National Art Contest Winners Announced

SIATech students from across the country submitted their finest examples of graphic design for the school's first national art contest. The purpose of the contest, led and organized by Learning Supprt Specialist Greg Cohen, generated excitement about the new Creative Technology curriculum.

The contest grand prize winner was Anfernee Butler from the Gainesville SIATech site. Butler's piece, "The Fire," is shown on the right.

Butler wrote an introduction to the art piece comparing the smelting process to his transformation while at SIATech and Job Corps: "The old gold was me, the old rust was my past and hurts, the goldsmith was my SIATech instructors and principal, and now I can stand here today and smile knowing that I'm made new again."

Butler along with five other student participants were awarded Adobe™ software generously donated by Adobe. Read More about the Art Contest.

Phoenix Teacher Named Mentor of the Year

Congratulations to Felix Fornino (pictured at right) for being voted the Mentor of the Year by students at the Phoenix Job Corps Center!

As Principal Eric Pawlak commented, "This is truly amazing and for it to go to an SIATech employee even makes it more outstanding." Congratulations Felix!

History and Government: Up Close and Personal

Students Visit California Supreme Court
On December 11, 2008, two staff members and ten students from SIATech Treasure Island took a field trip to the California Supreme Court located in San Francisco. The group toured both the court and library while learning about the California judicial system. (Submitted by Treasure Island Teacher Kevin Jacks)

Staff Members Attend President Obama's Inauguration
Several SIATech staff members from various sites across the country traveled to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration. Among those in attendance were Randy Valles of Albuquerque SIATech and Christal Blue of Gainesville SIATech (pictured above).

As Principal Joy Baldree commented about Christal's trip, "How many times in your lifetime as a history teacher do you really get to witness true history; history that is life changing and life fulfilling? She made the event special for us as well in Gainesville as we shared lunch, searching the crowd for Miss Blue.  We could not find her, but we knew she was there, her students knew she was there...and that made all the difference!"

Whether you attended the inauguration or simply watched it at home, please share your reflections on what this event means to you and your work with SIATech. Length does not matter. Reflections of a sentence, a paragraph, and a page are all welcomed.

Students Prepare for VEX Robotics Tournament

SIATech at San Jose Job Corps Center is hosting a VEX Robotics tournament on Saturday, February 28. The event is a VEX-sanctioned event (including trophies!), and the event winner will qualify for the VEX National Championship in May 2009. The San Jose SIATech Robotics team will be competing with 12 teams from public schools around the Bay Area that are registered to participate. SIATech staff and students are invited to attend and cheer on our students and their mentors! (Submitted by Area Director Laurie Pianka)

Read the event flyer and visit the Robotics website for more information.