Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools Bi-Weekly Newsletter

District Bi-weekly Newsletter | November 3, 2022 | Volume 3, Issue 8

Staff, students, and alumni alike were all smiles at our second annual Tech or Treat event!

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Dr. Kim Miller's Blog

Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller is the superintendent and CEO of Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools.

There is Nothing Quiet about Quitting - Part 2

In my last blog, I wrote about the two views of “quiet quitting” and how this phenomenon impacts the messaging that we educators provide to our students. As educators, we want students to find careers that engage them in work they enjoy and that gives them meaning and a sense of accomplishment.

We want them to work in and lead companies and organizations that care about people and respect home-work boundaries; provide opportunities that help people grow and make a positive difference; and receive honest and frequent feedback aimed at growth.

We believe that employees go the extra mile when needed in environments where they know they are valued and respected. A win-win! So what are we doing at Eastland-Fairfield to stop our students from feeling the need to quiet quit? We are building a culture where students feel valued and respected; we are fostering relationships with employers who do the same; and we are teaching the skills our students need to be successful. Here’s how we are doing those three things.

Read the full blog!

View the 2022-23 School Calendar

The 2022-23 school calendar is set! Get ready for the upcoming school year and important dates to circle. VIEW/DOWNLOAD

Attention Artists!

Enter the VASCE Competition

Middle school students are encouraged to submit their artwork to the second annual Visual Arts Students Contest and Exhibit for a chance to win cool prizes! LEARN MORE

Uniform Store is Open!

School uniforms at ECC and FCC are being altered for 2022-23. Learn more and visit the new storefront to purchase your uniforms for next year! LEARN MORE

Catch Up on Previous Newsletters

If you would like to go back and read past newsletters, click on the link and search through our archived copies! NEWSLETTERS

Around Eastland-Fairfield

ECC Inducts 24 New Members into National Technical Honor Society

The 24 students that make up this class of ECC NTHS inductees come from 11 different high schools and 10 different labs.

The Eastland Career Center chapter of the National Technical Honor Society inducted 24 students into its ranks on Friday, October 28, 2022. A ceremony for staff and families was held during school hours to commemorate this accomplishment.

Eleven of the 16 area high schools that comprise the Eastland-Fairfield district were represented in this year’s class. Ten different programs had at least one student represent their lab, as well.

Congratulations to our newest NTHS inductees:

Dulce Alvaro Hernandez (Whitehall Yearling, Cosmetology)

Anazha Bell (Groveport Madison, Cosmetology)

Fatoumata Diallo (Groveport Madison, Medical Office)

Ethan Dyckes (Gahanna Lincoln, Programming & Software Development)

Jacob Enyart (Gahanna Lincoln, Pre-Engineering)

Caleb Gerardi (Pickerington Central, Graphic Design)

Dominic Gerardi (Pickerington Central, Graphic Design)

Yakob Getu (Whitehall Yearling, Programming & Software Development)

Aleya Gunn (Groveport Madison, Medical Office)

John Harra (Pickerington North, Agriculture & Heavy Equipment)

Clayton Hines (New Albany, Criminal Justice)

Ryan Johnson (Canal Winchester, Agriculture & Heavy Equipment)

Tina Johnson (Reynoldsburg-Livingston, Medical Office)

Ayva Jordan (Teays Valley, Cosmetology)

Ryan Kocher-Harper (Groveport Madison, Programming & Software Development)

Anne-Marie McGraw (New Albany, Pre-Dental)

Eian McKnight (Amanda-Clearcreek, Pre-Engineering)

Hamdia Mohamud (Gahanna Lincoln, Pre-Dental)

Ryan Payne (Bloom-Carroll, Agriculture & Heavy Equipment)

Blake Perry (Gahanna Lincoln, Pre-Engineering)

Taina Resendes (Groveport Madison, Pre-Dental)

Jacob Reta (Amanda-Clearcreek, Culinary)

Hannah Shauck (Gahanna Lincoln, Interactive Media)

Hunter Young (Teays Valley, Pre-Engineering)

Full story

Pumpkin Decorating Contest Brings Out Student Creativity

The Cosmetology labs at Eastland Career Center had a clean sweep in the first pumpkin decorating contest, winning both the senior and junior lab competitions!

With the exception of pumpkin spice lattes, what can be more fall than pumpkin carving? The Career Services team helped students from Eastland and Fairfield career centers get into the spirit by putting on a pumpkin decorating contest that pitted lab vs. lab and juniors vs. seniors in the ultimate display of holiday-inspired competition. There we so many quality entries that displayed our students' creativity and passion for their lab. One winner was chosen per grade level at each campus for a total of four award-winning pumpkins. Students and staff voted over the span of a couple of days to determine the winner. Check out the winning submissions, which earned a healthy serving of donuts for the winning programs.

Nail Services won as best senior lab submission at Fairfield Career Center!

Animal Management used the Disney character, Stitch, to win best junior lab at FCC!

BPA Hosts Blood Drive at Eastland

On October 21st, the Eastland Career Center chapter of Business Professional of America (BPA) hosted its annual blood drive. BPA surpassed its goal of 38 units of blood collected by collecting 41 units from its donors over the course of the day. Those were, in turn, donated to the American Red Cross.

A special thanks to all those who donated blood to support the drive and to the BPA officers who helped organize the event (pictured above).

A Calculated Creation: Des-Monsters Take Over ECC

The terrifyingly intelligent students in Mr. Kline's Pre-Calculus class at Eastland Career Center were challenged to use their knowledge and Desmos graphing calculators to craft the most entertaining and original monsters possible. They did not disappoint.

Students used conic sections, function transformations, and domain restrictions to create their monsters, then with the help of fellow students in the Graphic Design program were judged on entertainment, craftsmanship, complexity, and originality. Congratulations to junior Aidan Altizer (Teays Valley, Electrical) for being named the winner of the Des-Monster Competition!

Check out the creations of those students who were named inside the top-six, below!

Aidan Altizer was named the winner of the Des-Monster Competition!

Recap: Tech or Treat Brings Smiles to Many

It was all treats, no tricks, and loads of smiles and laughter at Eastland-Fairfield's second annual Tech or Treat event held on Wednesday, October 26th. Eastland Career Center and Fairfield Career Center opened its doors to community members, students, staff, and families for a family-friendly, indoor, and full-of-fun Halloween event. Trick-or-treaters entered the hallowed halls of the career centers to find rooms full of fun activities, wacky costumes, and most importantly ... loads of candy!

Our guests' costumes were fantastic and we were so happy to see so many smiling faces from all around our communities having fun and enjoying the holiday celebration. Thank you to everyone who came to visit, decorated rooms, handed out candy, and had a BOO-rificly good time with us!

Full story

SMART Labs Open to Support Student Learning

Micah Gilliam 23 MO-HAM colors in the ECC SMART Lab

Senior Micah Gilliam (Medical Office, Hamilton Twp.) demonstrates one of the many resources available to students in the new SMART Labs.

The life of today's student does not start and stop at the schoolhouse doors. It follows them inside. While educators always want students to strive for a good grade, or prepare for employment, military service, or continuing education, everyday life challenges have the potential to hinder their abilities to do so.

To address the obstacles to student learning, Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools opened two SMART (Stress Management and Resiliency Training) Labs, one at each of its two high school campuses. These specialized labs provide students with a safe place equipped to address those obstacles and help students recalibrate in order to reenter their learning environment more prepared to succeed.

Learn more about the inspiration for the SMART Labs, what each has to offer, and the impact it is already having on one student in just the first month since opening its doors.