Star Beacon
April 01, 2009 06:30 pm
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JEFFERSON — Spring has arrived and with it comes warmer weather and the start of several traditional events here at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School. For one, National Honor Society, an organization that recognizes and involves outstanding secondary students across the nation, will be inducting new members in April.
New members have to demonstrate four virtues: scholarship, service, leadership and character. Scholarship is a personal commitment to academic excellence. Service involves actions undertaken on behalf of others. Leadership is demonstrated when a student moves beyond merely participating in an activity and actually helps organize and supervise others. Finally, character is defined by six qualities: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. NHS inductees must possess these virtues and have a cumulative GPA of 3.35.
“It’s an honor to be the NHS adviser,” said Tiffanee Seames. “You get to work with top quality students in the sense that every little thing a student does in their eyes will make a difference in the world.”
At this time existing members are busily preparing for the upcoming ceremony while this year’s candidates are anxiously waiting to hear the names of those who will be inducted.
It was an exciting day last month for the ACJVS Business and Computer Information Systems classes when at regional competitions it was announced that 19 of our students had earned the chance to compete at state level in Columbus. On March 12 and 13, the classes took off on their two-day trip to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Opening session started in the late morning, and from there students went off to specific contests at their scheduled times, while other activities were held for idle contestants. The next morning, the names of contestants that had placed in the top 10 were announced at an awards ceremony. The top three were given trophies, and fourth- and fifth-place winners were announced on a screen. These top five contestants have the chance to demonstrate Blazing New Trails at nationals in Dallas, Texas, in May.
CIS senior Michael Pendergast placed fourth in database applications, and he will be attending nationals with CIS junior Anthony Pascarella, who will be serving as a voting delegate for BPA national officer elections. ACJVS students Jake Tuikka, Business Technologies, and Pascarella both placed in the top 10. All of the students that attended had a blast over the weekend at their 24-floor hotel accommodations.
“I was having so much fun I didn’t want to come home,” said Katelynn Hartely, Business Technologies student.
“State was fun but it also was a good experience to see what the other kids had to offer,” said senior Ted Poland.
Now for the really fun stuff coming up: the annual talent show and the annual softball tournament. The ACJVS talent show is always held on the last day before spring break. Some students will perform solo acts, while others will perform in large groups representing their labs. All kinds of music, from country to rock to rap, will be heard. First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded, and all winners will get T-shirts.
Gilda McQuoid, organizer for the show, looks forward to the event. “It’s great to see another side of our students and the talents they possess,” she said.
Athletic talent will shine during the upcoming softball tournament. Students are able to form either co-ed or all male teams, and they do not need to be all from the same lab, though often they are. Practice and games are held during students’ lunchtimes, with games being only 20 minutes. The $5 fee to play covers plaques and equipment. Go teams!
Finally, one more competition note: The senior culinary team made it past regional and on to state competition. Becky Cortright, Brooke Compton, Debbie Lacy and Tara Schultz competed at Hocking College this past weekend.
Before leaving on the trip, Cortright said, “It’s going to be interesting to see what the other schools do and what they have.”
Competition results were not available at the time of this writing.
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