The holiday season was in full swing at Dutchess BOCES over the last two weeks, where students and staff participated in and spread cheer.
Salt Point Center students wowed their families and staff during the annual Holiday & Winter Show on Dec. 18 where they sang and danced to Christmas classics such as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” while also honoring Hanukkah and Kwanzaa with cool dances. The event concluded with a visit from the man with the bag himself, Santa Claus, who gave students high fives and posed for endless pictures. Principal Melissa Murphy thanked all SPC staff for an amazing show, especially Music Teacher Dean Karahalis and Dance Teacher Kathy Muenz for thoughtfully preparing the students for the performance.
SPC staff and agency administrators also adopted families and wrapped gifts and packaged foods to provide to them over the holidays.
CTI
Students in the Career & Technical Institute prepared the entrances to their classrooms with festive lights and some elaborate decorations. The Construction Trades entrance featured a window pane with an Elf on the Shelf and an N scale train running across the top. Students and staff later judged which class had the best design:
- Richard Petschko’s Trade Electric class captured first place with the Electrical Reindeer.
- Tom Skean’s Construction Trades class “Home Entryway” took second.
- Ronald Strollo’s Automotive Technology class captured third with “Automotive Holiday Tree.”
SkillsUSA students held a competition of their own to see who had the most elaborate graham cracker house that looked good enough to eat. First and second year students from all programs were invited to make a house and students and staff determined the winners, listed below:
AM:
- First: Nick Pedroso, Ace Cevallos and Logan Rodriguez from Automotive.
- Second: Julia McGuire-Soellner from Nursing.
- Third: Katelyn Ambrose from Trade Electrical.
PM:
- First: Samantha Gomez and Luz Valencia, from EMT, Brisa Garcia Ramirez from Nursing and Alejandra Vasquez Garcia from Cosmetology.
- Second: Nursing Team
- Third: Emily McNulty from Cosmetology
Resilience Academy
In the Resilience Academy, students have soared when it comes to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and they were rewarded with a pizza party and some took the chance to indulge in a longer game of Dungeons and Dragons, where students see themselves in the characters they create. Students in Sheri Tompkins’ class prepared batches of sugar and oatmeal chocolate cookies to celebrate the season, while classroom doors were decked out in cool designs including art teacher Michael Hollick’s door featuring the BOCES building with a bird in a Santa hat. Congratulations to the winners, Ms. Queen and Ms. Navarro.
“Special thanks to the talented students who helped with ideas, artwork and execution. Your creativity made them shine. Great job to all participants for making our hallways so festive,” Assistant Principal Geomari Fermin said.
To close out the week, students sang Christmas carols and participated in a school-wide celebration on Friday, Dec. 19.
On Monday, Dean of Students Matthew Pidel entertained students in the dining room with guitar music.