VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 WINTER 2014

W

hile every day’s a baking day for Advanced Pastry Arts students at The Tech Center, December was particularly festive as students set out to complete their gingerbread houses. Made from scratch (of course), the gingerbread was baked, cooled, and then delicately handled by students who pieced them together with frosting and decorated them with candies. The Advanced Pastry Arts class is part of The Tech Center’s two-year Culinary Arts Hospitality Academy program. Pictured are students Adam Laub, from Hendrick Hudson High School, and Ryan Casey, from Yorktown.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 WINTER 2014

Talk

college fair covers all bases  service With a smile at educated Palate’s fall harvest  tech students give back  students soar at aviation exPo  blood drive draWs out the best  classroom on the go Pulls in at coPPer beech  mixing art and autos  bully-free seminar teaches emPoWerment  the robots are coming  Parents and students can noW doWnload boces’ free aPP  like us on facebook

IN THIS

ISSUE

‘Tis the Season at the Culinary

Arts Academy

S

eniors at Tech may be taking out fewer student loans for college next year after attending the scholarship seminar held recently. Jean Fedora, Director of School Relations at Connections 101, a company that provides free high school assemblies to assist students with college planning, career and scholarship strategies, spoke to students about the millions of scholarship opportunities out there — some that even go unused.

Scholarship Expert

Covers all the Bases

During Seminar

Connections 101’s Jean Fedora with Tech students Luciana Adornetto and Lorraine Wade.

College Fair Has Something for Everyone

W

hether it was a private school, state school, technical school

or a career in the military or police department, The Tech Center’s College Fair had it covered. This year’s event, held in November on the BOCES campus, hosted 60 colleges and technical schools, including Seton Hall, Marist, Pace, Paul Smith, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and Culinary Institute of America, among many others.

Several students from Tech’s Fashion Design and Merchandising program headed straight to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising booth, while other students explored liberal arts schools or technical options. Niasia Kemp, assistant director of undergraduate admissions of Marist College, said she likes coming to The Tech Center College fair because of its diverse offerings. “It’s important for students to broaden their horizons and look at all the different options to make an informed decision,” she said.

Frank Heagle, a TV Production and Digital Film student from

Frank Heagle, Lakeland, a TV Production student, looks into Communications

Lakeland, was looking into schools that had communications programs, while Fashion Design student Michael Albanese from Ossining explored Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. “There are so many choices here,” he said, “but this is the one I’m most interested in.”

TV Production students Colleen McCarthy, Yorktown; Trevor Jones, Briarcliff; Veronica Toone, Putnam, explore college options.

Fashion Design students Alex Zambrano, Mahopac; Gianna Ronci, Lakeland; Gregory Clark, Peekskill; Laura Walther, Hendrick Hudson; and Gina Carbonaro, Lakeland, get advice from a Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising representative.

Members of the armed forces discuss their various programs.

TV Production and Digital Film student Veronica Toone from Putnam Valley said the fair helped her explore all her options. “I really had my heart set on one particular school,” she said, “but then I came here and could see all these other possibilities.” Colleen McCarthy, also a TV Production student, said the day helped “broaden my thought process about where I want to go and what I want to do.”

“Our students had the opportunity to introduce themselves and receive valuable information from local and regional two- and four-year private colleges, culinary and art institutes, technical schools, many colleges of the State University of New York and the colleges of the City University of New York,” said BOCES’

Scholarship Expert

Covers all the

Bases During

Seminar

conTinUed From page 1

Service with a Smile at

Educated Palate’s Fall Harvest

“W

e’ve gone out to eat at several restaurants lately, but the service here has been the best by far,” said Elizabeth Powell of Chappaqua while dining at Educated Palate, the student-run restaurant on The Tech Center campus in November.

LaVerne Orchard, also of Chappaqua, and a frequent diner at the restaurant, said that what distinguishes Educated Palate is that “the servers are always smiling. You can tell they love what they do, and they are so professional!”

The food was planned, prepared and served by Hospitality students, many of whom will go on next year to study at culinary colleges or begin careers in hospitality.

Katie Copeland, a senior at Walter Panas, said she’d like to pursue sports and entertainment management, while Lyndsey

Fay, a senior at Somers, said her passion is Baking and Pastry Arts.

In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, the theme of the luncheon was Fall Harvest. Diners were treated to fennel and apple salad, citrus sage roast turkey breast, farro with acorn squash and kale, and mashed potato and cauliflower gratin. Desserts were provided by Pastry Arts students.

Hospitality students work hard so that diners enjoy a bountiful feast at Educated Palate.

