💙🌟We’re thrilled to share that Quincy Jr. High School - QJHS has been awarded a grant to upgrade the kitchen ovens in the Life Skills classroom — a fantastic win for our students and the ever-growing Cooking Club! 🍽️🎉 The Life Skills program, launched just last year by educator Toni Smith, features a cooking unit where students learn essential skills like food prep, kitchen safety, and how to use a stove. But with aging ovens that barely function — and one that’s completely out of commission — cooking has been a real challenge. Thanks to this grant, students will now have safe, reliable kitchen equipment to support real-life, hands-on learning! The new ovens will be used not only during class but also by the Cooking Club, which meets twice a week and gives students even more opportunities to build confidence, independence, and everyday life skills. We’re incredibly proud of the work happening in Life Skills and excited to see this program continue to grow with the tools it needs to thrive. 🍳👏 (fb)

🏗️🔨 Congratulations to Ruth Rosenkrans at Iles Elementary School, Dave Bellis, and the QAVTC Building Trades Program! 🌟💙 We’re thrilled to announce that Quincy Area Vocational Technical Center and Iles Elementary School have received a grant to launch the Small Structure Construction Project for Introductory Classes — an exciting collaboration that blends meaningful, hands-on learning with lasting impact for our school community! 🎉 As part of this initiative, students in the Intro to Building Trades and Construction classes will design and build a 12 ft. x 20 ft. utility shed. Once completed, the shed will be relocated to Iles Elementary, where it will meet a critical need: storing adaptive physical education equipment to support inclusive physical activity for all students. This project offers students authentic, real-world experience in: 🔧 Planning, budgeting, and executing construction projects 🏗️ Reinforcing classroom concepts through practical application 🧠 Developing problem-solving, teamwork, and creative thinking skills 🔍 Designing with accessibility and diverse client needs in mind It also serves as a key stepping stone toward the advanced house-building course, helping students build confidence and gain career-ready skills in construction, architecture, engineering, and related fields. Most importantly, this collaboration cultivates connection and empathy as Building Trades students work with peers from cross-categorical and diverse learning classrooms — cultivating purpose-driven design and inclusive practices. We’re excited to see the powerful impact this project will have — in the classroom, across our district, and in the lives of all students involved. Thank you to everyone who made this grant and partnership possible!💙🌟 (fb)