Early Childhood Ed. staff news HSTC welcomes Ms. Ursula

Bell, Instructional Assistant, to

the Early Childhood Education

preschool. Ms. Bell will be

working with the two– and

three-year-olds, as well as the

ECE high school students.

Ms. Bell was most recently

an underwriter, but has worked

mostly in the education field. She worked with the PED pro-

gram at Springfield Park Pre-

school, and with the pre-school

at Mt. Vernon. She has experi-

ence working with special needs

students, including those with

autism.

Formerly from Northern Vir-

ginia, Ms. Bell has lived in Glen

Allen for the past six years. She

has two daughters: Alannah, 11,

and Meadow, 8.

Ms. Bell is impressed by how

easily the Springer Daycare

children have adapted to pre-

ECE, page 2

Highland Springs

Technical Center

100 Tech Drive

Highland Springs,

VA 23075 Technically Speaking

A newsletter for friends of Highland Springs Technical Center http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/hs/HighSprTech/ Administrative Staff

Johnnie Collie, Principal

jlcollie@henrico.k12.va.us

Debra Bishop,

Associate Principal

djbishop@henrico.k12..va.us

Paula Harris,

School Counselor

pmharris@henrico.k12..va.us

Office Staff

Donna Monnin,

Financial Secretary

demonnin@henrico.k12.va.us

Karen Banks,

Front Office Secretary

kdbanks@henrico.k12.va.us

Support Staff

Velma Brown,

Instructional Aide

vabrown@henrico.k12.va.us

Jan Budryk, Librarian

jgbudryk@henrico.k12.va.us

John Jones,

Instructional Aide

jwjones@henrico.k12.va.us

Keta Jackson,

Instructional Aide

keta.jackson@gmail.com

Tony Loyall, Instructional

Aide

awloyall@Henrico.k12.va.us

Volume V, Issue I October 2012

Mr s . C o n n i e

Wooldridge and her husband

Walter had an estimated due

date of October 7th. However, Baby Brixten (it’s

a girl!) was measuring 7 lbs., 12

oz. by mid-September, As of this writing, Mrs.

Wooldridge will be induced

Oct. 1, if she doesn’t go into

labor on her own before that

date.

(see photo, page 3.)

Baby news

HSTC Completion,

June 2012

Ms. Paula Harris, school counselor is again our leader in the HCPS focus on preventing

bullying. This year, Ms. Harris has planned a number of activities that teachers may use in

their classrooms to raise awareness and promote unity. She plans to incorporate some points

from the HCPS strategic plan. In September, HSTC seniors signed a banner pledging to gradu-

ate on time. The banner, with its student signatures, was then hung in the library.

To come: Having students write a letter or note, thanking someone who has been of ser-

vice to them, and employment preparation in the form of table etiquette. Students will learn

how to take part in a business lunch at a restaurant.

Students are encouraged to help make HSTC a bully-free zone, just as they are at their

home schools. HSTC draws students from all area HCPS high schools, and gives them the opportunity to work and learn together. Young people who might not have met each other,

often become fast friends through sharing a technical center class.

Ms. Harris, HSTC promote anti-bullying activities

Volume V, Issue I Technically Speaking page 2

Language tip:

Lay and lie: You lay an object

down. A person

lies down. He

lay there, not he laid there. You

are not laying out in the sun,

you are lying out. Everyone

messes this up!

For those who are with us for the

first time this year, I look forward to

creating many great memories with

you over the next two years. Last year was my first year at

HSTC, and I am certain that you, just

as I have, will find this to be a great place to spend your time and build

relationships that will motivate you

and prepare you for your future.

Welcome to our place!

Welcome from Mrs. Bishop, HSTC

Associate Principal Ms. Georgia Kirkpatrick, Career

and Technical Education Credential

Testing Coordinator, has accepted a

CTE administrative position with

Chesterfield County Schools. She will

stay on with HCPS until they are able

to fill her position. We will miss her

great attitude and dedication. Mrs. Cheryl Gould, CTE Education

Specialist for Family & Consumer Sci-

ences, will leave HCPS to relocate

with her husband to the Virginia Beach

area. Mrs. Gould will pursue a doc-

torate at William & Mary, and her

husband plans to attend Regent Uni-

versity law school.

It is so exciting to have students

back in the building! I am certain that

I am more excited than many of you. I have to say that school just isn’t

the same when you, the students,

are not here. It is my hope that each of you

had a restful and peace-filled break,

and you are refreshed and ready to

tackle the new year. This is the last year for many of

you...make the most of it and learn

all that you can so you are prepared

for the independence you will soon

gain.

BEFORE...

Departures

We are excited to have our new

students with us this year, and we

are happy to have our veteran stu-

dents back with us. We spent all

summer planning and preparing for

your return. Please take a moment

to notice how hard the custodial

team worked this summer to get the

building ready for you. Also, I am sure you have noticed

our new security cameras. They

should make all of you feel more

secure in our building. I hope you are

finally getting used to the new bell

schedule. It has been an adjustment

to us too. We look forward to

meeting as many of you as possible

throughout the school year.

school, and how quickly they have

learned the words to songs and to

identify shapes. The best part of her job? Ms. Bell

says it is seeing the little ones every

day. She says there is something

about their innocence that makes

her forget her worries. Ms. Bell is looking forward to

working with high school students,

as well as the daycare children.