“If you’re interested in the environment, there are environmental scholarships. If you’re interested in healthcare, there are healthcare scholarships,” Fedora said. “There is a scholarship for virtually anything you can think of.”

The best place to start is at their high school college office, Fedora told students. “Max out your school. Go in every week and ask if there is any new scholarship that has come in,” she said. After that, Fedora recommended, students should spend at least 10 minutes two or three times a week looking up new opportunities on the Internet. “Ask relatives, friends. Lots of people work for companies that offer scholarships,” Fedora said. “There are scholarships based on what you choose to wear to prom, your opinion on the state of the country, poetry, you name it. And by all means, if there’s an essay required, apply for that scholarship. Most students don’t want to write essays, so you have a much better chance of getting that scholarship!” The one thing to be wary of, Fedora said, is scholarship applications that require a financial investment. “College applications require a fee,” she said, “but applications for scholarships shouldn’t.” Nor should they require social security numbers, she added.

Cosmetology students Luciana Adornetto and Lorraine Wade, both from Somers, said that the conference was an eye-opener for them. “It was really helpful,” said Wade. “We learned about how to find scholarships that you would never hear about,” said Adornetto.

Law enForcemenT students in Tom Houlahan’s class collected new toys and clothing and delivered them to the Pound Ridge Police Department, which distributed the items to disadvantaged children around the county in time for the holidays. As student Olivia Avery from Lakeland said, “Every child deserves to have a present for the holidays.”

The naTionaL TechnicaL honor socieTY held a fundraiser for To Write Love on her Arms and raised $641.85. To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, cosmeToLogY students treated students of the Pines Bridge School for students with multiple disabilities to a morning of pampering, including hair styling. Cosmo students also volunteered to do hair and make-up for the Mahopac High School and the Somers High School plays — something they do every year. Additionally, the students offer Friday morning clinics, where they perform nail and hair services to community members for a nominal fee.

Law Enforcement students like Olivia Avery from Lakeland, pictured here with the toys she brought in, donate toys and clothing to be distributed to disadvantaged children across the country.

Tech Students Give Back

Cosmo student Jessica Burk of Carmel styles Pines Bridge student Santa

When the Lake Mahopac Rotary Club was looking for a group to cook their annual Election-Eve Ham Dinner fundraiser on November 4th, they looked no further than the cULinarY sTUdenTs aT The Tech cenTer.

Tech teacher Chef Stanley Rupinski and his students worked tirelessly on the ham, potatoes and vegetables that were served up election eve to approximately 175 people who enjoyed informal conversation with candidates running for various local offices. The dinner was held at the Mahopac Firehouse.

Cosmo student Amanda Montegomery from Mahopac, gives Pines Bridge student Luke Geocos a

Chef Stanley Rupinski and his students, above and below, prepare a ham dinner for the Mahopac Rotary Club.

Students Soar at Aviation Expo

E

ngineering, Architecture and Telecommunications

students from The Tech Center proved that those who can, teach, when they shared their technical knowledge with 1,000 middle school and high school students at the Westchester Aviation/Aerospace Education Expo recently. “Our students were there to teach other students the materials they have learned in their respective programs of study at Tech,” said Engineering teacher Carlo Vidrini. “The Expo is a great way for our students to showcase the best of what they are learning in their Architectural Design, Telecommunications, and New Visions Engineering programs.”

The Aviation Expo was held in the Pepsi Hangar at the Westchester County Airport in the fall. The goal of this year’s event was to foster students’ interest in and awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the context of aviation and aerospace. Aviation and aerospace educators engineers, scientists and aircraft maintenance personnel were also on hand to talk to the students.

Tech Center students at the Aviation Expo.

Blood Drive Draws out the Best

“I

t doesn’t even hurt!” said Isaiah Jacobs from Peekskill after donating at the annual blood drive held on the Tech campus in October. “I’d definitely do it again!” said Talaia Boyd from Hendrick Hudson High School.

Students and staff were enthusiastic about donating their time as well as their blood to help people in need. Susan Collins’ New Visions Health class worked at promoting the event as well as registering participants. “Last year, after I donated, they sent me a card saying I’d saved three lives with my donation,” said Ishmael Moya from Mahopac. “It’s a great feeling to help people.”

After registering participants, Brianna Torres of Peekskill, left, donates blood herself.

From left: Michaela Turturro, Croton; Jennifer Blum, Mahopac and Brianna Torres, Peekskill help check people in to the drive under the direction of teacher Susan Collins, right.

