Funded Apr 16, 2019Through the help of Donors Choose, myself and another teacher were able to take 6 students from 2 high schools in town to Louisville, Kentucky. These 6 students won first place in 3 different events in the annual state competition. Because of these first place finishes, they earned the ability to compete at nationals. Four students participated in the Health Knowledge Bowl (a team event), 1 student in Medical Teminology and 1 student in Nurse assisting. The SkillsUSA National Competition is a week long event with opening ceremonies, orientation meetings, networking events, team celebrations, competitions, and awards nights. It also gave the students an opportunity to experience traveling to another part of the country, on their own. There were 100 students that traveled from Connecticut and there were students participating in hundreds of different events from medical skills to cosmetology to HVAC to plumbing to STEM. We also were able to venture out to different parts of Lousiville, including Churchill Downs and watch the horse races, something that none of the students had ever experienced.
I think a highlight of the trip for the students was how prepared they felt during their competition and the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. They heard us telling them over and over how hard these events are and that they are in the top 1.8% of the students just by competing at nationals. Our six students from Meriden performed great at competition earning a top five spot in each of their events: silver medal in medical terminology, fourth place in health knowledge bowl and fifth place in nurse assisting. We were so proud of the students and the students commented several times how proud they were of themselves. It was a great satisfaction for them at the end of the school year and a way to celebrate all their hard work and everything they had learned.
A motto for our students is to never stop learning and the same goes for us as teachers. Participating in a national competition opens our eyes as educators as to how we can continually improve our curriculum. The world is constantly evolving, especially in healthcare so this forces us to keep up with those changes. It also reinforces the importance of learning outside of the classroom. Teaching students social skills, professionalism, and importance of networking is as important as the objectives of our curriculum theory. Students love listening and learning through stories, both personal and professional. This trip to nationals is now another chapter in our story to share with students for years.
Thank you again for making this possible and allowing our students to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Sincerest thanks,
Mrs. Simone
And”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Bennett