VALLEY VOICE October 2015
YADKIN VALLEY REGIONAL CAREER ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
Staying in touch with school events and happenings!
First Community Bank visit to our school
Mr. Alan Lomax and Ms. Kristy Lingerfelt from First Community Bank along with Ms. Ashley Hicks Raper from Junior Achievement of Central North Carolina (another YVRCA partner in education) will be visiting our campus on October 20th. First Community Bank is very excited about our career enhanced high school and wants to become an active Partner In Education (PIE member) to help grow the success of our students. One example of how our local business can interact and share “real world experience” is by utilizing the Junior Achievement personal finance module where students understand and practice the basics of establishing and maintaining a household budget. This and many other pre-packaged teaching modules from Junior Achievement are compliant with NC Public Instruction requirements allowing our school’s faculty to meet established North Carolina Education goals while encouraging active participation by parents and guardians of students as well as business mentors to provide assistance to our faculty in the classroom. More details of how you can participate will be provided in upcoming newsletter issues.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center visit on October 20
We are hosting a visit by Ms. Judy Berry on October 20th representing the North Carolina Biotechnology Center regional office and an active member of our school’s board of advisors. North Carolina has more than 600 life-sciences companies. They employ 61,000 people with a wide range of skills and credentials necessary to enter this field of employment. These companies generate $73 billion for our economy and $1.76 billion in state and local tax revenues. Throughout this spectacular growth period, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center has played a significant role in growing North Carolina's life science success story.
One such success story from the NC Biotechnology Center is KeraNetics LLC located in nearby Winston-Salem. With the assistance of loans and grants from the NC Biotechnology Center, this company has become a global leader in developing purified keratin medical products for regenerative medicine including innovative therapies to speed repair wounds and heal thermal burns.
Spotlight on our the YVRCA Career Development Coordinator and Business Liaison / Career Counselor
Mrs Paula Justice in our new CDC (Career Development Coordinator). She worked in various fields: 7 years in banking, 10 years as an Insurance Representative traveling around eastern NC then worked 17 years in education. Mrs. Justice was a teacher and assistant principal She brings a variety of skills to help students determine pathways while also finding job shadowing and internship experiences for students. Mrs. Justice is also a sponsor of the prom committee and will be working with fund raising events. Mr. Crawford and Mrs. Justice work together contacting businesses to find the best fit for our students. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Justice at pjustice@davidson.k12.nc.us.
Our YVRCA Business Liaison / Career Counselor is James Crawford who joined our high school In late September of this year. Mr. Crawford left his position at KeraNetics LLC in order to focus his energy on the success of students attending our career enhanced, STEM based high school. His business career spans over forty years working in quality improvement and process improvement for companies including Sara Lee Corp., Amp Inc., and PMI Industries. He has experienced the challenges of plant closings and diminishing jobs in the traditional manufacturing workforce. After experiencing three different plant closings he made the decision to return to school to acquire the credentials allowing him to compete in the fast growing technology workforce.
Mr. Crawford's career pathway was very similar to what is offered to students attending YVRCA. He returned to school starting at Davidson County Community College then transferring to Forsyth Technical Community College to earn an associates of applied science degree in biotechnology. His internship was spent at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine where he accepted the position as Stem Cell and Tissue Culture core technician. Mr. Crawford is now focused sharing his knowledge and experience for the success of our students, a dedication shared by our Principal Mr. Brown, school administration, faculty and staff comprising Yadkin Valley Regional Career Academy. He can be contacted at jamescrawford@davidson.k12.nc.us.
YARD SALE
Saturday, Oct 24, 2015, 08:00 AM
YADKIN VALLEY CAREER ACADEMY 2065 East Holly Grove Road Lexington, NC 27292
Senior / Junior Prom Yard Sale Fundraiser set for Saturday, Oct. 24th
To drop off your donations please call our school office at 336-242-5820 or email jamescrawford@davidson.k12.nc.us in order to coordinate.
"Freshmen Learn How to Eat Well on a Budget"
On Tuesday, October 13, students at Yadkin Valley Regional Career Academy visited both local grocery stores such as Conrad & Hinkle, Shuler Meats as well as popular grocery store chains such as Food Lion and Wal-Mart, to learn more about the operation of each business and compare the prices and quality of food items.
As part of their “Introduction to Health and Wellness” curriculum, freshmen are creating weekly meal plans for a family of four while also purchasing groceries within a specified budget. This practice might sound elementary to the average household grocery-buyer, but there is one more requirement: Each family’s meal plan must meet every member’s nutritional needs based on their age and gender, including adequate caloric intake, protein, fat, and carbohydrate consumption.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, nearly 1 out of every 3 adults in North Carolina are obese, and more than one out of every 10 adults are diabetic. Students experience these issues in their own families, but often do not understand how to combat these problems through proper nutrition and meal-planning.
“I didn’t realize how much salt is in french fries,” says Chyna Washington, a freshman attending Valley Academy from Thomasville City’s school district. “Also, tacos, spaghetti, or anything with hamburger meat is very high in calories and fat. The nutrition levels and calories have really surprised us.”
Students began the project by planning out a weekly menu for their respective “families.” To increase the project’s rigor, every family unit has additional nutritional needs to consider. One family is Jewish and can only eat Kosher foods. Another family is vegetarian.
Says Health Instructional Coach Kendra Israel, “The majority of high school students are unaware of the cost of groceries on a weekly basis. They lack the skills to stock a kitchen with economic food items which can be used to create several meals. That is why this project is so meaningful to the students and our entire community.”
Some student groups had the opportunity to conduct interviews over the phone or via Skype to connect with individuals who live with different food restrictions, including a practicing Muslim and an individual living with Celiac disease.
Iyanna Bosier, also a freshman from Thomasville, decided it would be extra challenging to plan a week of meals with the added restriction of having to use SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) like so many economically disadvantaged families.
“It’s our first time realizing how to deal with food stamps,” says Bosier. Taking out taxes, we only have $400 a month based on a four-person family. This project has really opened my eyes to what adults have to deal with.”
Special Thanks to the Lexington and Thomasville Chambers of Commerce
Mr. Burr Sullivan, president of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Doug Croft, President of the Thomasville Chamber of Commerce visited our school on October 2nd to meet with Mrs Cook's English classes discussing "how bad grammar affects businesses". Both Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Croft provided examples of the negative affects that poor grammar can have in promotions, advertisements and even email communication.
The two business leaders also answered questions by students. The take home message was always "check and have another person recheck" any professional communication to assure your message is what you intended and is well received. Using good grammar should be the rule at all times, even when speaking and texting to friends to assure you present a consistent professional image vital to success in life.
Links to view videos of school activities
STEM2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn2Ipvi1Urc&feature=youtu.be
Imagine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsALjR0coCM&feature=youtu.be
Take the Steps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rBfnVzVGH0&feature=youtu.be