Classroom on the Go Pulls in at Copper Beech

I

f students at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School wanted a change of scenery from their usual classrooms, the Green Machine, which pulled into the school parking lot in November, was

the perfect diversion. The Tech Center rolled out the hands-on seven-station trailer to teach students about renewable, sustainable energy.

The Green Machine hit the road for the first time last May, when it visited Peekskill Middle School. Plans are for the trailer to visit as many schools as possible in the coming year.

Retired engineer Paul Purpura, who travels from BOCES with the Green Machine, taught the students about alternative energy while demonstrating the stations. The Green Machine is a collaboration of many

The Green Machine has seven stations demonstrating renewable energy.

of the Tech Center academies.

Excited students participated in smart electronics, construction electricity and masonry, among other stations.

Tech Center Principal Jim Bellucci said, “We are very excited by how well the mission at Copper Beech went. Students and staff there were thrilled, and the surveys we had students fill out were really wonderful!”

A

irbrush artist Tom Banks from Ohio Technical College in Cleveland proved that there’s more to body work than nuts and bolts during a visit to The Tech Center earlier in the year. The teacher from Ohio Tech demonstrated the art of airbrushing cars to students

in Steve Zavodsky’s Auto Body class. Banks, a nationally acclaimed airbrush artist whose work has appeared in various hot rod magazines, told the students that you don’t have to be an artist to do this type of work. “Airbrushing can be a very profitable side business for an auto mechanic or auto body worker,” said Banks, who teaches airbrushing as a full-semester course at Ohio Tech.

Mixing Art and Autos

T

raciana Graves, who founded Project Bully-Free Zone, a national organization that has helped 7,000 student, teacher and parent participants to foster self-esteem and create bully-free zones, presented to students at The Tech Center in November. Graves, who was herself bullied for 15 years, was a former songwriter and backup singer for Celine Dion before founding Project Bully-Free Zone.

While bullying can be devastating, and even deadly as it was for Graves’ stepbrother who was killed during a college hazing incident, Graves spoke

Bully-Free Seminar Teaches Empowerment

Traciana Graves, founder of Project Bully-Free Zone, presents at The Tech Center to help students find their own voices.

of empowerment to the students. Everyone has negative experiences, she told them, but it’s up to you to

translate yours into positive actions that help yourself and others.

During the interactive multimedia workshop, Graves engaged students to use their own voices to share their experience and even write their own stories and songs. Graves refocused participants’

mindsets, illustrating that obstacles are opportunities from which to learn and

become empowered students. The most important thing Graves emphasized was the importance of community building, with kindness being the cornerstone.

Preparing for the upcoming FIRST Tech Robotics Challenge this winter, New Visions Engineering students practice in the

“game field” in their classroom at Tech. The game field is built to the exact specifications of the field they will compete in

with their robots at the challenge.

James Langlois

Superintendent

Cathy Balestrieri

Career and Tech Director

Published by Putnam/northern Westchester board of cooPerative educational services

editor: Karen Thornton

designer: Valerie Laudato

The Tech cenTer

aT YorkTown

200 boces drive yorktoWn heights, ny 10598 914.248.2400

www.pnwboces.org

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 21 Yorktown Heights New York 10598

Want to

see photos

and videos of

our students in action and keep up

with all the latest Tech Center news?

Like us on Facebook, and you won’t

miss a thing.

Go to www.facebook.com/

pnwboces and click on the like

button on top.

Or go to the Putnam Northern

Westchester BOCES home page at

www.pnwboces.org and click on the

Facebook link to take

you to our page, where

you can like it.

Like Us on

Facebook

W

ant to contact your child’s teacher? Or maybe you need to know the dates for spring recess? Or check on school closings or news?

The Tech Center at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES has an app for that!

That’s right; parents, students, teachers, staff and community members now can download a free app for iPhone or Android devices that puts all of BOCES’ resources at their fingertips. News feeds, calendars,

directories, photos, social media links and emergency notices all can be found on the app. “This app is the perfect way for us to reach out to the community and make it easy for people to become informed and involved in The Tech Center,” said Putnam/ Northern Westchester BOCES School Communications Director Ellen Lane. “With how busy parents and students are today, the app puts Tech Center information in one easily accessible place.”

To download the free app, go to the App Store for iPhones or to Google Play for Android smart phones and type in Putnam Northern. You will then see the BOCES’ logo – a tree on a green background. Choose the app and click on install.

Once installed, the app can be customized to the user’s preferences. “It is a great

Parents and Students Can Now

Download BOCES’ Free App