Skykomish School District has added some new, high interest, student-centered classes to its list of course offerings.
Career Technology Education (CTE) courses are now being offered at Skykomish High School, as are Independent Living and Microsoft Academy. Computer keyboarding classes are also being taught in grades K-12. These courses provide job skills, as well as life skills for each student.
Additionally, the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) club is now part of the (CTE) program at Skykomish High School, providing leadership, career exploration, and volunteer opportunities for the high school students at Skykomish.
The Independent Living class has been learning about career options, discovering what interests the students, and what skills they have, through discussions and various online surveys and assessments. They made career choices and determined what kind of education and training will be needed after high school. The students created budgets with everyday life expenses and are maintaining an online checking account, with weekly paydays, bills, and unforeseen expenses. They are also journaling and having drug and alcohol prevention discussions with the school prevention specialist every Friday. The class visited Pasado's Safe Haven, an animal rescue campus with a variety of animals and habitats needing care and attention, for a tour of their campus and had fun playing with the animals.
Microsoft Academy, another CTE course being offered at Skykomish High School, provides the opportunity for students to learn Microsoft applications and earn certifications in programs like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Initially, the students completed certifications in Digital Literacy through the IT Academy website. They are completing Word this semester and will learn PowerPoint and Excel in the spring.
In addition, students from grades kindergarten through high school have been learning about computers and gaining typing skills. Using an online program, each student has their own login they can use to practice typing skills and play typing games. After the first timed typing test, the students were surprised at how slowly they typed. But after only a few months of hard work, the students are watching those scores go up!
Finally, every student who is currently participating in a CTE course, Microsoft Academy or Independent Living, is enrolled as a member of the FCCLA Club. Through FCCLA involvement, students sort out thoughts, analyze situations, set goals, interact with others, apply classroom knowledge, volunteer in the community, and become leaders in today's and tomorrow's families, careers, and communities.
The CTE/FCCLA students are involved in several volunteer activities this year. In one of the FCCLA meetings, students had the opportunity to complete their Food Handler's Permit. The permits prepared the FCCLA students to bake pies in November for the Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner that was held on Saturday, November 22. The students baked 21 pies and over 200 cookies for the free community event. The Skykomish FCCLA Club will also be volunteering with both the local forest service in trail clean-up efforts, as well as Pasado's Safe Haven of Monroe in the spring.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment