Career Exploration and connecting to the Community

For three days each spring, all sophomores and juniors participate in Career Exploration. They have the opportunity to go to local businesses and job shadow. We have noticed that more and more students are being asked to bring their computer with them and often participate in activities for the business. One student worked a travel company that specialized in trips for teenagers. The student was asked to look at many competitor websites and pick the best aspects of each site. Another student shadowed the social media strategist at an advertising company. She learned about Google Ad-Sense and how to reach certain demographics. Students have participated in all kinds of experiences from ski patrol, to the weather station and everything in between.

On Thursday, Some of those students participated in an event at the Apple Store in South Portland. The idea was to promote how MLTI is preparing students for careers after high school. Our students were there to promote the idea of how the job shadow allowed them to follow their passion in the arts. The worked with VIA, a creative ad agency in Portland.

Here they are speaking about their experience.

MLTI Screen Saver Winning Artists

Grades: 11-12
Teachers: Holly Houston
Subject: Art
Project Name: MLTI Screen Savers

Resources: MLTI Screen Saver Contest

Twenty-two student artists will have an audience of more than 70,000 students and teachers for their artwork this fall. The 22 artists from across Maine have won the honor of having their artwork displayed on the Maine Learning Technology Initiative devices for the 2014-15 school year.

The selected images will be displayed as a screensaver on MLTI Devices with a screen screen saver setting. For MLTI devices without a screensaver setting, the images will be made available as a download, allowing students/teachers to download the images and use them as a background on their device.

More than 250 Maine students submitted images to be considered and an independent panel of three judges selected the 22 pieces using a rubric. The artwork challenge is an annual opportunity that has attracted entries from more than 1,200 students, grades K-12, during its six-year history. The students whose artwork was selected are also invited to attend the 2014 MLTI Student Conference free of charge.

The selected students from Yarmouth are listed below. Their artwork is available for viewing at http://www.maine.gov/mlti/about/photos.shtml

Elana Bolles, Yarmouth High School, Grade 11, Holograms
Fiona Clarke, Yarmouth High School, Grade 11, Street in Rome
Kyaira Grondin, Frank Harrison Middle School, Grade 7, Silent Moment
Gaelon Kolczynski, Yarmouth High School, Grade 11, Tree
Alex Trippe, Yarmouth High School, Grade 12, Quilted Beetle

Student Art Portfolios at YHS

Grades: 10-12
Teachers: Holly Houston
Subject: Art
Project Name: Art Fundamentals Student Portfolios

Resources: Student Portfolios

Each Art Fundamentals student creates a portfolio of work created during the semester. Over time and after taking different art classes, students can collect quite a few portfolios of work, demonstrating their skills in organization, thinking and writing about work, and growth over time.  These are skills valued not only in the art world, but in virtually every job imaginable. When looking, please know these are works in progress.

Far Away, So Close

Grades: 10-12
Teachers: Melissa Noack
Subject: Art
Project Name: Culture Clash
Resources: Project Website

In a collaboration with a school in Beijing China,  students create and share photos from their communities. They visually explore the similarities and differences of their own experiences. The project was features in School Arts Magazine on page 24.

Student Art Portfolios

Grades: 9-12
Teachers: Holly Houston
Subject: Art
Project Name: ARt Fundamentals Student Portfolios
Resources: 2012 Art Portfolios

The scoop at Yarmouth: Students step up to real-world challenge

Grades: 10-12

Student: Graphic Design I

Subject: Art

Project Name: Friendly's Ad Campaign

Resources: Maine DOE article

When a company like Friendly’s struggles to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, desperate times often call for desperate measures.

Could students at Yarmouth High School help?

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., based in Wilbraham, Mass., is a 77-year-old company known for its ice cream and hamburgers. When the economic downturn, coupled with higher costs and high rents, drove it into bankruptcy, company leaders realized the need for a new model, a new business plan and a new image.

The VIA Agency is a hip advertising and marketing firm located in Portland.  Already engaged in a fresh ad campaign for Friendly’s, the group’s creative director decided to reach out to a resource that had sparked great ideas in the past.

Read the rest of the article

Save Darfur PSA

Grade: High School

Teacher: Melissa Noack

Subject: Art

Project Name: Save Darfur Public Service Announcement

Resources: Project Website