8 The Courier sun • may 7, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Thomas Edison High School seeks help to attend national health conference BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected] @AngelaMatua Students at Thomas Edison Career and Technical Education (C.T.E.) High School in Jamaica are hoping to compete at this June’s HOSA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, and they are asking for help in raising the funds to get there. Dr. Margaret Savitzky, who has taught at the school since 2002, was looking for ways to expose her students to realworld opportunities within the field and stumbled upon the HOSA (Health Occupational Students of America) National Leadership Conference. The conference, which will be held from June 24 to June 27, combines workshops to expose students to professionals in the health care field and a national competition where students compete in events such as medical spelling, medical terminology, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and more. Last year, Savitzky was able to take 25 students to the state conference, where they won Students at Thomas Edison C.T.E. High School in Jamaica are asking for help in raising funds to attend the HOSA National Leadership Conference in California. 10 medals. The winners were invited to the national conference in Florida but did not place. This year, 20 students attended the state conference in Syracuse and 16 students won either first, second or third place. State budget cuts have depleted the school’s budget for trips like this one, so Savitzky is asking the community for help. The registration fee, which is $90, needs to be paid by May 9. Savitzky is looking to take four students and two chaperones to the conference and she will have to raise money for flights, a hotel and food for the trip. The registration fee is nonrefundable, so Savitzky is determined to raise money for the additional costs. She estimates that $5,500 will be the total cost of the trip and has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money. Interested parties can also send a check to Thomas Edison C.T.E. High School (memo: HOSA) 165-65 84th Ave., Jamaica, NY 11432. Savitzky said this conference helps her students participate in activities that are tangible and prepare them to pursue a career in the health care field. “As teachers, we stress the importance of education. We Photo courtesy of Margaret Savitzky acknowledge the importance of the students participating in ‘real-world’ activities,” Dr. Savitzky said. “The terms ‘career and college ready’ are important goals in education today. My students worked hard to excel at the NYS HOSA conference, applying academic and career-related skills. They now have a chance to prove themselves and demonstrate these goals against peers at the national level.” Student artists display work at JFK Airport BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected] @AngelaMatua John F. Kennedy International Airport became an art gallery for some South Ozone Park students who showcased their photographs in the airport’s Terminal 4. A collection of photographs, taken by eighth-graders from Virgil I. Grissom Middle School (J.H.S. 226) last year, was unveiled on April 29 and will hang near the arrivals hall of the terminal. Principal Rushell White said the objective of the project was to engage students in the college and career readiness aspect of the Common Core standards. “It’s important for my students to be able to engage in the arts, which pique their interests, so that we can help them to make connections to their academic studies,” White said. “It feels amazing to have my students’ work displayed. There are many talented and gifted students who are just awaiting opportunities to showcase their gifts.” The school partnered with JFKIAT, the company that operates Terminal 4, to provide students with space to highlight their photographs. The students took photographs within a two-block radius of the South Ozone Park school. They were advised by professional photographer Jeffrey Gamble to take photographs that would encourage the exploration of nature growing around them. “Nature is all around us,” said Jeffrey Gamble. “It’s just the matter of training one’s eyes to see it. The question is to ask ourselves, ‘How can photography be used as a tool and a medium to enlighten these earthly creations and our new appreciation for them?’” Student Marieya Jagroop took a picture of “a lovely pink flower that was heavily focused and contrasted very well with the sunlight,” she said. “I felt very proud to have my picture displayed at JFK because I got recognition in a very unexpected way,” Jagroop said. “I got to experience things no other 13-yearold gets to. I got to see the beauty in the smallest things, which makes me appreciate the world we live in.” Her classmate Miko Hamilton chose to shoot a leaf changing colors from yellow to green. Hamilton said he learned about taking photographs from different angels and how to edit them. Though he has no aspirations to become a professional photographer, he will always take photos as a hobby, he said. Jagroop and Hamilton both said they saw the value of hard work pay off after realizing the recognition they received. “I never thought I’d see my own picture plastered in an international airport for thousands of people to see,” Jagroop said. It’s been a year and my photography pictures have come back and they reflect who I am, so I definitely see this as a future internship or a side job.” Photo courtesy of JFKIAT Students at Virgil I. Grissom Middle School displayed their artwork in Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy Airport.
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