Winter 2018 | Volume 6 - Issue 6 | A Publication of Cumberland County Technical Education Center

Cumberland CountyTechnical Education CenterInteract Members Collect 200

Toys for Children in Need Th

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nAlyson Lorence (Editor) and Dominic VanMeter CCTEC

In past years, CCTEC’s Interact Club has participated in a toy drive to help people less fortunate during the holiday season. This year Interact partnered with Vineland’s Salvation Army to collect toys and other presents for children in need. Interact received 200 tags. Each tag stated a child’s name, age, gender, and examples of gifts that they would want. Members of Interact went around the school during their SMART periods to hand out tags to anyone willing to participate. Students and faculty were encouraged to take a tag in order to fulfill a child’s wish. Many took multiple tags. The cooperation among the school created a sense of unity to help our local community. People who participated were documented in order to keep the process organized and to be sure that every child was given a gift. The majoriy of the toy drive was student ran, which was a big difference from last year. Members of Interact worked for 3 weeks during their SMART and lunch periods collecting and tagging gifts.

In order to make this event a success, Interact members took it upon themselves to alphabetize the tags before proceeding to tag them on gifts.

This made locating each tag a lot easier and moved the process along. Student Interact officers would check off each child’s name after it was organized, and then the gift would be officially tagged for delivery.

The committee of Interact members would then move the finalized gifts to another room in order to keep everything organized and neat. As mentioned previously, staff and students were encouraged to fulfill the necessities of one child’s tag. However, in the case that a child’s tag was not filled out or one was not picked up, students and staff generously brought in extra toys and clothes in order to ensure the happiness that every child deserves during the holidays.

This event is incredibly rewarding for everyone at CCTEC. Knowing that a child gets an enjoyable holiday because of so many thoughtful donations really makes this event worthwhile. Anthony Flores, Vice President of Interact Club says, “It was a great act of kindness that showed why it is important to give back to our community… It gave us satisfaction that children’s wishes were being fulfilled.” In just three weeks over 200 gifts were collected for children in need. All gifts were donated on December 18, 2017.

Interact Club members are all smiles as they pose with their 200 gifts.

2| Winter 2018 | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | The Vision

Chloe Swift - WriterCCTEC

Chatter arose in the halls of CCTEC as students prepared songs, instrumental pieces, and poems for the second annual Open Mic Night. Open Mic Night was held on January 12, 2018 and was the first fundraiser presented by the TEChnical Players, CCTEC’s Drama Club.

Open Mic Night provides an opportunity for students to per-form musical or theatrical pieces of any sort in a coffee house setting. Open Mic Night catered to a crowd of over 100 people and 17 performances. Students performed songs, original poems and instrumental pieces at the event. Among the performers was tenth grade English teacher, Mr. Campbell, who performed to encourage the students and showcase his talent.

Refreshments and coffee were sold for a dollar to raise mon-ey and replenish students, families, and performers. The money raised by Open Mic Night will go to a fund to get help CCTEC have its first school musical next year.

A fellow newspaper reporter and performer, Alyson Lorence, said, “Open Mic Night opened my eyes to so many talented people. Not only that but the experience helped me to face a personal fear of performing in front of an audience. I loved being a part of it.” Ally performed “Build Me Up, Buttercup” with Tabitha Gentiletti accompanying her on the ukulele. Open Mic Night was success for all and students are already looking forward to next year. Stayed tuned for the TEChnical Players’ next fundraiser, “The TEC Factor,” CCTEC’s first talent show!

TEC’s Second Annual Open Mic Night

The Vision | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | Winter 2018 | 3

CCTEC Student Powerlifts for GoldTaylor Rothmel - WriterCCTEC

At CCTEC, students shine in their own unique ways. Everyone has their own talents and abilities. Someone who shows their talent proudly is Olivia Herchelroth. Olivia is a fifteen year old freshman at CCTEC and she enjoys hanging out with her friends, reading, and working out. Olivia’s particular talent is powerlifting. Powerlifting is a sport that consists of three main lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift. Olivia practices these exercises one to three times a week alongside accessory exercises that can help benefit her main lifts. She started lifting only a year ago and February 10, 2018 marks one year since she competed at her first event. Olivia fell in love with powerlifting because it is a sport where she believes it is you against yourself; you have to rely on yourself, and can’t blame anyone else for your mistakes. Olivia believes this teaches responsiblity and perseverance. She loves the powerlifting community and how it is filled with positivity and inspiration.

