And then there were ... 200

Two hundred EVIT students still have perfect attendance, with the end of the year approaching. That means those students -- assuming they keep it up! -- will have a chance to win this:

The school held an assembly today to congratulate the students who have made it this far. Those who are still left next month will have a chance at having their names drawn out of a hat. Two morning students and two afternoon students will be chosen. Those four students will each receive a key. One of those keys will start the truck.


Good luck to those students who are left, and congratulations on making such a great commitment to be at school each and every day! We're so impressed at your hard work.

U.S. Forest Service visits EVIT fire class

Three officials from the U.S. Forest Service visited Rick Shearer's first-year EVIT fire fighting students today to teach them about fighting wild fires.


One of the Forest Service officials is a former EVIT student. Chris Price (in the photo below) was in Mr. Shearer's first class on the original EVIT campus 14 years ago. He was glad to be back in the company of EVIT staff and students -- and he was rather impressed with the new facilities.


The students learned how to get into a protective shelter if they are overcome by a fast-spreading fire:



And they learned how to dig a fire line to try to stop the spread of flames:

EVIT computer students aid solar system event

Students in the EVIT computer repair class spent an afternoon volunteering their time and expertise at a Mesa Arts Center solar system event.

A youth concert was held at the center on Saturday, and the theme was all about the solar system. EVIT lent the center some computers and student helpers to set up an online tour of the solar system. The students were there to make sure the equipment was working properly during the concert's intermission and to answer any questions from the public.

EVIT students compete in robotics competition

EVIT electronics students showed off their robot-building skills at the FIRST Robotics Competition earlier this month.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international competition that pairs students with professionals to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. For the Arizona regional competition, students were challenged to design and build a robot in six weeks.

Fifty-six teams competed in the event, which was held Friday, March 12 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. The EVIT team finished in the 36th spot. The teams came from across Arizona, as well as California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Mexico.

The event was huge! There were hundreds - maybe thousands - of people in the audience, and the whole main floor of the Coliseum was transformed into a competitive robotic field, complete with cheerleaders on the sidelines.


Here is teacher Kevin Nordquist with his students and their robot.


Well done, guys!

The FRC Championship competition will be held in Atlanta from April 15 - 17.

Fashion students hit Los Angeles for spring break

EVIT fashion students didn't spend their spring break basking in the sun on a sandy beach; instead, they headed to Los Angeles to soak up all sorts of knowledge about the fashion industry.

They visited a costume studio that produces costumes and scenery for productions that come to L.A:


They attended the Fashion Debut 2010 event, which is put on by third-year students at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM). They also toured FIDM and attended a showing of the musical Dream Girls.


Don't they look like fashion pros already?

Aviation students talk to kids about flying

Two senior EVIT aviation students stopped by the Lowell Flight Academy earlier this month to talk to Mesa elementary students about what it is like to fly a plane.

The children have been studying aviation and aerodynamics in their classroom, so they had several questions for the EVIT students (Ethan Casterton on the left and Cody Pew on the right).


The elementary students visited the academy to get a hands-on experience while learning about math, science, physics and engineering. Ethan and Cody also had a chance to tour the facility during their visit.

EVIT students bring home $160,000 in scholarships at C-CAP competition

EVIT culinary students dominated at the Careers in Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) competition on March 13. Six EVIT students competed for culinary scholarships, and they brought home nearly $160,000 in total scholarships!

Here is what they won:

Art Institute of Phoenix, $50,000:
Joshua Duffy
Chelsea Edwards
Naomi Merritt

American Culinary Foundation, $3,000:
Kimberly Contreras

Central Arizona College, $1,800:
Andrea Parker

C-CAP scholarship, $2,000:
Andrea Parker

Beau MacMillan scholarship, $1,000 (includes mentoring):
Kordiante Hyler

The students spent months preparing for the event, and competed in a preliminary competition in February at EVIT to qualify for the final round.

EVIT Mystery Chef Dinner a "cheesy" success

EVIT's annual Mystery Chef Dinner on Thursday night was a huge success. Chefs from top-notch Valley restaurants (like Tarbell's, Elements, The Ritz-Carlton and El Chorro Lodge) donated their time and skills for the event, working side-by-side with EVIT students.


The chefs each created a gourmet dinner with several courses, all centering around this year's theme: cheese.


All the money raised will go directly to culinary student scholarships.


See more photos from the event here.

Rural Metro gives hands-on lesson to fire students

Officials from Rural Metro visited the Fire Fighting students on Thursday, demonstrating different types of hoses and providing the students with some hands-on experience.

Students got to try out a deck hose, which is used in larger, defensive fires:


And they got to try out some smaller hoses that allow for more mobility:

Scholarship available for EVIT students

Need some extra cash for college? If you're an EVIT student, you can apply for a $4,000 scholarship from the East Valley Assistance League in Chandler. That's $1,000 per semester for two years to attend an accredited Arizona institute of higher learning as a full-time student.

This scholarship is being given exclusively to EVIT students, so make sure to apply!

