End of 1st Quarter

Today marked the end of the first quarter.  This is an important point for you to pause and reflect.  Remember, quarter grades are not included on your transcript - just semester grades. But this means that you have reached the half-way point in earning the grades that will be on your transcript. 

Some of the questions you should ask yourself include: Are you where you want to be?  If you are not, what do you need to do different to turn things around?  If you need ideas for how you can improve your grades, I strongly encourage you to meet individually with your teacher.  You should also take advantage of the help available from the academic assistants in the Resource room.  You are also welcome to stop by and talk to me and we can try to brainstorm some ideas to help.  If you are happy with your current progress, congratulations!  Make sure you think about what you have done that has been helpful to your success and continue to put forward those same actions.

Also, a reminder to you and your parents/guardians - report cards are not printed and sent home - you will be able to access your report cards on Progress Book next Wednesday.

We have also started to fill in our time slots for Parent-Teacher conferences. The conferences are Monday, November 19th (4:00 pm - 8:00 pm) and  Tuesday, November 20th (8:00 am - 6:00 pm). You can call Mrs. Yearling at extension 2126 to set up your appointment. Remember, we encourage the students to come with the parents/guardians.

Wise Communication

I read an interesting article the other day regarding communication. The author, Curtis Chandler, spoke about students who can text but struggle to talk. They have hundreds of conversations throughout the week but mostly through texts and not face-to-face. Paul Barnwell, an education writer for the Atlantic, said...

"Is there a 21st century skill more important than being able to sustain confident, coherent conversation?...Kids spend hours each day engaging with ideas and one another through screens-but rarely do they have an opportunity to truly hone their interpersonal communication skills. When students apply for colleges and jobs, they won't conduct interviews through their smartphones. If the majority of their conversations are based on fragments pin-balled back and forth through a screen, how will they develop the ability to truly communicate in person?"

Albert Mehrabian, a UCLA professor, found that 58 percent of communication is through body language, 35 percent through vocal tone, pitch, and emphasis, and a mere seven percent through content of the message (Mehrabian, 2008). The article stated that "a student whose social skill set is limited to the use of their phone has roughly seven percent of what they need to be an effective communicator."

So, the question arises, what do we do about it? I feel that at Vantage Career Center, our teachers, staff and administrators do an outstanding job of getting our students working on these skills. When I have the opportunity to visit the classrooms and labs, I am witness to several different approaches to improving the students communication skills. I have seen Socratic seminars led by students, small groups designing and building bridges and communicating their ideas with their group members. Visit any of our labs and you will see students working together on engines, design projects, health screenings and check-offs or participating together in physical training for the police academy. If you stop and listen, you will hear leaders communicating ideas, team members putting forth their ideas in a convincing way and others observing and communicating non-verbally. Just this week, we will have eight students being interviewed by a large local company in anticipation of the five job openings they currently have. These interviews are common around here and the administration makes sure they are prepared by sometimes practicing over and over with the students. In the spring, we set aside an entire day for employers to come in and practice "mock interviews" with all our seniors.

I am proud of our school as we prepare our students for their next step into the real world. I know there is always room for improvement but I also believe our staff is looking ahead and understanding  what it will take to make our students employable and great communicators, whether in the college classroom or in the work force.  There is a famous quote about communication, it states "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something..." I know we are turning out "wise" students who will always have something to say and will make this world a better place if we just listen.

National Technical Honor Society 2018-2019

On Tuesday evening, October 3rd, Vantage Career Center held our annual National Technical Honor Society banquet and induction ceremony. The National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) is a way to honor student achievement and leadership in career and technical education, promote educational excellence, award scholarships and enhance career opportunities for the NTHS membership.

To become an NTHS member, a student must first be carrying a 3.5 GPA or above, have 95% attendance for their Junior and Senior years, no discipline problems in both years and have passed all of their End of Course Exams. If the student meets the above mentioned criteria, then they must write an essay stating why they feel they belong in the NTHS, have three teacher recommendations, submit a resume and complete their application. Once all of this is turned in, a committee of teachers and staff meet to discuss each candidate and determine which students best represent the National Technical Honor Society.

As a member of the National Technical Honor Society, each member has met the seven character attributes, and at the induction ceremony, vowed to continue these attributes. They are: Skill, Honesty, Service, Responsibility, Leadership, Citizenship and Scholarship.

I am so proud of these students because they have made so many great choices in their lives. They not only have been successful here at Vantage and their home school, but I know they will be successful in their future college or work careers. If you happen to see these students in the hallway, in your classes, or in the community, please congratulate them on a great high school career and a great honor in being selected for the National Technical Honor Society. This is a very small percentage of our student body, but they truly are the best of the best.

These are the NTHS members for 2018-2019:

Samantha Backus (Kalida), Lexie Beckman (Paulding), Tyler Birr (Ottoville), Hailey Brenneman (Delphos Jefferson), Ethan Brown (Van Wert), Lindsey Core (Ft. Jennings), Levi Craig (Antwerp), Casey Etter (Continental), Braden Evans (Antwerp), Ethan Geise (Ottoville), Kaileigh Gentry (Van Wert), Kaitlin Hamp (Delphos Jefferson), Clay Herr (Paulding), Lindsey Hill (Van Wert), Connor Hoersten (Ft. Jennings), Madeline Jenkins (Lincolnview), Dylan Kemper (Ottoville), Ashley McCleese (Continental), Jacob McClure (Delphos Jefferson), Haley Pastor (Wayne Trace), Dakota Rosselit (Kalida), Delaney Ryan (Van Wert), Dante Sampson (Delphos Jefferson), Tegan Schroeder (Miller City), Bryce Slattman (Continental), Sarah Stetler (Parkway), Zach Stevens (Van Wert), Jared Sukup (Antwerp), Joshua Sukup (Antwerp), Elizabeth Temple (Paulding), Calob Thomas (Parkway), Trent Vonderwell (Delphos St. John), 

Austin Weyrauch (Ft. Jennings), Deberah Wilson (Crestview)

P.S. I would also like to congratulate Alaina Ellis on her Honorary Membership into the National Technical Honor Society. Alaina works so hard gathering information for NTHS and putting in all the hard work so that the banquet is such a great success. Thanks Alaina!