The Tech Times | November 2025

P-TECH PRIDE represents the program's core principles of Partnership, Respect, Innovation, Diversity and Excellence. For one day each month, the program steps away from regularly scheduled classes to provide programming focused on these core principles.

For November's PRIDE Day, students participated in a variety of activities designed to build gratitude, content knowledge and/or professional skills. To start the day, P-TECH Social Worker Mrs. Foote led an activity built around remembering the things we are thankful for. Students chose one of two activities -- some students wrote a letter to important people in their lives, detailing why they mean so much to them and expressing thanks for their roles, while others traced their hand on a piece of paper and wrote things for which they are grateful on the hand. Next, they hung their hands on the Gratitude Tree! Thank you Mrs. Foote for doing this work with the students!

After the morning session with the gratitude activity, students read human interest stories, presented projects and learned about body systems. Read on for the rest of these stories!

Students in ELA 11 have been working hard on their human interest stories. P-TECH ELA 11 Teacher Mrs. Giruzzi tasked students with writing stories about how individuals embody the strengths outlined in the Positivity Project. Students wrote about important people in their lives and described, in detail, the context surrounding their stories. They talked about specific moments, achievements, accomplishments or how the person influenced them. Subjects included parents, coaches, mentors, and teachers, among others. This year, the students created visuals to go along with their stories. Students drew pictures, created collages or brought in artifacts that were important to the stories. Students were able to complete a gallery walk to view all of the visuals. They picked some that piqued their interest and read the corresponding stories. The students then gave feedback on the projects. The 11th grade writers will view that feedback after the break. Check out the photos to see some of the students' work!

P-TECH freshmen had their turn to teach their classmates on PRIDE Day. Mrs. Wagner and Mr. Wurz worked together to implement a project requiring students to simultaneously learn about social issues, and practice their writing and presenting. For this project, each student chose a social issue that interested them. They researched the topic and studied a variety of sources to learn about it. Next, they wrote a comprehensive essay where they made a claim, discussed opposing views, proposed solutions and provided evidence to support the claim.

After writing their papers, students created a display to present their findings. Each student presented at their own station to a rotating audience. They taught their peers and staff alike about their issues and what they learned. Students reported that the cross-curricular integration was helpful in their learning! Thank you to Mrs. Wagner and Mr. Wurz for providing this opportunity to students!

Another PRIDE Day activity involved student presentations. Mrs. Kovacs and Mrs. Stevens combined their Living Environment classes for a hands-on project. Groups of students each chose a body system to learn and teach to the rest of the students. In addition to a verbal presentation, groups created models of the body systems to go along with their lesson. Students showed visuals, spoke about the important parts of their chosen body system, and described potential diseases and disorders that could occur.

This project had two purposes. The first was for each group to learn about their specific body systems. The other was for the rest of the class to learn the material as well. Students watching the presentations took notes and listened intently to learn as much as they could. This was a great way to take a break from the usual routine and learn in a new way! Excellent work on the presentations students!

As a part of PRIDE Day, P-TECH girls in 10th and 11th grade attended a field trip to SUNY Polytechnic Institute. The "Women in STEM Day" was an event created to empower and connect young women with opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To start the day, students heard opening remarks from campus leaders and a keynote speaker. A question and answer session was next, allowing students to interact directly with the speaker!

The next session revolved around hands-on learning. Students enrolled in related degree programs at SUNY Poly led these activities along with SUNY Poly faculty. A scavenger hunt was next, which allowed the students to have a tour of the campus and its facilities. Faculty and student leaders also shared insights about their academic pathways in STEM.

The day concluded with a networking lunch. Students were able to connect with faculty and students from SUNY Poly. This was an excellent opportunity to build relationships and gain inspiration from women in STEM careers. Thank you SUNY Poly for hosting our students!

In her Think Tank classes, Mrs. Piatkowski is teaching P-TECH students about how holidays affect both business and technology. As part of their learning, the students created their own mock businesses and based them on holiday trends. They made sales pitches to their audiences; introducing their businesses, showing how they would reach their target audiences, and predicting how their ideas would impact their businesses. Each class had two winners. One group won "Best Business Idea," and another won "Most Creative." See below for the winners!

3rd Period:

Best Business Idea: John Boone, Chase Kampf, Kole Kennerknecht, Owen Novak

Most Creative: Ian Franchell, Kaeleb Helmer, Austine Oo, Patty Ra

5th Period:

Best Business Idea: Garett Clark, Ivaughn Eady, Aidyn Mosher

Most Creative: Bailey Brooks, Evalyn Gates, Olivia Richard-LaShure

Congratulations, everyone!

P-TECH students attended the Elevating Student Voices launch event this month. The student leaders practiced facilitating community circles and discussed topics involving students, their schools, and their communities. This year's theme centers around molding social media into a more positive experience for teenagers. The plan is to model appropriate social media use and demonstrate how to guide discussions in a positive and productive way.

The objectives of Elevating Student Voices are as follows:

• Develop an understanding, respect, and appreciation for perspectives and life experiences different from their own
• Participate in discussion facilitation training and create action plans for bringing about change in schools
• Develop strategies for ensuring that all students feel a sense of belonging in school
• Learn from community leaders and celebrate student leaders at a culminating Youth Summit

At the Youth Summit in the spring, students will present their action plans outlining how they intend to make change. We are excited to learn about the plans that come from this initiative! Click the link below to view the article on the BOCES website!

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, head to Chipotle on Commercial Drive in New Hartford to support P-TECH OHM! Chipotle will donate 25% of sales between 4-8 p.m. to P-TECH! Show the flyer in the restaurant or use code GD7ZDGT when ordering online to participate. Click below for a copy of the flyer. Thank you for your support!

Freshman | Finnley Sanislo: Finnley is from the Westmoreland Central School District. Teachers point out that Finnley is positive and encourages others in the classroom. One of his strengths is that he can see things from his peers' perspectives. Finnley also excels academically and is very kind to his peers.

Sophomore | Baneen Kadhim: Baneen is from the Utica City School District. Peers note Baneen's kindness and compassion for others. She helps other students conquer challenges both inside and outside of the classroom. Baneen is a driven student who works hard to reach her goals.

Junior | Olivia Richard-LaShure: Olivia is from the Oriskany Central School District. Olivia is tremendously helpful to teachers, offering assistance whenever she can. She is positive and friendly with her peers. Olivia also works hard to improve on a regular basis.

A partnership between the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, Mohawk Valley Community College, and Mohawk Valley EDGE.

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