Paul Blake had a very successful day at the Iowa Industrial Expo on Friday, May 10th, and we are all so proud of him. Paul, his dad Larry, and his instructor Andrew Brouwer attended this Expo to showcase his projects.
The Construction Career Exploration Camp built two dog houses for PAWS under the direction of instructor Derrik Bauer and volunteers Paul Blake, Larry Blake, and Raymond Bauer. Derrik Bauer came up with this project idea and for this class to donate the dog houses to PAWS. We contacted PAWS President of the Board Ann Wenthold to see what size they would like. She suggested dog houses for a big dog would be the best.
We split the students into two groups and each group went to work on their dog house. Derrik Bauer and his high school son, Raymond, helped one group and high school senior Paul Blake and his dad, Larry Blake, guided the other group.
At 5:20 p.m., Ann Wenthold and PAWS board member Kelley McCane brought two dogs named Jerry and Romeo to meet the students and to check out their work. This was awesome! The students all loved the dogs, and it was such a fun way to end the class.
The dog houses will be donated to PAWS for them to sell to interested dog owners. Proceeds from their sales will stay with PAWS to support them and the work they do for the animals. More information will be coming to you from PAWS about the sale of these two dog houses.
This concludes this year's Career Exploration Camps. Thank you to ISU Extension Youth Director Samantha Hardaway, the Greene County Career Academy, and to all of the instructors for making these camps so great for our youth. We hope all of the students learned a lot and that they had fun exploring the different careers.
Congratulations to these students who completed a career pathway in the Greene County Career Academy this year! We gathered in the healthcare classroom this morning and celebrated with breakfast pizza, donut holes, and fresh fruit.
Thank you to these students for being a part of our career academy. Thank you to Iowa Central Community College, Greene County Schools, Paton-Churdan Schools, and Panorama Schools for providing this great opportunity for students to learn and explore different careers. All of these students earned free college credit and had free books.
The Greene County Career Academy hosted a Visit Day the morning of April 17th. Students who signed up attended an overview and completed online applications.
Students then rotated through three different sessions. Carrie Rock, Iowa Central's High School Partnerships Associate Dean, facilitated a panel with current members who shared information about their classes. Iowa Central's Director of High School Partnerships Sara Scharf talked about how credits transfer and then played a Bingo game with the students. Career Academy Specialist Teresa Green gave a tour of the career academy where students could see the classes in action. A special treat was that Chef D and her students prepared an egg bake for the students to sample.
Career Academy Visit Day - Wednesday morning, April 17th
Sophomores and juniors are invited to come check out the career academy offerings available to them on Wednesday morning, April 17th. We will have a tour with hands-on activities, a panel with current career academy students, and a Bingo game. We will have prizes and treats.
Students should bring their chromebooks/computers for the overview at 8:25 a.m.
8:25 to 8:40 Overview of College and Application - Bring Chromebooks
8:45 to 9:15 First rotation
9:20 to 9:50 Second rotation
9:55 to 10:25 Third rotation
Students should sign up with Mrs. Wenck or Ms. Green on Tuesday if they would like to take part in this visit day!
We just wrapped up two Advanced Food and Nutrition career exploration camps with Chefs Julie Kennedy and Lindsay Harris teaching the students so many things in our short hour and a half together. These students have already taken the beginning Culinary - Food and Nutrition class, and they were able to apply those skills in this class.
Students started the class by preparing and grilling their own grilled cheese sandwich which they got to eat right away. Students then prepared oil for dipping bread, Hollandaise sauce, basil pesto, and stir fry with steamed rice. Next, they learned how to blanch and shock vegetables, sautee green beans, and roast vegetables. Each student received recipes that they can try at home. Of course, they got to sample everything and even got to take some food home!
Greene County Career Academy welding students Gabe Block and Darrien Peterson competed at the Iowa Central Welding Fabrication Competition Day on Friday, April 5th. Students worked in groups of two to design and weld a grill that they got to take home with them. They were provided with a blueprint, materials, and tools needed to complete the welding project. Teams had two and a half hours to complete their project. This was a great experience for our students!
Author, speaker, and trainer of leaders, Molly Mackey, led adult learners in a "Turning Conflict into Construction Behavior" class last week. Molly believes high conflict destroys teams and workplace culture. She taught ways to move yourself and your team to constructive conflict with the belief that Better Leaders = Better Lives.
