JACC Cliff Notes
August 2019
Welcome Back Staff!
We hope your first week back wasn't too much of a shock to the system! Yes, the days of sleeping in, going to the lake or pool, working on that home project, shuttling the kids to day camps and ignoring all school related phone calls and emails are over (insert sad emoji face here). BUT, before you know it, you'll remember all the good things about going back to school - like being around your fellow teachers and helping make a difference in the lives of your students! The year is sure to fly by just like the summer did, so be sure to make each and every day count!
Welcome Back Students!
Nearly 1,200 students have chosen to make the Career Center a part of their educational day for the 2019-2020 school year! 1,193 to be exact - 638 males and 555 females - from 27 surrounding schools (including homeschool, alternative and virtual!) - representing at least seven different ethnicities!
New this year, all of our new students attended a student orientation during both AM and PM sessions on Thursday. It was a chance to get them familiar with the people who are here to help them, as well as our goals and expectations of them while they're here.
Welcome New Staff!
A new school year also means new faces! Be sure to say hello to the new Instructional Assistants Mark Stanaway in JROTC and Anita Terry in Health Tech. Welcome to the team!
Building Updates
CHECK IT OUT! Some of our classrooms got new equipment and makeovers over the summer...
New Chair & X-Ray Machine in Dental Occupations
This will allow more students to practice their skills on the most updated equipment in the industry.
New napping room in Preschool
This addition will allow for more center-based activities between our Careers in Education students and the children who attend our preschool.
New Paint Booths in Auto Collision Repair
This will allow our students to work on more vehicles at once - in a more updated space.
3 New Mini-Mills in Precision Machining
These machines will allow more students to get the hands-on experience with the kind of equipment they'll see in the manufacturing industry.
Classroom Addition in VisCom
This room was reconfigured to give students a more structured learning space, instead of taking up space around the various machines in the lab.
Updated picture cases in the Commons
All of the cases in the Commons area were redone with new backgrounds and pictures to give them a more consistent and updated look.
Several events involving Career Center students took place over the summer months. Take a look at what you may have missed...
Exploring Future Opportunities
A select group of incoming Jackson High sophomores spent a few hours at the Career Center on June 12 as part of a day-long tour exploring careers in Manufacturing! They started the day with tours at local manufacturers and ended it with a hands-on project - an engraved pencil holder - they made from scratch using equipment in the Precision Machining and Welding labs!
Construction Students Honored
Vincent Heie from Hanover-Horton High School, and Evan Brugger and Trent Nowicki from Western High School were honored by the Home Builders Association of Jackson on June 13. All three of them received a check and certification for the Outstanding Builder Award for 2018-19! How awesome for them!
Club Kids Crush It
Career Center students were represented at two different national Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO) competitions this summer - SkillsUSA & HOSA. We are very proud of the hard work it took for them to get there! Congratulations to Health Technician I students Chloe Kyer, Katrina Nichol and Hannah McFarland of Grass Lake, Laksha Ahuja of JPEC, Brianna Mead of Springport and Hannah Scholl of Western and Fire/EMS Cadet Dallas Torres! Way to represent the Jackson Area Career Center on a national level!
Banner Year at the Fair
It was an epic year at the Jackson County Fair for several AgriScience/FFA students! Students brought home 34 banners (the most ever!) from Market and Showmanship classes across all species, including: swine, sheep, rabbits, steer, dairy, goat and poultry - with many of them placing in the top five! Three students even made it into the Overall Showman Sweepstakes! Napoleon High School graduate Ashton Jordon was named 2019 Senior Small Animal Grand Champion and Western High School graduate Christine Eckert was named 2019 Senior Large Animal Grand Champion Overall Showman. Corrin Ridley, who graduated from Northwest, participated in both Small and Large Overall Showmanships and placed 6th and 5th respectively.
JAC3 Update: Closing the book on one cohort, new beginnings for another
The JAC3 Early/Middle College started its sixth year this summer, welcoming a new cohort of nine students. Meanwhile, four students from Cohort 3 were honored with a recognition dinner at the Cascades Manor House on August 8. Reegan Giddis from Northwest, Andrew Samon from Michigan Center and Alex Stovall and Weston Lowry from Hanover-Horton completed the program and are now moving on to their careers, with both a high school diploma and associate's degree under their belts. Congrats to them - and good luck to the newest cohort!
Here's to a great year ahead!
"A good beginning makes a good end" -- English Proverb