Education

NEW BEDFORD – More than 620 students were honored for academic excellence at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School recently. In an awards ceremony on March 12, the students earned Renaissance program awards for the second quarter of the school year.

Students from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School earned 61 awards – including first-place finishes in ten categories and a sweep in the Video Production competition – at a Business Professionals of America (BPA) competition held in Framingham this month. The students from GNB Voc-Tech took part in the BPA State Leadership Conference on March 6-8.

NEW BEDFORD – About 200 eighth-grade students from Dartmouth, Fairhaven and New Bedford will be getting some good news in their mailboxes soon. They will be receiving a letter of acceptance from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School.

NEW BEDFORD – Students from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School earned 70 honors, including 67 medals, at a SkillsUSA competition involving students from six high schools in the region. They won 26 gold medals, 21 silver medals, and 20 bronze medals in the competition held at GNB Voc-Tech on February 24.

The Disability Law Center is sponsoring a free training and clinic for parents on special education transition services for children with disabilities, ages 14-22 on March 27, 2010 at the New Bedford Public Library. The training will be conducted in Portuguese and English. Language interpretation will be provided. People can register on line at www.dlc-ma.org or 800-872-9992. Spaces are still available.

Join Lloyd Center Research Associate, Jamie Bogart, on Monday, March 22 on a “spring woodcock walk”. Experience a true spectacle in early spring as you observe the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) courtship flight in Dartmouth where many fields that serve as staging areas exist. These early migrants are often visible before snow melt, and are a true sign of spring.

SMILES Mentoring is encouraging businesses, organizations and supporters to participate in the 2nd annual Miles for SMILES Walk/Run/Bike/Skate-a-thon at UMass Dartmouth from 9AM to Noon on Saturday, March 13th, either by becoming a sponsor or forming a team. “It’s a really fun day and a great way to support an organization that is making a very positive impact on the community as it strives to improve the high school graduation rate by connecting caring adults with kids,” said SMILES Board Chair Nick Christ. “The better the graduation rate in the SouthCoast, the more likely companies will locate here and bring much needed jobs to the region.”

John Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, will make an appearance at UMass Dartmouth on Monday, March 1.
A renowned economist, philanthropist, and controversial author, John Perkins is promoting his latest book, Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded—And What We Need To Do To Remake Them. Hoodwinked is a blueprint for a new form of global economics that details steps for creating a sustainable and peaceful world. Drawing on personal experiences described in his books, John Perkins explains how four decades of corporate greed in developing countries has enabled the extremely rich to purchase businesses and real estate at fire sale prices and exploit human and natural resources. Perkins will talk about how to transforming the world economy.

NEW BEDFORD – In an effort to raise funds to send students to state and national skills competitions, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School this year will be hosting its first annual GNB Voc-Tech Road Race. The 5k event, scheduled for Sunday, May 2, will take runners and walkers through the North End of New Bedford.

NEW BEDFORD – When most of her colleagues are enjoying a well-deserved summer vacation, Cathy Chace will be in a New York City classroom, learning how to improve her skills teaching high school students about insurance.



Mrs. Chace, a Business and Office Technology teacher at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, learned this month that she has earned a scholarship to attend the Insurance Education Institute for Middle and High School Teachers sponsored by St. John’s University. She will be one of only 30 teachers in the program

NEW BEDFORD – Eight seniors at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School have received federal certifications allowing them to work on refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. The students successfully completed one or more sections of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Section 608 certification exam.

Dartmouth, MA - Join Amanda Wilkinson, Lloyd Center Educator-Naturalist, for a “Something’s Fishy”’ story hour at the Lloyd Center’s visitor center. Children and parents will be treated to a fish-themed story followed by a tour of the Lloyd Center’s resident aquatic creatures. Spend your Saturday morning getting up close and personal with our fish, crabs, sea stars and more!

Pastor Curtis Dias and People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE) to be honored as “drum majors for justice” at UMass Dartmouth MLK breakfast January 29.

Curtis D. Dias, Senior Pastor of Calvary Pentecostal Church in East Freetown and People Acting in Community Service Endeavors, Inc. (PACE) will be honored January 29 at the annual UMass Dartmouth Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast and Drum Major Awards ceremony. Award-winning television journalist Liz Walker will be this year's keynote speaker.

Eight students from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School earned awards at an annual conference sponsored by the New England Council of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America. The students, all majoring in Residential Remodeling at GNB Voc-Tech, participated in a “Faux Finish Contest” on November 6-7 at the Mt. Snow Resort & Conference Center, in West Dover, Vermont.

New Bedford, Massachusetts- Mayor Scott W. Lang is pleased to join with the Greater New Bedford Area Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee in welcoming the public to attend the “Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Remembrance Celebration.” The celebration will be held on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 4:00pm at Keith Middle School, 225 Hathaway Boulevard in New Bedford.

