Copy- March 2023

Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School

NEWSLETTER

March 2023

from the principal

Upcoming Events

• Early Releases 3/22 & $4/12

Happy Spring Old Colony Community Spring is about to grace us on the Old Colony Campus. As always, this will be a busy time in academics, vocational programs and extracurricular activities. With the coming of Spring, it means the sports fields will be teeming with athletes. Games under the lights will resume and our Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball teams will be vying for league titles and beyond. We wish them luck. It will be hard to match the success of our winter athletes as both basketball teams won league titles and earned state tournament births. We were recently notified that our Girls Basketball Team was honored with the MIAA Sportsmanship Award. Congratulations to players and coaches. Please enjoy this month’s edition of the Newsletter where we highlight all the exciting goings on at Old Colony. Be Well, Mr. Parker

• Grade 10 MCAS 3/28-29

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Academic News

Athletics

Guidance

PTO News

Seniors News

Vocational News

sKILLS usa

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Senior Spotlights

OC Food Pantry

This year's Scholarship Golf Tournament is set for May 20th at Acushnet River Valley. This year's tournament filled in a week and half with 148 golfers. Each year we ask for help, and without fail we receive a tremendous response. We have attached a donation letter explaining how to become a hole sponsor or donate an item for our raffle table.

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Academic News

22-23 Course Recommendations It’s hard to believe that we are in Trimester 3! This means that course recommendation season is among us. Please keep an eye out for an email at the end of the month with instructions on how to approve/reject course recommendations for the 2023-2024 school year. We encourage you to view the course descriptions in our program of studies which can be found HERE.

Upcoming Events

Open Mic Our second Open Mic event held on February 16, 2023 of the year was a hit! It was another great afternoon of students reading original poetry, short stories, and showing off their musical talents Stay tuned for info on our final Open Mic of the year. Contact Ms. Linehan (jlinehan@oldcolony.info) or Ms. Whinnem (bwhinnem@oldcolony.info) with any questions.

Academic News

Reminders

After School Days All teachers are available on Tuesday or Thursday of each week, so be sure to take advantage of this time. If you don’t remember your teacher’s late day, remember to ask, check the syllabus or Google Classroom.

Cougar Connection Our Library is open every Monday - Thursday until 4:30. Be sure to stop in if you want to use any of the library resources, form study or homework groups with your classmates, or just need a place to get some work done before heading home, work, or practice. There will be teachers in the library all four days to answer your questions. Students who drive or can arrange for a ride home are welcome to stay until 4:30. We also have late buses Mon - Th that depart at 3:50.

Makerspace Our Library Makerspace program is up and running and we are thrilled to see students using the tools we have available. If any students would like to learn more about using the 3D printer, photography equipment, digital drawing apps, music & movie editing apps or to learn about ALL the tools we have available, stop in an see Ms. Linehan or email her at jlinehan@oldcolony.info

Late Bus We have late buses available Monday - Thursday every week, with the exception of half days or days where we don’t have school. Buses leave promptly at 3:50pm.

PTO NEWS

Senior News

• You have chosen Las Vegas as your prom theme!
• Tickets will be on sale around March 1st. Tickets will be sold online through GoFan as well as available to purchase with cash or check.
• Prom tickets cannot be purchased unless your Junior ($25) and Senior ($30) dues are paid. You can pay Mrs. Taveira in Room 7 before or after school.
• You will receive $5 off your class dues for every $75 you raise in fundraisers. Your candle fundraiser has already been applied.

• The PTO is sponsoring Movie Night (Star Drive In 5/11) and the Harbor Cruise (New Bedford 5/18) again. Details to follow and dates are still tentative.
• Please fill out the Google Form regarding your Senior Trip. If you have other ideas besides Six Flags, there is a place for you to include your ideas. However, cost and time are a factor so please keep these in mind when offering your ideas. Ms. Gamelin and I will be making the final decision regarding the trip.

Please see attachment for instructions for ordering the Yearbook supplement. Orders are due by May 5th to Mrs. Peterson in Graphics!

