RUSD CAREER TECH STUDENTS
STATE CHAMPS
Nogales High School Senior CTE Students Sydney Lou and Ashley Bowers who are headed to national HOSA Future Health Professionals State Leadership Conference.
Nogales High School CTE Health Care Instructor Melanie Montgomery is thrilled to share that her students competed and won at the HOSA Future Health Professionals State Leadership Conference. Public Health Team senior students Sydney Lou and Ashley Bowers scored in the top five and have just been notified that they will move on to the national competition that takes place next month in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
The Public Health competition provides California HOSA members with the opportunity to develop an effective, dynamic, and creative presentation that informs the public about an important public health issue. The event consists of two virtual rounds, one was in February, one was in March. The highest scoring teams advance to the final round which occurs in person at the Long Beach Convention Center. A panel of judges views all the presentations and determines the top five public health presentations. The event aims to inspire members to be proactive health professionals by producing a presentation that educates the public about a selected public health topic. “Usually I take about 15 students to the conference, however with the conference happening in a COVID year, many students were uncomfortable traveling. We still made it to nationals with the smallest group I’ve ever taken. I am so proud of their achievements,” said Montgomery.
 
“This was the first time we competed, and the topic was oral health and how it impacts overall health,” said Nogales High School Student Ashley Bowers, who has been in the Nogales CTE program since her freshman year. “We created a virtual presentation and video to educate and share with people how if you have bad oral health it can connect to further health issues, such as heart disease and pregnancy complications.” To view their health presentation, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCUrNZf-6yQ

Ashley plans to study biochemistry at Cal State Los Angeles and become a physician’s assistant in the PA program offered at the University of La Verne. “The state competition allowed me to connect to people and their interests and see the many possibilities in medical careers. Because of my teacher Ms. Montgomery, I have become so comfortable around the medical field and that is why it is so easy for me to see myself in this industry.”
 
Sydney also plans to enter the medical field by attending Cal State San Bernardino to pursue nursing and get her Masters in Nursing. “The CTE Program provides so many hands-on experiences to see if you really want to pursue this career route. For me, I have had family members in the medical field and always wondered how they fell in love with the field and wanted to explore it. After I took Ms. Montgomery’s class my Junior and Senior Year, it really felt like this was the right fit." Sydney adds, "There were many teachers who have inspired me and helped me along the way like Mr. Malignaggi and my orchestra teacher Mr. Chen. He helped me with my confidence and performing in front of people and because of him, I was able to present to the panel of judges at the public health presentation.”
Skills USA Students Bring Home Medals
Rowland High School students Lucas Mikhail, Colin Wong and Katie Gomez SkillsUSA state champs.
The SkillsUSA Championships are career competition events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. Congratulations to the following three Rowland High School students that brought home medals in the Skills USA State Competition: Katie Gomez, Lucas Mikhail, and Colin Wong.
 
“This was an amazing accomplishment considering these are all first year Engineering students who competed in the advanced competition category. I am so proud of these students that are great examples of our program,” said Michael Frausto, CTE Teacher of Architecture-Construction-Design-Engineering, and who is the Skills USA Engineering Technology Advisor at Rowland High School. “We are waiting to hear if any of our students will be invited as alternates for the national competition.”

They received the following medals: Technical Drafting: Colin Wong - Silver
Technical Design: Katie Gomez - Bronze and Technical Drafting: Lucas Mikhail - Bronze 
FCCLA Students Headed to National Competition
Rowland High School students Emily Cheng and Nicole Rinaldi, with their interior design boards at the Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) state competition.
Congratulations to Rowland High School Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Mrs. Tracy Taylor and her FCCLA Interior Design team of Rowland Freshman, Nicole Rinaldi and Emily Cheng, who have just returned as state champs from the 75th annual California Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) State Leadership Conference held April 23–26, 2022, in Riverside.

The students won first place in the state competition (plus a $100 cash prize and a yearlong subscription to a CAD programming app) and are now headed to nationals!
 
There are approximately 70 chapters, including 700 FCCLA chapter members, advisors, administrators, and business and industry representatives from across the State. FCCLA is a career technical student organization for students in grades 6–12 who are enrolled in FCS education programs in California public schools. Rowland High School and Alvarado Intermediate have consistently been a leader and award winner in the organization.
 
The theme of the 2022 conference, “Make it Count,” was designed to inspire members to get out of their comfort zone and get involved in all the activities and events. The meeting included top-notch presenters, interactive student leadership sessions, Career Development Workshops, FCS Industry Tours, FCCLA Fashion Show, College and Career Show, and the State Finals Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) Events in over 26 team and individual events. 
 
"I am really proud of Nicole and Emily's hard work throughout this competition- which started back in November,” said Taylor. “They worked with Mr. Frausto in our RHS Architecture Design class to create the floorplan and after the Spring Competition in February, made adjustments and practiced their presentation at lunchtime in my room. The competition judges who were from an art design college and Home Depot Design Center were amazed at their creative board design and loved their presentation! I look forward to seeing them compete against others from around the nation this summer!"
 
The team will head to San Diego June 29-July 3 to attend the 2022 FCCLA National Leadership Conference. We wish them luck!
RUSD Performing Arts Center Upcoming Events
Visual and Performing Art students from Nogales High School perform tonight and tomorrow at the VAPA Showcase at the RUSD Performing Arts Center.
Nogales High School Visual and Performing Arts Showcase TONIGHT and FRIDAY
Get ready for a night of pure art and enjoyment as the artistic talents of Nogales High School students are showcased. “We are excited for the community to watch The Nogales Dance Crew (TNDC), along with performances by cheer, drama, Nobles Rap Poetry Club and Choir,” said Beth Ellis, Nogales High School English Teacher and Coach of TNDC. “There will also be an Art Gallery the hour before the show that highlights student work from photo, IB Art, Art Club and Ceramics.”

Thursday, May 5 and Friday, May 6
Art Gallery 6-6:50 PM
Show 7-9 PM
Tickets are $10 for Adults and $7 for children 10 and under
Join the Rowland Unified Family... Come Work For Us!
There are so many opportunities for you to become part of the team at Rowland Unified! Current position openings include: Behavior Support Assistant, Cafeteria Lead Worker, Campus Aide, Food Service Assistant, Health Office Assistant, Instructional Assistant, Medi-Cal Billing and Programs Specialist, Pool Maintenance Worker, Senior Custodian and More!
Interested in Becoming an RUSD Bus Driver? Upcoming Training Opportunity
Share with your family and friends the opporunity to learn more about becoming a school bus driver! Retirees are welcome!
Sign up online below to learn more information by Friday, May 20, 2022 at 4:30 PM.
May 5, 2022 Issue RUSD News Editor gward@rowlandschools.org
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