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FCCLA

Students in the Early Childhood Education class have the opportunity to join the local chapter of FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America). FCCLA has a number of purposes, which include: providing opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life; strengthening the function of the family as a unit of society; encouraging democracy through cooperative action in the home and community; encouraging individual and group involvement in helping to promote global harmony; promoting greater understanding between youths and adults; providing opportunities for making decisions and assuming responsibilities; and preparing for the multiple roles of men and women in society.

Early Childhood Education students participating in FCCLA have the opportunity to compete in Regional, State and National competitions. This year, on February 9, at Bay College in Escanaba, our Early Childhood Education and Teacher Cadet students participated in the Regional FCCLA Competition against Delta-Schoolcraft ISD and Dickinson-Iron ISD. Listed below are the resuts:

At the State competition in Midland, students did exceptionally well, with several students receiving gold medals. The following are the results:

Of the students who went to the State competition, four went to the National competition in Anaheim, California. Nikki Kaufman received a Silver with her Chapter Service Project display and the Entrepreneurship team of Jessica Downey and Rebecca Jennings received a silver. Teresa Peters was a student evaluator for a full day of competitions, and she did exceptionally well. The keynote speaker was Jim Morris, educator and professional baseball player. The Disney movie "The Rookie" is about his life and dream to play baseball. While at the National competition, students were able to attend conferences and sightsee. This is the second year that the Early Childhood Education students participated in the FCCLA competitions. Last year, three students qualified to go to the National Leadership Competition in Nashville, Tennessee. Samantha Turnquist, Adena Ryynanen and Janel Kilpela, all from Chassell High School, planned, organized and carried out a two-part presentation at their high school on the dangers of drinking and driving. High school students from all over the three county area attend Early Childhood Education classes through the ISD's Career Tech Center and have the incredible opportunity of participating in FCCLA. These students have a great impact on the community through their service projects and their positive interactions with children. For more information on FCCLA, you can visit their website at www.fcclainc.org.

Community Service Projects

Community service projects are an important part of the Early Childhood Education and Teacher Cadet classes. These projects are child-oriented and community based. Among these projects, students prepared and put on skits for the local grade-school children, prepared flannel boards for preschool students, and threw a Halloween Party for the cognitively impaired class. These students also helped the class with their Christmas gift shopping. The following are a few more of the many projects the students took part in this year: Fun House: This project was prepared for the After-School and Community Awareness Harvest Party at the Copper Country Mall. The students were invited to put together an activity corner for young children by the Great Explorations Staff, who sponsored the event. Other agencies were represented, including Portage Health. The Fun House was planned and constructed by the Early Childhood Education and Teacher Cadet students. It was more than 30 feet of a crawl-through maze constructed out of cardboard, rolls of paper, spider web, and lights. Students were stationed throughout the area to assist with several hands-on activities. All students participated in planning and setting up the project, and several students were there on the night of the event, including Naomi Oja, Teresa Peters, Ashley Basto, Chelsea Reilly, Rebekah Fraki, Ashley Smith, Amber Menara, Nikki Kaufman, and Emily Kanasty. Valentine's Craft Night: The Baraga and L'Anse students organized and put on a Valentine's Craft Night at the L'Anse Elementary School on January 31, 2007. Some of the students who worked on this project were Tasha Perry, Julie Dove, and Charlotte Loonsfoot. Many parents and children attended this event. Any donations that were collected were donated to the Houghton County Humane Society. Christmas Craft Project: Lindsey Usitalo and Rebekah Fraki, along with the Teacher Cadet class, organized a Christmas Craft Project at Houghton Elementary. The students made Christmas ornaments with the Kindergarten and First grade students. They then took all of the ornaments to Portage Pointe and distributed them to the residents. The elementary students were very proud to be Community Helpers by making items for the "grandmas and grandpas." Bully-Free Schools Project: Several students from the Early Childhood Education class worked on a bully-free school project for three weeks. They worked with the Barkell Elementary School principal, Mr. Matson, as well as Mr. Krznarich, the counselor. The students performed puppet shows to the Kindergarten through Second graders, and performed a skit to the Third and Fourth graders. A survey on bullying was given to all Third through Fifth grade students, which was compiled and given to Mr. Matson. The students went into 17 classrooms throughout the month of November, and were invited to go back for phase 2 in March.