Olivia explained that meets are not as competitive as one would think because people real-ize that the sport is focused on self improvement and not about winning. So far, Olivia has set state records for all three lifts and total weight. She has given herself a goal to set an American record for deadlift by the end of this year. Her overall biggest inspiration is Kimberly Walford. Kimberly Walford is a 6x IPF open raw world champion. She also looks up to her powerlifting friends, Megan Gallagher and Mackenzie Pezzi, who keep her going at all times. To sum up her experience, Olivia said, “Being the best or being liked doesn’t matter because at the end of the day it’s you versus you. So focus on yourself. Make yourself the best possible version of you.” After talking to Olivia I realized how driven she is and how dedicated she is to this sport. Olivia doesn’t lift for awards or accolades she may receive, but for herself because she is truly passionate about the sport.

CCTEC’s HOSA Students Compete at New Jersey Southern Regional Conference

CCTEC

On February 3, 2018, TEC’s HOSA team attended the NJ HOSA Southern Regional Conference to learn, meet other future health pro-fessionals, and compete. The students did an an outstanding job in the comeption and TEC is thrilled to announce that the following mem-bers are heading to states: Langston Thrbak and Jordan Hall, CPR/First Aid; Jamie Ross, Nursing Assistant; Jassidy Cotto and Jetta Pettit, Extemporaneous Health Poster; and Chisano Mutts, Extemporaneous Writing. Congratulations to all HOSA members and advisors, Mrs. Birdsall and Ms. Vicari! Keep up the great work!

Langston Thrbak and Jordan Hall

Jetta Pettit and Jassidy Cotto Jamie Ross

Chisano Mutts

4 | Winter 2018 | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | The Vision

Tess Klugewicz - EditorCCTEC

If there’s one thing that CCTEC does well, it’s throwing a fab-ulous semi-formal dance. Every winter, CCTEC throws a great winter semi-formal to celebrate the first quarter of the school year, the student’s achievements, and the upcoming winter break! Previously, the class of 2020 planned and attended an “End of The Year” semi-formal in May. The theme was “A Night in Old Hollywood” and many attended in Hollywood dresses, feather scarves, slick suits, and masks. While that dance was won-derfully planned and executed, some argue this winter-semi topped it! The theme of this semi-formal was “A Night in Paris” and decora-tions included Eiffel Towers, white string lights, a writhing, twisted silver entrance way, in addition to many others. A gourmet hot chocolate bar was available for staff and students. Snacks and refreshments were sold to benefit Student Council, and DJ Spencer filled the gymnasium with popular songs to keep everyone dancing. Every student enjoyed themselves and had a great time dancing the night away. The freshman class made this dance even more exciting and fun than the previous ones. The class of 2020 always enjoyed themselves at school events and fundraisers, however, with the added class of 2021, the dance was filled with more laughter and memories (and a lot of extra noise!). The freshman class has given the sophomore class the chance to branch out and make new friends. Our large school needed many more wonderful people to fill it, and the freshman class made this happen. Chloe Swift, photographer for our Newspaper, said “The dance was really wonderful. It was a night filled with fun and friends and really shows what CCTEC is all about.”

Above Right: Mrs. Contanza smiles with freshman Student Council officers Taylor Rothmel and Andreas Panagiotopoulos.

Right: Freshman class advisor Mrs. Constanza and Student Council co-advisor Mr. Riggins pose with freshmen and sohpomore Student

Council members.

Below: Student Council co-advisor Mr. Riggins poses with sopho-more Brandon Hernandez and freshman Andreas Panagiotopoulos.

Semi-Formal is a Success for Students

The Vision | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | Winter 2018 | 5

TEC Students are Dressed to Impress

Administration SpotlightAlyson Lorence (Editor) & Chloe Swift CCTEC

In past editions of The Vision, we have interviewed many CCTEC teachers and dug a bit deeper into the lives of them so students could learn more about their lives outside of school. To coincide with this series, The Newspaper Club has decided to show administration in a different light. Students see the administrative team wan-dering the halls, but we never get a chance to sit down and learn more about them. In this edition we interviewed CCTEC’s principal, Mr. McGraw. When asked a series of questions such as “What influenced you to work at CCTEC?”, “What is your family like?”, and “What is something students at CCTEC might not know?”, we were truly able to connect with Mr. McGraw and learn more about him.

In response to “What is your favorite part about being principal of CCTEC?”, Mr. McGraw responded, “without a doubt, the students.” Mr. McGraw believes that seeing his students so highly motivated and involved in their academics makes being principal of CCTEC highly rewarding. CCTEC is looking to develop a unique cul-ture and he sees students embracing that culture every single day. A main goal for CCTEC and Mr. McGraw is to ensure that all students are college and career ready when they leave CCTEC. He is a strong believer in what technical schools have to offer and how they will pave the way for students and their futures. “When every student graduates, I want him or her to be well equipped to continue their education in their given career field,” Mr. McGraw said. However, Mr. McGraw acknowledged that this will look different for all students at CCTEC, depending on their program of study. Despite having different academic or technical routes, the end result will be the same, as all students are expected to continue their journey of education. Mr.