Those who apply must:

• Be able to demonstrate financial need.
• Have at least a 2.5 GPA.
• Submit a letter from the applicant and a family member, as well as two letters of recommendation.
• Submit their application by March 31 to the EVIT counseling department.
  

Also -- you do not need to be a resident of Chandler to qualify!

The EVIT counselors are excited about this scholarship and are available to help students complete their applications and obtain their letters of recommendation. So visit your EVIT counselor today to get more information!

You can also see a copy of the application here.

EVIT honors Rotary Students of the Month

Two students were honored by the EVIT governing board as Rotary Students of the Month at Monday's meeting.

First up was Jennifer Reyes, a senior in Tony Garcia's law enforcement class, who was honored as the Mesa East Rotary Club Student of the Month. Mr. Garcia described Jennifer as a student who struggled in the program during her junior year, but has improved vastly this year and was recently accepted into the Explorer Program.

"I just felt like I've got to change; this year is going to be different," Jennifer told board members.

Next up was Marc Reidhead, a junior in Lou Ann Hoffman's medical assisting program, who was honored as the Mesa Rotary Club Student of the Month. Ms. Hoffman described Marc as a student she relies on and considers to be a great role model for others in the class.

"I wish all of my students were as easy to teach as Marc," Ms. Hoffman told the board. "He's wonderful. I truly enjoy having him in class."

Congrats, Jennifer and Marc!

A visit from Mayor Scott Smith

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith stopped by EVIT today to have lunch with three of the students visiting from Guaymas, Mexico.

He spoke to the students about the classes they're taking and their future plans. And the students told him what they've enjoyed most about EVIT and Mesa -- the friendly people and the beautiful campus and city.

Meet our Guaymas visitors

EVIT is hosting five students from Guaymas, Mexico this week and next week. They are taking classes at EVIT, traveling around AZ and practicing their English-speaking skills.

Here they are (from left to right: Hector Campa, Daniel Martinez, Ana German, Cruz Ruiz and Luis Hinojosa):


They've been placed in programs based on their skills and interests, including multimedia, automotive technologies, welding, culinary, and law enforcement.

This is the third year EVIT has hosted students from Guaymas, in partnership with Mesa Sister Cities. The students are living with sister cities families during their visit.

Multimedia students work on studio skills

EVIT multimedia students have been honing their studio photography skills this semester, using other EVIT students as models. They're playing around with different backgrounds and props, and the photos are beautiful:





To see more photos, click here.

Southwest Ambulance comes to EVIT

Paramedic Antonio Valenzuela, Jr. from Southwest Ambulance visited EVIT fire fighting students today to talk to them about EMT careers and let them try out some of the equipment.

First, Mr. Valenzuela gave them some facts about working for Southwest: They must have their Emergency Medical Technician certification and they must be 21 years old. Southwest EMTs and paramedics work ten 24-hour shifts each month.

He stressed that the job isn't for everyone and that EMTs and paramedics write more than the students might realize because they have to document each and every case in detail.

But he said he loves the job because each day is different.

At the end of class, the students got to check out the inside of the ambulance:


And then some students got to help on a mock case, where they performed CPR on a dummy and took the "patient's" blood pressure:

EVIT students dominate at SkillsUSA regionals

EVIT hosted the SkillsUSA Region 3 Conference on Saturday, where about 250 students from the area competed in 12 different career and technical contests.

More than 40 EVIT students walked away with awards and many will go on to compete at the Arizona State Championships in April.

Here are a few photos from the event:


To see more photos, check out our photo album on Flickr.

Here are the EVIT winners:

Radio

First: Nicole Bird and Bre Bullis
Second: Cheyne Quitasol and James Blakely
Third: Jeff Wright and Jacob Driscoll

Law Enforcement

First: Michael Miranda
Second: Jeremy Gebo
Third: Christian Bircher

Computer Repair/Maintenance

First: Chris Norzagaray and Marcos Ortega
Second: Vincent Williams and Neftaly Rocha
Third: Kyle Rasmussen and Bradley Anderson

Video

First: Caleb Greenwood and Jordan Gorla
Third: Ashley Arredondo and Robert Donofrio

Prepared Speech

First: Nicole Bird

Auto, Level 2

First: Luis Gamez-Valenzuela
Second: Matthew Aceves
Third: Chan Eye

Auto, Level 3

First: Jesse Knox
Second: Connor Lavanaway
Third: Brendan Quinlan

Cosmetology

First: Jessica Watson
Second: Reannon Dame
Third: Hayli Braithwhite

Masonry

First: Matt Woodhall
Second: Landon Boren
Third: Alejandro Garcia

Carpentry

First: Brendon Clark
Second: Colin Adair
Third: Juan Venegas

Residential Wiring

First: Sean Lynam
Second: Francisco Armendariz
Third: Andy Adams

Fire Fighting

Second: Alec Langton

Advertising Design

First: Patrick Griffin
Second: Elise Lara
Third: Scotty Cummings

Aesthetics

First: Ashlee Edens
Second: Shaina Molinuaux