Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

We need to prepare our

students for their future,
not our past
-Ian Jukes

Calendar

Principals Letter

October 13- 2nd 9 weeks

begins
October 16- report cards/
Blood Drive
October 19-23- College and
Career Exploration Week
November 11- Veterans DayNo school
November 13th- Early Out
November 23-27Thanksgiving Break
December 18-End 1st
Semester/Early Out
December 21-Jan 1stChristmas Break

Highlights
Simulated Workplace
National Technical Honor
Society

We are off to a great school year. The excitement

that each student brings to our school is
outstanding. Our continued hope is that you as
parents and students will encourage other high
school students and adults to enroll in our
programs at Ben Franklin Career Center.
We want to encourage all parents and students to
sign on to their Engrade account on a regular
basis. We post messages as well as teachers
update grades on a regular basis. Should you
have questions regarding grades, attendance,
assignments please feel free to send me an
email message on Engrade.
As you can see from the various stories
throughout this newsletter, students are
accomplishing a great deal while at Ben Franklin
Career Center. Parents, thank you for allowing us
to work with your son or daughter. We enjoy every
minute of every day, and we look forward to our
continued partnership with all families.
Paula Potter, Ed. D.

Ben Franklin Committees

Student Organizations

PH 304-766-0369

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371

Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

Students Learning Workplace Leadership

Skills

Simulated Workplace in
Action at Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin Career Center has
officially adopted the Simulated
Workplace Initiative to immerse
students in an authentic
workplace experience while
they gain the valuable technical
skills of each field. The WVDE,
working with experts in career
and technical education, higher
education and business and
industry has developed the
program to give students:

Through the projects developed by the teachers at Ben

Franklin, students are experiencing authentic business
practices while engaging in rigorous academic activities.
Classes are collaborating on projects ranging from
designing interactive bulletin boards to developing solar
power for the school and reaching out to the local
community and beyond. Plans are in the works for the
planning, design, and construction of a solar powered
greenhouse on the newly developed wetlands area at Ben
Franklin that will provide a place to grow fresh vegetables to
share with the Dunbar community. Classes involved in this
project include: CAD, Carpentry, Energy & Power, Science,
Electrical, HVAC and Early Childhood Education.
Superintendent Dr. Duerring and other ocials from
Kanawha County Schools visited Ben Franklin last spring to
tour the wetlands and see Simulated Workplace in action.
Students from various technical fields participated in the
creation and designation of the wetlands through their work
in Ms. Foxs science classes, learning about natural resource
preservation and community activism along with technical
skills.

introduction to various

business processes
skills sets
certifications
academics

As the WVDE states, Through

the Simulated Workplace
initiative, students will be
immersed within an engaging
work place environment which
offers support in addition to
rigorous training while
developing the necessary skill
sets to be a next generation
work ready employee.

PH 304-766-0369

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371

Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

National Technical Honor Society

Embedded Credit in CTE Classes
Several CTE courses have been
approved for embedded credit in
English and Math. Students enrolled
in these courses as juniors and
remaining in the same course through
graduation are eligible to receive
Transition English or Math credit.
Students engage in authentic reading,
writing and math activities to enhance
their simulated workplace experience.
One example of this practice in action
involved the carpentry students who
researched the best types of wood for
construction projects for a customer
proposal, then installed cabinets for
the new conference/Informatics room,
employing the math skills learned in
the embedded math lessons.

Ben Franklin has

joined the
National
Technical Honor
Society. This
national
organization
honors the
achievements of
top CTE students,
provides
scholarships to
encourage the pursuit of higher education, and cultivates
excellence in todays highly competitive, skilled workforce.
The expectations of NTHS mesh perfectly with those of
Simulated Workplace oering a recognition program that
fosters high standards of personal and professional conduct,
excellence in all aspects of education and an understanding of
obligations as citizens of our community and country.
The requirements to be accepted into the NTHS by the
organization are an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher unweighted
and enrollment in a career/technical education program.
Additional eligibility requirements of Ben Franklin are:
Open to Juniors and Seniors
5 or less unexcused absences per year
No more than 3 disciplinary actions per school year
Sta and faculty recommendation
Active involvement in student government, Skills/HOSA,
civic or service organizations

Classes approved for embedded math

credit are:
HVAC Technician
Electrical Technician

Students who meet the national requirements may fill out an

application for acceptance to the organization and upon
verification of the other criteria, applications will be sent to
NTHS for approval.

Drafting
Energy and Power

Classes approved for embedded

English credit include all Allied
Health Services courses.

