MAVA Update – December, 2017

Colleagues,

We are pleased to share some good news from our students in vocational technical & agricultural education. Please share with your school community.

SkillsUSA Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

We appreciate Mike Fitzpatrick’s invitations to Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development Acosta and Lt. Governor Polito to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Blackstone Valley Tech on 4/27/18 for the 2018 SkillsUSA MA State Leadership & Skills Conference. To date, Secretary Acosta has confirmed her attendance and Lt. Governor Polito has tentatively placed the event on her calendar. The Lt. Governor should be able to definitively confirm by April 1st. This will be a terrific opportunity for these State Leaders to see our students in action!!

News from Bay Path

We are pleased to attach a terrific article concerning Bay Path Regional Vocational that highlights the importance of exploratory and students’ vocational choices. The article appeared in The Blackstone Valley Xpress on November 10th.

Madison Park Student Chef Shares Source Of Inspiration

Featured on WGBH, Ashley Meneide is one of the few high school students in the country who can say her recipes have made it to the plates of more than 50,000 students. Meneide’s recipes are currently being served throughout the Boston Public Schools. They were added to the lunch menu after her team won a cooking competition, Cooking Up Change. She attends the culinary program at Madison Park. Listen to her incredible story athttps://news.wgbh.org/2017/11/21/local-news/school-desk-diaries-high-school-chef-recipes-district-menu-shares-source.

Educator from the Netherlands visits Nashoba Tech

Isabelle van Eijk had the chance to travel from her native Netherlands to a school in Massachusetts, she jumped at it. Van Eijk, who teaches veterinary science, wanted to witness firsthand the differences between teaching in Holland and teaching in the United States. She visited Nashoba Valley Technical High School because it’s one of the few high schools in Massachusetts that has a Veterinary Assisting program.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_31465260/dutch-treat-at-nashoba-tech#ixzz4zlpsD7IW

Women in the Trades

Here’s a story about efforts to get more women into the construction trades. It focuses on the work of the Massachusetts Girls in Trades, an initiative based at Minuteman High School. It is titled “How Women Can Help Solve the Construction Labor Shortage” and appeared in the Bisnow Boston Newsletter on November 14, 2017. We thank Steve Sharek for forwarding it to us.

https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/construction-development/cost-conscious-why-recruiting-young-women-in-construction-is-about-more-than-equality-81537

Whittier Tech Students Network with Accountants and College Students

Business Technology and Marketing students attended an Accounting Conference at Babson College in Wellesley on November 3rd, sponsored by the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. They participated in interactive activities, a panel discussion with accounting professionals and college students, as well as a networking luncheon. MSCPA is the state’s premiere professional organization of more than 11,000 members in public accounting.

Massachusetts SkillsUSA in DC

Picture of the Week:

Earlier this fall, student officers from SkillsUSA Massachusetts went to Washington,D.C., where they met with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and, pictured here, Navy Captain Eric Johnson, a graduate of Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin and a former SkillsUSA state officer. (Photo courtesy of SkillsUSA Massachusetts)

 

Have a great week!!

David

David J. Ferreira

Executive Director

MAVA Field Office

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