agriculture Teachers that were in attendance included Janie Kailee Bennett (HMS Advisor) and HMS FFA members Emily Javenes and Daisee Karlin, Pamela Ross (LMS Advisor) and LMS FFA members Abigail Griffin, Lilliana Nolan, Marc Dennis, Anna Taylor (PGMS Advisor) and PGMS FFA members Jayda Spell and Kadence Fruth, and Anglia Webb-Crosby (LHS Advisor) and LHS FFA members Paige Jones, Aubrey Gahagan, Hannah Wisenbaker, Morgan Yeomans, Brooklyn Kent. The Floral Design Career Development Event, which will be held in September, allows students to showcase their talents in a competitive environment by utilizing the principles and elements of design. Students use the principles of balance, proportion, scale, focal point, emphasis, rhythm, harmony, unity, and the technique of flower placement to create their designs.
At the senior level, each student must also identify twentyfive flowers, plants or equipment from a list of seventy-five as well as take a test over the floral industry, safety and the proper techniques of floral design. The students design one to two floral arrangements during the area events in the time permitted based on the scenario given. The top two students from each of the six area events will move on to compete on the state level in December at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
Students Attend Summer Leadership Camp This summer, 60 students from Lowndes County Schools FFA chapters attended Summer Leadership Camp (SLC) at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center in Covington, on the banks of Lake Jackson. In attendance were students from Hahira Middle School, Lowndes Middle School, Pine Grove Middle School, and Lowndes High School. This year marked the seventh year in a row that the girls of Lowndes County FFA won Leadership Team of the Week. Leadership Team of the Week is selected by vote by camp staff and campers from other chapters. Teams are chosen because of their spirit, leadership, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm for events held during the camp week. Each summer, the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center hosts six weeks of Summer Leadership Camp for high school and middle school students involved in chapters of Georgia’s FFA and FCCLA youth leadership programs. Teachers bring their students to the week-long camp, where they participate in leadership programming designed to build relationships, develop teamwork and leadership attributes, and most importantly, have a great time! Activities include team and individual competitions, dances, the mega slide, the blob, swimming, ropes course, shooting sports, crafts, horseback riding, a muddy obstacle course, and more! This year’s theme for Summer Leadership Camp was “Connect”. One presenter stated, “Our world is made up of connections and personal relationships run the world. We’ve found that the remarkable can happen when unexpected connections occur: paths cross, forces combine, people collaborate, and new ideas come alive.” Students were challenged to discover new ways to connect with themselves and to connect with others. This theme guided the programming for the week, including skits, challenges, and nightly reflections. Over the course of the six weeks of Summer Leadership Camp, the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center hosted more than 3,300 students, advisors, and guests. Driven by the purpose of investing in the lives of every camper that comes through the gate, the summer was full of fun, new experiences, and life-changing growth. “Summer Leadership Camp is a unique experience for students that is full of fun and memorable activities, but the ultimate goal is to provide the atmosphere for teachers and students to connect in such a way that teachers can better invest in their students year-round,” says Russel Towns, Camp Manager.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE /STAR EVENT Six Lowndes High FCCLA (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America) members traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for the 73rd national conference and STAR events competition. The theme for the conference, “Inspired by FCCLA” encouraged all participants to incorporate the FCCLA programs and purposes into their goals and dreams to magnify their own lives. Each day of the conference held opportunities for personal growth and community involvement through inspiring guest speakers, community service events, and the STAR events competitions. The Lowndes High FCCLA chapter competed in 4 STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) events and brought home 4 medals. Luz Benitez, Unique Davis and Karena Green earned a gold medal for their national programs in action project, “Pennies For Puerto
Rico”. The project involved raising thousands of dollars for the families in Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria. Then preparing care packages stuffed with the necessities that were destroyed in the wake of the Hurricane. Each care package contained notes of encouragement and the FCCLA motto. Meredith Proctor earned a gold medal for her Interior Design Project that involved adapting a small, older Craftsman style home to be handicap accessible, functional, and stylish for a newlywed couple. Jessica Rumph earned a silver medal for her Nutrition and Wellness project, “Diabetic Dilemma”. Jessica investigated how to improve meal planning and nutritional choices for teens dealing with diabetes. Evelyn Montgomery also earned a silver medal for her Fashion Design project, “The Bees Knees”. Evelyn created a line of clothing that would be environmentally friendly, attractive for teen girls, and affordable. The Lowndes High delegation explored the many attractions of Atlanta including Olympic Park, The World Congress Center, and the Georgia Aquarium. The Lowndes High FCCLA adviser is Margie Chatelain.
HOSA IN THE NEWS
FBLA Officers Attend SLOTS
Lowndes HOSA Vice-President Carmela Bajenting and Secretary Jaden Hylton attended Jump Start Officer Training at ABAC July 18th. Carmela and Jaden learned the roles of their office and how to help manage a chapter efficiently.
On July 12th, FBLA officers Joyce Liu (President), Kenna Fussell (Secretary), and Chantel Gray (Parliamentarian), attended the Georgia Future Business Leaders of America Summer Leadership Officer Training Summit (SLOTS) in Cordele, Georgia. Officers participated in team building activities, planned chapter activities for the year, and developed leadership skills.
AFROTC Joint Leadership and Academic Bowl National Championship
The official results for the Joint Leadership and Academic Bowl National Championship were just released and we proudly announce that the LHS AFJROTC cadets, David Redish, Cayla Rowland, Tiffany Jones and Alex Jaramillo, ranked 7th among the Air Force JROTC teams in the nation! A total of 331 Air Force JROTC teams started the year and after two rounds of preliminaries the top 16 were invited to Washington DC for the National Championship. Out of those amazing 16 teams they ranked 7th, a true testament to the quality education provided at LHS each and every day. Questions covered all academic disciplines: math, language arts, history, science, mythology, current events, political science, geography, art, and many others.
