Apr 14, 2018 | Manufacturing Technology/Technician, SkillsUSA NH, Tid Bits, Welding Technology
Students at the Berlin Regional Career and Technical Education Center’s Welding Program sweep the skills USA state championships placing 1st, Noah Cornish 2nd, Jason Binette and 3rd, John Arquin. The Berlin Regional Career and Technical Center’s Welding programs instructor is the longtime teacher and welding instructor Dennis Carrier. He is no stranger to going to nationals. He has created many amazing welders for years. This year’s class is very special to him. Berlin will represent the state in Louisville, KY at the national championships in June!!
Mar 30, 2018 | Agricutlure, CTSO, FFA, Tid Bits
FFA State President, Sydney Wilson traveled to Washington D.C. to represent agriculture and FFA on Capitol Hill for National Ag Day! She had the opportunity to talk to New Hampshire staff in the Senate and Congress about important agricultural topics. She even was able to meet National Secretary of Agriculture; Sonny Perdue! We hope you enjoy the rest of National Ag Week and continue to celebrate agriculture every day!
Mar 30, 2018 | Manufacturing Technology/Technician, Tid Bits, Welding Technology
The Barrington Police Department needed pass through lockers for evidence collection. Lockers will be installed into a wall where officers will place seized evidence into the locked lockers on the outside and the people working inside can collect the items in the morning. These are usually very expensive, but the Seacoast School of Technology Welding Technologies students were able to fabricate them for just over a $100!
Mar 30, 2018 | Article
On May 29th, a packed house is expected at Pinkerton Academy from 6 to 9 pm in the Stockbridge Theatre for the first annual SAFETEEN Awards and Film Festival.
At the event, awards will be given out I various categories, some of which include: Best Fire Safety Film, Best Suicide Prevention Film, Best Substance Abuse Film, and Best Non-Traditional Workplace Awareness Film. According to Chris Lord, video production teacher at Pinkerton Academy, the event is a unique opportunity for high school film makers to receive recognition in a subject that often has people reaching out to him.
“Each year as a video production teacher, I get several requests for projects pertaining to teen safety,” he said. I get requests for PSA’s, short films, music videos, commercials and campaigns. They come in from both internal and external sources pertaining to teen safety—school clubs, local not for profit associations, various departments at school, local fire and first responders.”
He said a lot of these requests are in support of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Self Harm Awareness Month, National Youth Violence Prevention Week, Youth Sports Safety Month and others.
“From this, I knew there would be fantastic content at schools around the state and a need for a festival like this one,” said Lord, who noted it is also not too late for high school students statewide to submit a video for consideration.
“The submission deadline is fast approaching for April 10th,” he said. “I have reached out to many video teachers myself but wanted to make sure all CTE centers are aware—We have a lot of sponsors, trophies and prizes, too.”
The event is expected to attract a large audience with everyone from experts in various fields of safety to NH Senators and perhaps the Governor—all of whom have expressed a desire to honor students contributing to teen safety.
In expressing excitement for the event, Lord said he also feels it helps to highlights some larger societal issues.
“I think many teens have been emotionally disturbed by the rise in school shootings, opioid addiction, and bullying as well as in the increasing disconnect and hardened discourse on these topics,” he said.
My hope is that a celebration of teens caring about other teens’ safety and celebrating teens doing things to help one another to be happier, healthier, and safer will lead toward building positive discourse and care for everyone’s safety.”
As for content at the show, he anticipates a mix of groups of nominated student films organized by respective safety messages with presentations by first responders and other safety stakeholders from across the state.
“Awards will be given to recognize top film projects and to recognize students that have contributed to teen safety in various ways during the past year,” said Lord. “The hope is to make this an annual event that celebrates teen safety.
To learn more, visit www.safeteenfilm.com. To submit a video, visit https://filmfreeway.com/SAFETEEN.
Mar 13, 2018 | Article
In an industry that is expected to keep booming for years, careers in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) are not only desirable, but lucrative.
According to local HVAC companies actively involved in the Program Advisory Board at Manchester Community College (MCC), the current annual salary for an experienced HVAC Technician is about $70k. By 2020, it is projected to be around $100k.
In response to this need, MCC established an initiative that enables NH high school students to take MCC classes at 50% of the tuition per course. According to Eddie Curran, HVAC Department Chair at MCC, the initiative is known as Early College, which includes 4 program tracks: HVAC, Advanced Manufacturing, Allied Health, and Computer Science.
In the HVAC track, additional savings are realized for students, as courses are free through the Governor’s STEM Scholarship program. In addition, HVAC students—either in a CTE program or not—can earn up to 18 college credits while still in high school.
“Over the course of the 4 semesters, the students will pay just $1,000 for 18 college credits,” he said. “18 credits is almost one-third of the way toward an Associate’s degree here—there’s amazing value in that.”
For students (or parents) who may not necessarily think a career in HVAC is either exciting or cutting-edge, Curran said nothing could be further from the truth.
“It is extremely technical,” he said. “It’s definitely not turning wrenches. You have to have formal training—and a lot of it is computer-based.”
According to Curran, the Early College HVAC program at MCC is part of a larger academic pathway.
“After you earn an Associate’s degree, you can earn an advanced certificate to work on more complex equipment,” he said. “We also have an agreement with Southern New Hampshire University and Granite State College where someone can take 8 classes after that and get a BA in management…The majority of someone course, though, can be taken at MCC.”
Similar to the Running Start program in that students can earn college credits in high school, Early College differs in one important respect, as classes are taught by college professors on the MCC campus. In Running Start, another difference is that classes are taught by high school instructors.
“With Early College, you get the college experience and mentoring opportunities by college students,” added Curran. “We have also built into the HVAC program dedicated tutoring support so we can help students succeed and do well.”
As to the future of the program, Curran cited a need to engage in concerted outreach with one of his first forays into the larger educational community an upcoming guidance counselor breakfast on March 22 at MCC.
“It’s for high school counselors to inform them of the opportunities of Early College so they can share it with their schools and students,” he said.
Noting there are just 5 CTE programs in the state that offer an HVAC program, Curran said the need for technicians in NH has never been greater.
“With this program, MCC essentially becomes another CTE option for the high schools,” he said. “The cost of running a CTE HVAC program is very expensive for schools. Now, they don’t need a lab or a budget for it, because we can be that option for their students…We expect a lot of interest in this program.
For those with questions about the HVAC Early College Program, contact Curran at (603) 206-8041 or ecurran@ccsnh.edu.