McGraw has taken away many important lessons from CCTEC; however, he believes the most significant lesson is that “everything starts and ends with relationships.” Relationships from teacher to student, student to student, and parent to teacher all create a sturdy foundation that people are able to grow from. He has found that by “fostering strong relationships, relationships grounded on high expectations for all, grounded on respect for all, everything is much easier to fall into place.” To ensure that these relationships are present at CCTEC, he begins by modeling them amongst teachers. Mr. McGraw thinks that teachers are most influential to the stu-dents and modeling these relationships with the teachers first can create a better environment for the students to mimic respectful interactions with their peers and superiors.

Aside from the more professional questions, we were also able to ask Mr. McGraw questions about his personal life. From these questions we found out about his family and activities that he participates in after school. Mr. McGraw loves to stay active. After school hours he participates in hiking, bike riding, and swimming. “These activities are all done with my family,” he said. He has two children, a ten year old daughter named Kansas and a seven year old son named Killian. His son loves soccer and Mr. McGraw said that he and his son both share a love for Star Wars. His daughter loves to dance and read, which is something they both share a pas-sion for. Mr. McGraw and his daughter read for twenty to thirty minutes each night. As we were discussing reading, Mr. McGraw said that his goal for himself is to read twenty books this year for enjoyment purposes. He said, “Often a lot of my reading is professional reading that I do because it’s important, but because of that I find it hard to make time to read for enjoyment.”

Mr. McGraw is a strong believer in goal setting. Whether it be a long term or short term, professional, athletic or personal goal, he finds himself setting goals constantly. This is something he hopes to pass on to his students and children, as he feels setting goals helps motivate a person to succeed.

One important thing Mr. McGraw wants his students to know is that he grew up in Millville and understands where everyone is coming from. He has been in education for 17 years and has worked at many schools around Cumberland County. His knowledge about the county allows him to know what the students need when they apply here. “Knowing students’ needs plays a huge part in developing a comfortable environment,” he said.

After interviewing our principal, Mr. McGraw, we were truly able to understand not only his position as an administrator but also understand his personal life. He is looking for success amongst his students. This article is intended to create a better connection with Mr.McGraw and his students and by doing this we hope this connection brings better success to him and everyone here at CCTEC.

6 | Winter 2018 | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | The Vision

Macy Lambert - WriterCCTEC

Spanish has never been my forte. Here at CCTEC, Señora Constanza, the Spanish I teacher, does a great job mak-ing Spanish fun for her students. Señora Constanza loves her job and it shows through the way she teaches. During the interview, she told me about how she has wanted to be a teacher for as long as she could remember. She even told me a story about how she used to play school and play the role as the teacher while her Barbie Dolls were the students.

Señora Constanza is a recent graduate from Montclair State University and has been teaching at CCTEC for two years. When I had asked her to describe how she felt when she was offered a job here, she had said that she was filled with an “overwhelming sense of excitement.” She continued by saying that “it is so amazing when a teacher straight out of college is offered such a remark-

able job.” During the interview, Señora Constanza expressed her love for CCTEC. “It has been an amazing experience,” she praised. “The staff and students are so kind and wonderful. Everyday is a great day at CCTEC.”

Outside of school, Señora Constanza has her hands full with her one year old son Caleb. She has been married to her hus-band for a year and loves to cook and travel to Latin America. Señora Constanza grew up in Millville and attended Silver Run Elementary School, Lakeside Middle School, and Pennsville High School.

All in all, I’d like to conclude that Señora Constanza is an outstanding teacher and I have learned more in the four months I’ve been in her class than the ten years I was at my previous school. Señora Constanza is not only a great teacher, but she is also an understanding, smart, caring, funny, and talented person. Señora Constanza would like to end this article with a inspiring and humbling humbling quote, “Soñar es lograr y realizar un deseo.” ¡Adios!

The Vision | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | Winter 2018 | 7

Who Are Your Teachers?Taylor Rothmel - WriterCCTEC

Mrs. Levari is CCTEC’s new freshman His-tory teacher. After spending a SMART Pe-riod with her and asking a few questions, I found out more about her school life and out of school life. Mrs. Levari grew up in Milmay and went through her school years at Maurice River Township Elementary School, Millville High School, and Widener University. She finished schooling in 2008. She said she had always had a passion for History and loved it for a long time but realized she wanted to be a History teacher in her junior year of college. Before coming to CCTEC, she taught grades 9-12 and 4th at Mill-ville High School Bacon Elementary School. She taught US 1, US 2, World History, and Sociology.