AFJROTC Cadets Participate in CyberCamp
LHS AFJROTC Cadets participate in Leadership and “Rookie” camps
From July 23rd to August 1st, Lowndes High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadets participated in Leadership and New Cadet “Rookie” Camps. The Leadership cCamp for returning juniors and seniors focused on team building, leadership preparation, organization, and motivational techniques, while the Rookie Camp for rising 9th graders concentrated its efforts on knowledge, physical fitness, team building, confidence and other skills. The cadets learned valuable skills, made friends with other cadets joining the JROTC program from all three county middle schools, and got the school year off to a great start.
AFJROTC Cadet Completes Flight Academy Program
The Lowndes High School Aerospace Science department, AFJROTC, hosted the first Advanced CyberCamp in south Georgia from 23 to 27 July. The five day camp, part of the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Program, was held at Lowndes High School and taught by two professors from the Valdosta State University Computer Science Department. Cadets from the Lowndes High School Air Force JROTC program, along with cadets from the Colquitt County Marine Corps JROTC, participated in this camp designed to teach them about cyber defense techniques, computer security, computer network safety, as well as cyber ethics. The camp helped prepare these cadets for the 20182019 world-wide CyberPatriot competition, in which teams are tasked with providing computer and network security expertise.
Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Spencer Ruepp, Deputy Group Commander of the Lowndes High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadet corps, completed the inaugural Air Force Flight Academy Program at Auburn University on July 27th. Cadet Ruepp was one of only 120 cadets selected nationwide in a highly competitive process to participate in the first Flight Academy Program. This program paid for Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets to travel to colleges with aviation programs to participate in flight training leading to receiving their Private Pilot License. Cadet Ruepp completed over 50 hours of flight training at Auburn University in Alabama prior to graduation, earning a flight suit and “solo” wings from the Air Force for his efforts.
LHS Student Places 7th in SkillsUSA National Competition The 2018 SkillsUSA National Competition took place in Lousiville, Kentucky from June 23rd through the 29th, 2018. Noah Stogner represented the Lowndes High School SkillsUSA Chapter in the Architectural Drawing competition. The competition lasted for just over 8 hours and tested the competitors in many aspects of Residential Architectural Design. Noah placed 7th out of 45 competitors. Noah also placed 1st in the Regional and State Architectural Drawing Competitions in Moultrie and Atlanta earlier in the year. In addition to his classes at LHS, Noah also worked with IPG Architects in Valdosta. Noah graduated in 2018 and is currently attending Kennesaw State University where he is pursuing a degree in Architecture.
New Tire Changer for Automotive The LHS Automotive Department has a new addition to their lab. In an effort to stay up to date with current industry technology, the Automotive Department purchased a new tire changer this semester from Hunter Engineering. The TC3900 is one of Hunter’s newest machines and LHS is the first facility to have one installed in this area. Mr. Faircloth and Mr. Cooper are hoping the TC3900 will help all students with the ease of learning the tire changing process and better prepare them for careers in the automotive fields.
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
Hahira Middle Technology Students Win at Nationals The Hahira Middle School Technology Student Association (TSA) finished off a remarkable year by attending the 40th annual National TSA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Ten students from the team that won the Georgia TSA state championship back in March, traveled to Atlanta on June 22nd to compete against students from all across the United States, Germany, Turkey and Japan. Despite most events having 50-100 entries, Hahira Middle made the semifinals in five events and won trophies in two. Sisters Molly and Maggie Davis won first place for their Construction Challenge project in which they built a sensory room for special needs students. Isabel Autrey and Ruby Ruff received a third place trophy (their second national trophy in two years) for their interactive Children’s Story entry titled Dana the Dino Ranger. Ruby also placed in the top ten along with her sister, Lyla Ruff, in an event titled Forensic Science. After the girls made it to the semi-final round by having one of the top scores on the written test, they earned a spot on stage by showing off their ability to use forensic technology to solve a mock crime scene. Hank Peagler and Zayne Ridge also cracked the top ten with their Community Service Video entry that documented their fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society. Hank and Zayne also made the semifinals for their Inventions and Innovation project that featured an app titled Bus Buddy that would assist substitute school bus drivers in the navigation of their route. The final semifinalist was Jon Liu in the event titled Video Game Design that required him develop, build and launch an E-rated online game. Sixth graders Ford Scott and Wade Lavender competed in Dragster Challenge, CADD, Coding, System Control,
and Website Design throughout the five day event. These students, along with the support of their parents, teachers and community partners proved they have what it takes to compete and lead in a technical world.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame! Like going to the ballgame? Like eating boiled peanuts? The Pine Grove Middle engineering technology classes are collaborating with the 8th grade teams for the first PBL (Project based learning) of the 2018-2019 school year. This PBL titled “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!”, which involves all content areas, focuses on the South Georgia Peanut industry. Mr. Johnson’s engineering classes are being challenged to research materials and build prototype containers that will insulate heat so that boiled peanuts will remain warm during game. After several revisions and a week of prototyping, the final containers will be used to sell boiled peanuts at the PGM home softball game on October 4. Eighth grade physical science students will be on hand at the game to take heat measurements and gather data.
VIKING FUTURES, a publication of the Lowndes County Schools Career, Technical and Agricultural Education programs, is designed to inform parents, teachers, students, community leaders and administrators of current programs and events. The Lowndes County Career & Technical Educators see every student as “career bound” and aim at helping every student reach his or her fullest potential in life.