PH 304-766-0369

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371

Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

Student Organizations
Ben Franklin Committees
Teachers at Ben Franklin have begun
participating in various committees
designed to enhance student life and
create a community of learning and
sharing among the students, sta.
Committees range from Community
Service to Outdoor Beautification to
Student Voice.
Each instructor is involved with three
committees and meetings are held each
month to develop ideas related to the
culture and climate of Ben Franklin.
The newly created NTHS is the result
of the collaboration of the Student
Recognition team, and improvements
to the grounds and inside the school are
being carried out by the members of
the Beautification Committees and the
community service class.
Planning is also under way to develop
and modernize the school website, and
the school maintains a Twitter account
with updates on school news and
activities.
Follow us @BenCareerCtr

PH 304-766-0369

Students enrolled in technical education have

increased achievement, motivation and future
success, according to CTE Works! a fact sheet
produced by the Association for Career and
Technical Education (https://www.acteonline.org/
cteworks2015).
In fact, the ACTE states:
The more students participate in career and
technical student organizations, the higher their
academic motivation, academic engagement,
grades, career self-ecacy, college aspirations and
employability skills.
At Ben Franklin that participation extends to the
organizations Skills and HOSA. Students of Ben
Franklin have continually led the state in technical
skill achievement and have represented the school
at the national Skills competitions. Health Services
students will participate this year in HOSA.
Last year, HVAC, Metals Technology, Computer
Aided Drafting (CAD), Electrical, Carpentry, and
Automotive sent representatives to the state
competition resulting in gold medal winners in
Metals Technology, HVAC and CAD. Sue Crawford
won the gold for her metal sculpture that she sold
to the Vietnam Veterans Museum. Tyler Brewer
won gold for HVAC and David Hall won gold for
Architectural Drafting.

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371

Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

Technical Skills/Education That Works

What exactly do the students do
in a simulated workplace?
If you were to join your students class
for a day at Ben Franklin, you might
watch them as they present to the
Board of Directors of their company,
competing to win the bid to be the
lead team over technology repairs at
the school, as Mr.Ferrells students did
last week.
Or you might find them hosting a
global entrepreneur in solar energy
from the New Vision company of
Philippi, WV as Mr. Beasleys Energy
& Power class did to learn how to
develop their solar power project
aimed at bringing electricity to Native
Americans in our country .
Or you might be educated on Suicide
Prevention by the students in the
Health Occupations, Medical
Assisting and Pre-Nursing classes .
Students developed Suicide Awareness
Policies for their Health clinics and
collaborated with Nitro High Schools
Graphic Design students to design
company logos and produce posters
for our school.
The ideas for simulated workplace
experiences are as varied and exciting
as the careers our students are
preparing to enter.

Since we live in an age of innovation, a practical education

must prepare a man for work that does not yet exist and
cannot yet be clearly defined-Peter F. Drucker

PH 304-766-0369

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371

Fall Newsletter

October 12, 2015

The Last Word

New Year, New Instructors
We welcome three new instructors to our
school.
Jason Allen- Diesel
Robert Kallmerten- Automotive

What is the best wood for building a home using West

Virginia native trees that are sustainable, durable and
attractive? -by Josh Logan
Our company BF Construction is committed to
helping you get the home that you have always
dreamed of having. We have looked through your
requests and believe we have found the type of wood
that fits all of your needs, from how you want us to
use trees native to West Virginia and wood that is
generally good for home building, to an interesting
type of wood that is cost eective and sustainable. We
have chosen White Oak to use for your home. We can
find White Oak in West Virginia, and it is a tree that
has been in West Virginia since the founding of our
country. The wood is very strong and durable, being a
popular wood to build boats as well. Being grown here
as well, White Oak is relatively aordable. So given
our research, we do believe that White Oak will be
the best wood to fit all of your needs and requests.

Doug Linger- Electrical Technician

Ben Franklin Students: Caring for

our communities, Achieving personal
goals
Students at Ben Franklin have been
working to improve our community by
collecting food during the Food Drive
sponsored by the manufacturing class. A
student in Medical Assisting AM
collected 149 of the 250 can total. The
food drive runs through the end of
October if anyone would like to
contribute.
Daniel Frame, a student in Mr.
Kallmertens Automotive class has earned
his Eagle Scout rank. Just over 2% of all
Scouts have earned this honor since 1911.

PH 304-766-0369

Understanding Customer Needs

We understand that you requested trees that are

native to West Virginia. We are pleased to say that
from our research we have found that White Oak fits
what you want very well. It is a tree that is native to
West Virginia, and it has been here since the founding.
As Washington says in his journal, White Oak has
been here since he first explored America. He
described, as you approach to the hills you come to a
thin white-oak land. White Oak has been here since
the very first time we ever set foot on this land. And
even about 100 years ago, there were White Oak trees
that were well over 1000 years old. We believe that
White Oak from right here in WV is a good choice
for you.
You also asked that we build a home that will last you
for many generations, so that your kids, and their kids,
and their kids will all be able to live or at least be a
part of this home for many years to come. We picked
White Oak for this reason because its a very good
wood for this purpose. Its a very strong wood; its able
to hold together and will be very good for staying
together for a long time. We here at BF Construction
think that White Oak is a perfect wood that will last
for many generations.

500 28th St. Dunbar, WV 25064

Fax 304-766-0371