* * *

New staff assignment for Mrs. Donna

Lewis: She will be working in the

four/five preschool lab this year.

High school students may enjoy

the extra few minutes of sleep in the

morning, but they are probably not

happy about being dismissed at 4:00,

rather than 3:45. This year, the tardy

bell rings at 9:00, and the HSTC bus

schedule for our feeder schools has

been affected. HSHS p.m. students

now arrive at 1:15. Also new are the security cameras,

which allow the administration to

monitor student activity in the halls. The policy on hats in the building

has not changed, but as the signs in

the hall indicate, students wearing

hats into the building may have them

taken, rather than being asked to

remove them!

Some changes Welcome from Mr. Col-

lie, HSTC Principal ECE

From Page 1

Those students who are 18,

will be able to vote for a presi-

dential candidate on November

6. Although this had been a very

divisive campaign, and students

may be sick of hearing negative

ads, it is extremely important

that they exercise their right

and privilege as citizens. Be sure to register to vote, if

you haven’t already. You can

register online at register-

tovote.org. Deadline is Oct. 15.

Nov. 4 - Daylight savings

time (“fall back”)

Nov. 6 - Election day/

Student holiday

Nov. 14 - Evening parent

visitation

Nov. 15 - HSTC class

photo day

Nov. 15 - Tech Ethics

Society Thanksgiving din-ner, 4:30 in the Highland

Springs H.S. cafeteria.

HSTC school counselor, Ms.

Paula Harris will meet with stu-

dents interested in serving as

student ambassadors. These

students will participate in local

elementary/middle school career

fairs. Students can earn up to 12

hours of community service. Ms. Kitchen, the GRASP finan-

cial aid advisor will start meeting

with students in October. Ms.

Harris and Ms. Kitchen will visit

each tech class to promote

scholarships and discuss the Map

A Course Activity.

From the Counselor

Page 3 Technically Speaking

Coming up; mark your calendar Please vote Nov. 6, if

you are eligible

Top ten most challenged books New Instructional As-

sistant for ECE 1. ttyl; ttfn; 18r, g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle

2. The Color of Earth (series) by Kim Dong Hwa

3. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins 4. My Mom’s Having a Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-

Month Guide to Pregnancy by Dori Hillestad

Butler 5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indi-

an by Sherman Alexie

6. Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

8. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

9. Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar

10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Source: Frederick Clarkson, www.talk2action.org

Ms. Ursula Bell joins Springer

Daycare and ECE. (story,

page 1.)

From the HSTC Library . . . Welcome or welcome back High-

land Springs Tech Center students!

You have made the choice to take a

class that will not only give you three

credit hours, it will also offer you

numerous career choices, teach you

valuable skills, and enable you to re-

ceive a credential and/or license in

your chosen field of study. Because we fall under the career

and technical education umbrella,

workplace readiness and employment

preparation are an important part of

our mission. To that end, I will be

helping students write resumes and

prepare for job interviews. Teachers

may sign up with me to have their

students take part in mock interviews.

Our interviewers may be

administrators, HCPS central office staff

or business and industry professionals.

As tech center students, you will learn

skills that give you an advantage: You will

leave high school with more than a high

school diploma. Your skills and training

may lead you toward further study,

whether post-secondary, through ap-

prenticeship or via the armed forces.

There are many career avenues you can explore, depending on your choice of

program. HSTC is also responsible for

seeing that you are ready to hold a job,

should you choose to look for work

when you graduate from our center. The

more you polish your resume and port-

folio, and the more practice you have

being interviewed, the more attractive

Oct. 7-13 - Fire safety

week Oct. 9 - Preschool photo

day Oct. 11 - Firefighters

visit Springer Daycare. Oct. 17 - Educators from

the Dominican Republic

and Brazil visiting HSTC

in the a.m. Oct. 30 - College & Ca-

reer night, Glen Allen

H.S., 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31 - Fall Festival at

Springer Daycare, 9:45-

10:45

you will be to a prospective employer. The HSTC library is a resource for

our students, who come from all Henri-

co County high schools. Since our stu-

dents have excellent libraries at their

home schools, I do not attempt to

duplicate what those libraries offer.

Students are welcome to use the HSTC

library computers, and may request

help with research or with class pro-

jects. I will also be coming around to

classrooms to take photos for use in

recruiting and for the HCPS website. I look forward to working with our

teachers and students in 2012-2013.

- - Ms. Jan Budryk, Librarian

Mrs. Wooldridge reads a card at

her breakfast celebration.

Baby Shower

The mission of Highland Springs Technical Center is to provide a rigor-

ous and specialized program choice for the students of Henrico County.

The academic and political focus of these courses facilitate a seamless

transition from secondary to post-secondary and the world of work. The

programs also seek to prepare students to be contributors to a competi-

tive workforce, which is needed in the 21st century.

* * *

Highland Springs Technical Center Mission Statement:

Highland Springs

Technical Center

100 Tech Drive

Highland Springs, VA

23075

Springer Daycare

(804) 328-6254

Paula Cobb, Secretary

pcsimpson@henrico.k12.va.us

Debra Bazemore, Dept.

Chair - Early Childhood

Ed. program

dbbazemore@henrico.k12.va.us

Donna Lewis, Instructional

Aide

dllewis@henrico.k12.va.us

Ursula Bell, Instructional

Aide

ucbell@henrico.k12.va.us

Technically Speaking Back page

First day --2012