Not So Scary Stuff

It’s that time of year again.  Black and orange are everywhere, and “Boo!” isn’t just something many of us said when our Buckeyes lost to Penn State last weekend.  It’s almost time for Halloween; the “scariest time of the year”.  Our staff and students are ready.  Even the preschoolers are excited!  They sang me their Halloween songs today.  They did an amazing job, and were even nice enough to let me participate with them.  Boy, was I scared when we ran across that black cat and the witch flew over our heads, though!  Those little three, four, and five year olds sitting around me didn’t seem fazed at all by those spooky occurrences (I think they may have been practicing, so they knew what was coming).

In fact, I KNOW the preschoolers had been practicing and were prepared for every scary situation that song threw at us.  I know this because I’ve seen Mrs. Marcia Osenga, Mrs. Rhonda Davis, and their amazing group of Early Childhood Education teachers working with them over the past week or so on practicing and perfecting every motion in the song.  So there was nothing to be afraid of for them!

That’s similar to what we’re doing in all of our classes here at Vantage.  For example, Vantage sent 17 welders, carpenters, heavy machine operators, culinary experts, and computer gurus to compete at last week’s MakerFest activities in Lima, Ohio.  If you would have asked these students to participate in (very competitive) events in front of judges and dozens of peers when they first came to Vantage, I’m guessing most of them would have been a bit scared, and probably declined the opportunity.  

However, with the training and practice they’ve received here, each of them competed confidently and represented our school with three 4th place finishes and a silver medal.  They didn’t just compete, though.  They also showed no fear in talking to the judges and local employers from our region.  One of them even got a job offer on the spot, while others made connections with employers who will be coming to Vantage in the near future to see more of what our labs have to offer.  Now that’s something to scream about (in a good way)!  That’s what being a career center is all about.  

Thank you to all those who competed, and the teachers who have been preparing them for these competitions (and so much more) since they showed the courage to face the “unknown” and come to Vantage.  Special thanks to Mr. Daniel Joyce for selecting and coaching our MakerFest teams.

So, with Halloween coming on Monday, I hope you all have a safe and FUNomenal weekend.  My wife (who is a dentist) would probably like me to tell you not to eat too much candy.  However, I can’t preach what I probably won’t practice.