“I am pleased that New Bedford will continue its annual tradition of honoring the legacy of one of our nation’s most inspirational leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I encourage everyone to attend this celebration and take advantage of the opportunity to reflect on Dr. King’s message of peace and unity,” said New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang today declared January to be Mentoring Month in the city, issuing a proclamation and urging area residents to consider becoming a mentor to a local youth.  Mayor Lang, along with members of the New Bedford City Council and School Committee, joined representatives from SMILES Mentoring, Child and Family Services’ Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater New Bedford, Coastline Elderly Services’ Foster Grandparents and PAACA’s Citizen Schools in the Charles S. Ashley Room at City Hall to recognize the positive impact that volunteer mentors have on the community.

NEW BEDFORD – More than 750 students were honored for academic excellence at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School recently. In an awards ceremony on December 23, the students earned Renaissance program awards for the first quarter of the school year.

NEW BEDFORD – Several hundred students at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School have been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu.

Many came out to the North Dartmouth Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, to help raise funds to provide access to books for local children. The Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc. (WIB) sponsored the Barnes & Noble Bookfair fundraiser to benefit the Community Foundation’s Greater New Bedford Early Literacy Consortium (ELC).

NEW BEDFORD – Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School has again earned the official stamp of approval from the largest accreditation body for public and private schools in New England. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. recently notified the school that NEASC’s Commission on Technical and Career Institutions voted to grant accreditation to GNB Voc-Tech for another ten years.

NEW BEDFORD – Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School will host a college financing seminar on Monday, December 14. The seminar – presented by the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) – will start at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium at GNB Voc-Tech.

November 30, 2009 – Dartmouth, MA. The UMass Dartmouth Department of Portuguese and Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture announce a symposium, “Eça and Machado Revisited: A Seminar with Carlos Reis and João Cezar de Castro Rocha,” to be held on Friday, December 11, 2009, 2:00 – 4:00 PM in LARTS 374 (parking available in Lot 1). The event, dedicated to the two leading novelists of the Portuguese language—Eça de Queirós (1845-1900), of Portugal, and Machado de Assis (1839-1908), of Brazil)—is free and open to the public.

NEW BEDFORD – The Adult Education program at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School this winter is offering a selection of approximately 65 nine-week courses, ranging from Basic Carpentry and Millwork to Digital Photography and Advanced Web Site Design.

Under the direction of researchers Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson, The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently conducted a new in-depth and statistically significant study on the usage of social media in fast-growing corporations. This new study revisits the Center’s study of Inc. 500 social media usage for the third consecutive year making it a valuable and rare longitudinal study of corporate use of these new technologies. The new study compares adoption of social media over the last three years (2007, 2008 and 2009) by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies compiled annually by Inc. Magazine.

NEW BEDFORD – Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson this month gave a formal “tip of the hat” to seven students in the Legal and Protective Services program at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. Students Jonathan Alves, Brian Caton, Gregory Desrosiers, Alisha Lemieux, Sarah Lopes, Amanda Pedro, and Dylan Rodrigues visited Sheriff Hodgson at his office in Dartmouth and were recognized for their work on Bristol County’s Iris Scan project.

NEW BEDFORD – Ninety-eight students at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School have qualified for four years of free tuition at one of the state’s public colleges or universities. Students qualify for the merit-based scholarship program based on their scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam.

NEW BEDFORD – Jeff Yalden, a well-known motivational speaker, brought his message to Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School this month.

Mr. Yalden, motivational speaker, author, and personal life coach, spoke to more than 1,000 students at the GNB Voc-Tech Field House on November 13.

Mr. Yalden is known to deliver his message in a way that students understand. He has been on the popular MTV show “MADE” where he was known as Life Coach.

The RAPPP (Responsible Attitudes Toward Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention) program hosted the speech. Cindy Guilbeault, Coordinator for RAPPP, organized the event.

Over 1,000 freshmen and sophomores listened to Mr. Yalden’s anecdotes and personal stories about his life. His message was to appreciate your family, don’t react to situations without thinking, and to make the most out of your life. He really stressed that students should “take time to think”.

Students and staff were very impressed with his presentation.

NEW BEDFORD – When she returned home from the national SkillsUSA competition this past summer, Laurel Phinney had no idea she’d earned a silver medal. In fact, she didn’t know the real result of the competition until several months later.

What: The English Works Campaign, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are pleased to announce the new Massachusetts Learn at Work Program for workplace Adult Basic Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages.

When: November 9th, 11:00AM

Where: Whaling Museum - 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740

Background: The Learn at Work Program is a joint effort by EOLWD and DESE to streamline access to state funds for much-needed workplace basic skills and English classes. It will provide resources to partnerships between labor, business, and providers as well as offer a pathway to economic self-sufficiency and a stable and skilled workforce.

This regional event will provide details of the fund, copies of the Request for Proposal, and successful partnership examples.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research (CMR) is proud to announce that 3 time Super Bowl winner, Troy Brown, will be the guest speaker at the CMR’s 10th Annual Celebrity/ Scholarship Dinner, March 30, 2010 at the Venus de Milo Restaurant in Swansea Massachusetts from 6:00-9:00pm. A VIP Reception will be held prior to the dinner at 5:00pm.