Her family consists of her husband, and her two children, Chad and Elizabeth, with another child on the way. She owns a farm, which means she owns many animals. For example, Mrs. Levari has 100 sheep, 6 horses, 2 dogs, and a lot of cats.

When Mrs. Levari was invited to teach at CCTEC, she said she was very excited. She loves teaching here and loves CCTEC’s pos-itive atmosphere. Mrs. Levari offered the following advice to her students: “Carpe diem. Carpe diem means to live in the moment. Think about what is going on now instead of what might happen later.” Mrs. Levari is an amazing teacher and anyone who meets her is grateful to know her.

Right: History teacher, Mrs. Levari (L) and Spanish teacher, Señora Constanza (R) pose

for a quick picture before homeroom.

ADMINISTRATION

Dr. Dina ElliottSUPERINTENDENT

Mr. Mario OlsenASSISTANT

SUPERINTENDENT

Mr. Greg McGrawPRINCIPAL

Mrs. Patricia RobbinsASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Mrs. Celese NolanASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Dr. Katelyn SkinnerSTEM SUPERVISOR

Newspaper Staff

Advisors: Ms. GaudioMr. Carolla

Editors:Tess KlugewiczAlly Lorence

Writers: Shelynel AlvarezAlexandra Orea

Devin CoiaAnne Marie Dominique

Kayley PriceElizabeth Lascarez

Taylor RothmelMacy Lambert

Brandon HernandezDominic VanMeter

William EstlowHeather Racuckas

Photographer:Chloe Swift

check out our website at www.cctecnj.org

The Cumberland County Board of Vocational Education does not

discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or disability.

Students of the Month

8 | Winter 2018 | Cumberland County Technical Education Center | The Vision

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Kara Stratton

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Alexy Brown Irene Love

Ms. Kellner has stated that “Mathieu is responsible and kindhearted. He has demonstrated an immense amount of improvement since I first met him back in September. I hope that he continues to work hard and becomes more vocal as the year progresses.”

Outside of school, Mathieu is involved in Boy Scouts, football, basketball and baseball.

Mr. Riggins has stated that “Kara is an amazing student whose dedication to AP History rises to the challenge it presents. She is able to meet these challenges head on with an unwillingness to give up.” Additionally, Mrs. Mason states that “Kara is always willing to help others and has compassion for her classmates.”

Outside of school, Kara enjoys reading, playing guitar and singing. She volunteers at her local Kingdom Hall.

Sports Medicine Instructor Ms. Vicari has stated that “Angelic has dramatically improved her study habits this year and even comes to school when her home school is off for the day.”

Angelic enjoys singing, writing and reading.

Instructor Chef Knerr has stated that “Alexy is highly intelligent and has good analytical skills. She is a well disciplined student with a pleasant attitude. Alexy goes above and beyond the course requirements in her quality of work.”

Outside of school, Alexy enjoys making clothes, helping out others, singing, poetry and playing basketball.

According to Mrs. Kessler, “Giovanni is a hardworking student who is always pleasant to students and staff. He always takes pride in everything he does.”

Giovanni enjoys cooking, working with the chef and weight lifting. Giovanni participates in the Special Olympics, works with CCTEC’s chef serving food for students and staff, and is involved with internal OJT.

According to Mrs. Kessler, “Irene is a hardworking student. She has become a leader and role model in the classroom and during internal OJT sites. She has really grown into one of our top students.”

Irene enjoys basketball and being outdoors. She also enjoys weightlifting and listening to music.

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Mathieu Carroll Angelic Collier Giovanni Tirado

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Jaret Shelton

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Jonah Frazer Ceirra Quinones

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Autmotive Instructor Mr. Bermudez has stated that “Jonah is an excellent student, he displays leadership qualities and is always helping other students. Jonah has the skills and the mind set to excel in whatever he chooses to do in life.”

Outside of school, Jonah enjoys driving, racing, drifting and working on cars.

Mr. Saponare has stated that “Jaret is a respectful and dependable young man who persistently maintains one of the highest grade point averages in the Law Enforcement Program.”

Jaret enjoys playing football, guitar and video games. He often donates his personal time to assist with security details at CCTEC.

Outside of school, Jaret helps his father rehabilitate homes.

According to Mrs. Harkins, “Ceirra is a hardworking, well mannered student. She is always willing to help her peers and teachers. She is a great role model for the other students.”

Ceirra enjoys going to church, helping people, cooking and watching over her brothers.