The Tech Times | October 2025

As part of P-TECH freshmen's first college class, Mrs. Murray tasked her students with a presentation assignment with a unique twist -- their topic was each other. The assignment challenged students to pair up, conduct in-depth interviews, and then present their partner's story, interests and aspirations to the rest of the class.

Classes were filled with supportive energy as each student took the stage to champion a classmate. Students were able to learn about their peers' favorite foods, music and sports, along with their career goals and hidden talents. While the immediate goal was to foster a strong sense of community, the assignment was designed to cultivate a suite of essential academic and professional skills. Students practiced active listening and interviewing, information synthesis, public speaking and interpersonal communication skills. This assignment did more than just introduce the students to one another; it allowed the students to practice several essential skills for their P-TECH careers. This includes their future internships, college coursework, and time in the workforce.

P-TECH OHM has a unique program led by social worker, Mrs. Foote. When conflict arises between students, they can request structured and supervised mediations to address an issue. These mediations are run by one of their peers.

Each year, sophomores can apply to be a part of the program. P-TECH then selects a handful of applicants to serve as peer mediators. These students complete a comprehensive training process designed to prepare them to handle mediations under Mrs. Foote's supervision. They learn about handling conflict and practice mediating in a myriad of contexts.

The following students have been selected to undergo the training process:

• Tobias Baffa | Utica City School District
• Eliany Enamorado | Utica City School District
• Isabella Jones | Utica City School District
  
• Aeriana McNeil | New York Mills Union Free School District
• Khamya Mercer | Utica City School District
• Red Miller | New Hartford Central School District
• Sophia Rauscher-Canty | New York Mills Union Free School District
• Anthony Rodriguez | Westmoreland Central School District

Congratulations everyone!

For the third consecutive year, P-TECH OHM selected students to participate in Elevating Student Voices, a regionwide initiative which aims to empower students to find their voices. The goal is for students to hear from others whose life experiences and perspectives differ from their own. Students seek understanding and respect for others.

Throughout the school year, students will attend a variety of meetings; these include several closed discussion sessions. A number of student leaders from participating districts will also learn how to be facilitators of community circles, gaining skills and experience conducting discussions regarding significant topics that affect their fellow students, their schools, and their communities.

To cap off the school year, these students will attend a youth summit in April. This gathering at Harts Hill Inn is to celebrate their hard work over the course of the initiative. The following P-TECH students were chosen to participate:

• Shealyn Brown | Sauquoit Valley Central School District
• Nora Cole (facilitator) | New Hartford Central School District
• Natalie Drummond | Westmoreland Central School District
• Rielle Fatusin | Utica City School District
• Lena Galime | Utica City School District
• Baneen Kadhim (facilitator) | Utica City School District
• Cassidy Kerr | Remsen Central School District
• Hynijah Lacy (facilitator) | Utica City School District
• Cristal Pina Rumaldo | Utica City School District
• Karneliia Samoshuk (facilitator) | Clinton Central School District
• Melissa Tran | Utica City School School District
• Marina Win | Utica City School District

Congratulations students! Thank you for representing P-TECH so well! Check out the video below to hear from students who have participated in Elevating Student Voices!

This month, the P-TECH Sunshine Club completed an activity designed to spread positivity throughout the program. The activity was called, "Turn Over a New Leaf." During their lunch period, P-TECH students identified positive changes they would like to make during the school year. Some students chose personal goals while others focused on something more broad. They wrote these changes on paper leaves. The group then strung the leaves together; they are now displayed in one of the hallways. Thank you to the P-TECH Sunshine Club for your hard work in spreading positivity throughout our program!

On Oct. 21, P-TECH sophomores travelled to Elevate CNY to compete against students from several local school districts in a STEM challenge. Over the course of the day, students completed three different challenges with an "Emergency Responder" theme. Each challenge required knowledge of design principles as well as collaboration skills.

First, students designed containers that could safely drop a fragile aid package. The challenge was to design a container that could keep a hardboiled egg safe during a six-foot drop to the floor. The next task was to build a bridge to span a 12" gap. The bridge had to be strong enough to hold a 200kg weight for at least 10 seconds. The final challenge was to design a container for all of the bridge materials. It needed to deliver to a designated area, span a four-foot gap, and land as close as possible to a target. Throughout the competition, students applied an engineering design process to develop creative solutions while utilizing collaboration, communication, and time-management skills.

Thank you to Elevate CNY for hosting the event! And thank you to P-TECH STEAM teacher Mrs. Piatkowski for all of your hard work in planning the event!

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 | Daniel Loconti: Daniel is from the Utica City School District. Peers note that Daniel goes out of his way to include everyone in activities and projects. He is friendly, polite and respectful. Daniel also puts forth great effort in class, setting a strong example for his peers.

Sophomore | Isabella Jones: Isabella is from the Utica City School District. Isabella is an exceptionally kind student who contributes to a positive classroom environment for all. She also puts significant effort into her studies, setting an excellent example for her peers. Isabella demonstrates the utmost respect for peers and staff alike.

Junior | Evalyn Gates: Evalyn is from the Remsen Central School District. Evalyn strives to learn as much as she can, going above and beyond to understand difficult content. She perseveres through challenges and maintains a positive attitude. Evalyn regularly supports her peers as well.

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

🌐 www.oneida-boces.org/ptech | ☎️ 315.793.8666 | 🔗 LinkedIn

🗺️ 4747 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford, NY 13413