Save the date for the 2018 NH Career & Technical Education Conference! Last summer’s conference was such a great success that this year it has now expanded to 3 days, August 14th – 16th, in Plymouth, NH. This year’s event will be hosted by the NH Department of Education, NH-CTE, Plymouth Applied Technology Center and Plymouth State University. Details will be coming in the next few weeks, but mark your calendars now!
May 2018 will be the first annual New Hampshire Health Care Month! What is New Hampshire Health Care Month? Middle school and high school students are invited to tour various health care industries throughout the state. The goal of New Hampshire Health Care Month is to generate interest about careers in health care. What is a day in the life like? What career paths are available? What preparation is needed to get there? Let’s inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals!
For more information, visit click here. To have your middle or high school students participate in NH Health Care Month, complete the registration form by the Thursday, March 15th deadline. Once registrations are received, the New Hampshire Health Care Association will schedule the industry tour(s) and provide an email introduction to the main contact at the facilities that you are partnered with for NH Health Care Month activities.
Questions regarding New Hampshire Health Care Month can be directed to Roxie Severance, Workforce Advisor at the New Hampshire Health Care Association.
Career and Technical Student Organizations State Officers from across New Hampshire will be attending CTSO Day at the State House Library Map Room on Tuesday, February 6th from 9am to 1pm. All elected officials and CTE School Administrators are invited and encouraged to attend. State officers will present to our elected officials to increase CTSO awareness. Stop by and see what is happening with your state organizations! Have your BP checked, and view 3-D printing demonstrations! Promotional items and refreshments provided. Support your NH CTSOs!
Parking is available in the School Street Garage. On street parking 2 hour limit. Don’t forget your canned good(s)
Traditional educational approaches often focus on theory as opposed to practical application, which does not define STEM CTE programs, according to Frank Xydias, engineering instructor at Milford High School & Applied Technology Center in Milford.
“Many of the problems we solve in STEM classes are open-ended and grounded in solving real-world problems,” he said.
Such real-world problems often involve the needs of real people, which was precisely the case with Morgan Peterson, a 11-year-old middle school student, who last year presented Xydias and his students with a unique opportunity.
“I met Morgan’s mom at one of our STEAM nights, and she told me about her daughter’s issues with riding a bike,” he said. “Morgan has a prosthetic arm and her bike adaptor made riding her bike in comfort just about impossible.”
In approaching Xydias about the possibility his students could solve her daughter’s problem, Meg Peterson, who works in the district as a Title 1 Coordinator at the elementary level, said she was excited at the prospect.
“My husband and I had talked about it, and I began to wonder if Frank and the kids could work on building her an adaptor for her bike,” she said. “He floated the idea to the students and they were very enthusiastic about it.”
No one, however, was more enthusiastic than Morgan herself provided Xydias and the students satisfied her one condition.
“My first reaction was that I wanted to work with them,” she said.
She did work with them, according to her mom, who said it was “pretty amazing” to see her daughter work and interact with high school students.
“It was great to see her just walking around with those high school students—it was like a think tank thing,” she said.
According to Meg, the students and her daughter designed solutions that were consequently printed via a 3D printer. Noting the team produced several iterations up the adaptor before the final version, Meg said the entire process was “incredible” and serves to bolster her belief in the power of STEM and STEAM in general.
“Those STEAM events bring out the most diverse amount of students—and it’s not just robotics or certain kind of students,” she said. STEAM is for everyone…It’s great to see kids finding their niche early, solving problems and stretching themselves in new and different ways. It’s wonderful to see kids find their passion in this area.”
Citing her own interest in pursuing CTE in either manufacturing or the culinary arts when she is in high school, Morgan said the best thing about her collaboration with Xydias’ team is that she loves to ride her bike.
“It works great,” she said. “I can ride it as long as I want—it never hurt my shoulder.”
As for what advice she might give other students her age who might be thinking about their respective futures, Morgan said CTE taught her something very important.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you can always find a way to solve the problem,” she said.
The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association announces the first annual Hospitality “Month”with events April 2nd – April 20th. The goal of New Hampshire Hospitality Month is to generate interest about careers in the industry. What is a day in the life of a hospitality employee like? What opportunities are available in this industry? What paths can students take to get to their career goals? Let’s excite this next generation of restaurateurs, chefs, sales directors, and operation managers about this great industry!
Middle and high school students will be invited to tour local properties across the state. Opportunities include hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions. During these visits, students will have the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at day-to-day operations, interact with employees to hear about their career pathways, and learn about being a cook or front office manager as well as broaden their scope of what other career opportunities the industry has to offer including: web design, social media marketing, accounting, landscaping, event management, and more!
For more information contact Amie Pariseau at apariseau@nhlra.com or 603.228.9585. Registration Information