Senior Spotlights

FOOD PANTRY

Old Colony Student Run Food Pantry The Old Colony food pantry, organized by the students and facilitated by Ms. Weeden and Ms. Davenport, is an incredible opportunity for you to help out your community. We are accepting all donations of non-perishable food items and everything is greatly appreciated. The food pantry helps anonymously to support Old Colony families in need throughout the school year. Our food pantry does something truly inspiring by providing food to those in need, no questions asked. By donating, you can become a part of this movement and help our Old Colony families, friends, and community. All donations can be brought to Ms. Weeden in Room 31. To pick up food baskets, call or email the front office.

Vocational News

Cooperative Education Program:

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS & DESIGN: Tri-Town Against Racism - Black History Month Art Contest We would like to congratulate our Graphic Communications & Design 11th-grade students for sweeping the Tri-Town Against Racism's Black History Month Art Contest. The following students placed in this competition: 1st Place: Evan LaPointe 2nd Place: Ryleigh DeMelo 3rd Place: Janice Delancey Congratulations!

HEALTH CAREERS: We are happy to announce that the following students have passed their CNA Exam: Nevaeh Benting , Madelyn Capllette, Emma Chaberek, Isaabel Hougasian, Dakota Johnson, Brianna Killoran, and Rachel Willwerth Congratulations!!

We would like to congratulate the following students for their participation in our Cooperative Education Program:

• Roger Caplette - Raposo Electric
• Ryan Chase - Mastria GMC
• Benjamin Furtado - Edge One LLC
• Brianna Mello - Seaside Masonry
• Avrie Oliveira - Procuts Middleboro
• Tyler Previti - Autocam Medical
• Andrew Scott - Robertson's GMC Truck, Inc.
• Grady Vandal - Peter Wood Construction
• Ayden Walker - SeaGreen Bookkeeping and Tax Services

Thank you to our industry partners for their support of our Cooperative Education Program and for hiring our students to work at their place of employment. We rely on our industry partners to support our mission of preparing and supporting students for the global demands of society and the workforce through rigorous vocational-technical experiences that foster responsible, productive citizens in our community.

Please see our website for more information:

HOUSE & MILL CARPENTRY: Bus Free Library with Rochester Memorial School On March 1st, we welcomed 15 first-grade students from Rochester Memorial School to our Carpentry shop. The students, along with their teachers Mrs. Nelson and Mr. Huckabee, came to Old Colony to construct a Free Library that the students saw a need for at their school. While there is already a Free Library at RMS, the students felt that it was too tall and didn’t have a lot of book choices for younger learners at the school. With the help of their teachers, the first-grade students came up with a plan to design, build, and install a new Free Library at their entrance to the school. In the STEM lab, they constructed prototypes out of cardboard. While on their field trip to Old Colony, students spent the entire day building the library. At a later date, our Carpentry students will travel to RMS to help the class install the little library. The students also got to tour the school and see a few of the other shops at the school. Special thanks to Mahoney's Building Supply in Mattapoisett for donating all the materials and supplies for the project. We would also like to thank the CAD Drafting department for drawing the finalized plans and using their new laser printer/cutter to cut out the plexiglass windows. "Rise to the Vocation" Scholarship Opportunities: Thank you to Asher from Asher Nichols Craftsmen and PRO New England for stopping by today and dropping off applications for the TradesUp, Rise To The Vocation scholarship. Asher also talked to the seniors about the carpentry field and dropped off some t-shirts for the students as well. Seniors in the carpentry program that are planning on entering the carpentry field upon graduation are strongly encouraged to apply! Please see Mr. Sims or Mr. Soucy for the application or to find out more details!

SKILLSUSA District Competition

Below please find the full list of winners: * = qualifies for the state competition

On Friday, March 3rd, 85 students participated in the SkillsUSA District I Competition held virtually at Old Colony. Students completed an online test consisting of employability, safety, and technical questions from their vocational-technical area. The results of the competition were released Tuesday, March 7th. Old Colony brought home 9 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals. Congratulations to all competitors and winners! Fourteen students will be moving on to the SkillsUSA State Competition scheduled for Friday, April 27-29th. All students participating at the state level will be invited to a Google Classroom where they will receive more information about the state competition.