Page 12 - TTWIWinter2024V2

STEM / Engineering
Page 12 Electronic Edition: www.teachingtodaywi.com

CTE Program Highlights in the Rice Lake Area School District

Career and Technical Education at Rice Lake offers a variety of oppor- Family and Consumer Education
tunities for students. here’s a brief look at the career pathways students are The students in the Family and
being introduced to at Rice Lake.
Consumer Sciences program are always
wanting to learn and connect with the
community. Projects that students have
Agriculture created include hats and mittens for local
The Agriculture program at Rice children, dresses for children around
Lake is fortunate to have access to the world, and most recently the pillow
the “River Doc” Nature Conservancy project. This project was completed by
which was generously donated to our the hobbies for Life class, where stu-
district. This conservancy includes dents learn many different skills with
a mature hardwood forest, a stream, the hope of developing a new hobby that
lakefront, grassland, and an agri- they can take with them for the rest of
cultural field. This has allowed our their lives. Students at the elementary
students to gain real life and hands- school level created pictures of animals/
on experiences in a variety of courses creatures that the students in hobbies
and develop their skills. Students for Life class brought to life with their
in our Forestry course had practical sewing skills. Each child was able to receive a stuffed animal/creature that was created by
experiences identifying tree species, a high school student, from the drawings that they had made.
measuring the volume of lumber,
determining the stocking density of the
forest, and they developed a potential
plan for management decisions of this Tech Ed
forest. Students in Natural Resources our construction pathway
have units focusing on protecting our is growing and the things we are
soils and water. They have done labs determining soil types, horizons, nutrient levels, building are becoming more and
and they have learned about erosion prevention methods to protect our waterways. our more complex. This was a 16x32
Wildlife Management course has also done several projects identifying habitat types, deer hunting cabin with a loft that
wildlife, and even has a Trail Camera from the Wisconsin DNR Snapshot program. The our Construction Framing 1 class
River Doc Nature Conservancy is used by all levels of students 4K-12 in the district, and completed in spring of 2023. The
we are fortunate to have such a unique resource as a part of our district. cabin was built on site and then
hauled to its final destination. As
we have started building these
bigger and more complex struc-
Business tures, more and more students
are interested in the program, and
The Rice Lake high School business our class size and number of sections are growing. We also are getting more community
Education program continues to promote involvement as well as compliments from people driving or walking by. This makes the
college and career readiness. The department students feel proud of their work and take more pride in the class.
has partnered with a local technical college
to offer 21 credits of dual credit courses. The
classes include Accounting, Law, Manage-
ment and several others. Students in these
classes develop real world skills while build- Art
ing the confidence to be successful in college high School Art students were
and beyond. In addition to the partnership chosen to showcase their three-dimen-
sional artwork at Arts in hand Gallery in
Spooner, WI during the month of June.
braden Thomas and Joshua Nelson, both
recent graduates, shared some of the
amazing pieces they created during their
senior year at Rice Lake high School.
AP Studio Art students showcase
their portfolio at a CTE project showcase
with a local college, Rice Lake high event where the students discuss their Sus-
School has a dynamic internship program. tained Investigation with community members. The artists have an opportunity to explain
Each term students receive on-site experi- an underlying connection between their pieces whether through subject or mediums. This
ences with many of the premier employers offers the AP Students a chance to communicate their ideas and allows them to formulate
in the area. There are 78 students sched- thoughts for the writing component of the portfolio submission.
uled to have internship experiences this
year through a partnership with more than
63 local employers.
www.ricelake.k12.wi.us