This class was offered through the adult education program at Iowa Central Community College and the Greene County Career Academy.
Greene County Career Academy Culinary students Sophie Kirk and Shailynne Woodley prepared club sandwiches this morning with the guidance of Chef D - Denise Moranville. They toasted the bread on the griddle and then added mayonnaise, American cheese, bread, Swiss cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mayonnaise, and bread. The class then sampled their project, and it was so good!
There is still time to sign up for the "Turning Conflict into Constructive Behavior" class that is being offered at the Greene County Career Academy on Tuesday, April 2nd, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Just click on the QR code to get registered or contact Teresa Green at green_t@iowacentral.edu or at 515.386.6190.
Twelve students in grades 1-3 learned about the education strand in our career exploration camp on Thursday, March 7th. We started by naming all of the different careers associated with education and schools. Next, Greene County High School instructor Deb Marquardt and high school senior Skylar Warnke played a "Classroom Objects Game" where students identified things you would find in a classroom. We were excited to have Skylar help teach this camp because she plans to become an elementary teacher in her future. Our next activity was doing a craft where the students made a leprechaun hand craft that included painting, using scissors, and adding an eye and a buckle. We wrapped the camp up by doing some interactive activities including Twister, Magnetic Tiles, coloring, and more.
On Thursday, February 28th, youth in grades 4-8 participated in the culinary bakery exploration camp. These youth had the opportunity to learn about bakery careers, bake their own pizza, and learn about the powders used in baking and how to measure and identify them. Finally, they practiced measuring to create a brownie-in-a-jar to take home!
Kirk Davis and his career academy construction students toured NexGen Baths which is owned by Colby and Wyatt. Colby Peacock and his partner met at Iowa Central and formed NexGen Baths in 2019 to provide superior service and quality of work to their future customers when remodeling their bathrooms. Colby and Wyatt talked about their trade and employability skills including the importance of showing up to work and being on time every day.
On Thursday, February 15th, we had our Health Care Career Exploration Camp at the Greene County Career Academy. The youth learned about heart health, CPR, AED use, and hand washing. A big thank you to Greene County Public Health Director Becky Wolf and Public Health Nurse Shelby Cooklin for helping lead this class!
Senior Michael Martinez from Panorama High School prepared chicken marsala this morning with Chef D in the culinary class at the Greene County Career Academy. He started by prepping the fresh herbs including garlic, parsley, and rosemary. He then prepared the sauce with white wine and chicken broth. He cooked the seasoned chicken in a separate pan with olive oil and butter until it was a golden brown. He then set the chicken aside. In the same pan, he added olive oil, butter, and mushrooms which were cooked until they were golden and smaller in size. Just before plating the food, Michael added the chicken back to the pan to combine it with the sauce. Everything was so good!!!
Career Academy culinary student Sophie Kirk cooked Creamy Tuscan Chicken today in Chef D's class. Her recipe included pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, seasoned chicken, garlic, and parsley. The noodles and chicken were cooked in a sauce made of butter, garlic, milk, Italian seasoning, and flavor enhancer. It was topped with mozzarella cheese and then served to the class. It was delicious!
Chef D's culinary student Michael Martinez created his own rice dish today. Michael is a junior from Panorama High School and comes to the Career Academy every morning. He started with jasmine rice and added regular tomatoes, a celery stick, and shallot onions. He also created his own herb oil by using olive oil, fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary, and cilantro. It turned out really good, and Michael shared it with his class.
Friday is the perfect day for spicy shrimp tacos with avocado crema! The Career Academy culinary students and Chef D started by cooking spicy marinated shrimp to perfection.The tacos were topped with a homemade avocado crema and a delicious slaw. Another great recipe and effort by our culinary students!
Just in time for Valentine's Day! Shailynne Woodley prepared chocolate-covered strawberries this morning in the Career Academy culinary class. Shailynne took fresh strawberries, dipped them in melted milk chocolate, drizzled more chocolate on top after the first layer set up, and then sprinkled sea salt on them. The finished product was enjoyed by Chef D and her students!
Junior Afton Poldberg from Panorama High School partnered with the Ram Bistro by using some of their apples to make homemade pasty turnovers. They are delicious!
