March Lunch Menu

Ice Skating!

According to the National Association for School Psychologists: "Interventions that help students with emotional/behavioral disorders and social skills deficits have potential to significantly improve school-wide behavior and safety."

With this in mind, the Schoolwide Positive Behavior Program has established a simple set of rules for all students to use as a guideline.  They are as follows:  

• Be here.
• Be ready.
• Be respectful.
• Be safe.

It's that simple!  

If you think about it, these guidelines will help students be successful both in school AND in the workplace.

On the morning of March 4th, 71 students enjoyed a field-trip to Hess' Ice Skating rink.  This second trip follows an earlier venture to the Youngstown Phantom's Hockey Team earlier in the year.  

All enjoyed the opportunity as they enjoyed tons of fun laughing, skating (and falling), and remembering that it IS worth it to make positive choices.

Archery Team

Congratulations to the 1^st ever LCCTC Archery team. These 20 individuals made it through two rounds of tryouts narrowing it down from 60 to 30 then to the final 20.  They will shoot in the state competition at state college on Friday, March 11^th.   

• Kayla Baker
• Ja'Briel Blackshear
• Isaac Buckley
• Dustin Crowley
• Earl Gravatt
• Alex Gunde
• Matt Hawkins
• Lacey Lopes
• Kyle McKinnis
• Matt Michael
• Logan Michaels
• Anthony Moore
• Isaiah Paniagua
• Branson Peak
• Antonio Print
• Troy Silver
• Felicity Weir
• Kaitlyn Wright

Bring on the Heat ~ Makaila Holsinger

Being a volunteer firefighter means putting your life at risk for the safety of others. 

After hundreds hours of training and a strong commitment to the service, several LCCTC students are now ready to be able to make the decision to save lives and while putting their own at risk.

Our brave students have put out multiple fires and saved many lives. 

Some of our beloved senior firefighters are Bobby Bird, Devin Marshall, Dalton Dilling, Ashley Breetz, Bo Timmerman, Brad Shoaf, and Jake Stewart. We are also proud to feature sophomores, Kaden Fernandez and Corey Gumpp. 

In their street clothes, they may look like the average teenager, but once the alarm rings, they are ready to suit up and help our communities in any way needed which includes something as simple as fund-raising for equipment and as complex as in times of great crisis! 

So a huge THANK YOU goes out to all the volunteer firefighters!

Don't Mess with THIS Guy! ~ Kylie Smith

At 13, Mike began fighting -- not in the way most might think. He began his journey studying to be a Mixed Martial Artist (MMA).

“Under the direction of Mike Demko, I started Jiu-Jitzu training 5 years ago. It was just after football and I needed a sport between football and baseball.” A sport in between two already time-consuming activities, you say? At 13, most could say Mike Walters has always been one busy kid, but he enjoyed it, and he was good at it so he stayed with it.

In addition to the skill training and physical conditioning program, part of the requirements of being involved with the competitive side of this sport is to maintain outstanding grades and to show leadership both in the classroom and outside within the community.

I interviewed Mike to find out more about MMA fighting and how it is a big part in his everyday life, and this is what I found:

What's your favorite thing about competing?

“You meet a lot of cool, decent people at tournaments. On Saturday or Sunday, I typically have a competition.”

In order to keep up with his consistent fighting, Mike works out Monday through Sunday to keep his body in shape. When all the world is fast asleep, at 5AM, he begins with 15 minutes of cardio, 3 sets of 10 -- lifting weights, 5 sets or 3 minutes striking a punching bag. After school, often 'til 9 PM, he has MMA practice at the gym on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Jiu-Jitsu practice is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday before MMA.  

What are your goals?

“My main goal is to become a MMA instructor. Currently, I am an assistant coach.”

How does your sport help with your school or career?

“MMA helps with my anger issues so I can stay calm throughout the day. It helps keep up my focus in school -- especially, in my advanced courses.”  Because he’s so busy and he takes classes above and beyond basic expectations, Mike works hard to maintain his good grades and remain on National Technical Honor Society.

Because he is the very essence of humility, it was tough getting Mike to brag a bit about his accomplishments, so we went to his number-one fan; according to his proud pappa, here is a brief timeline of his career to date:

• 2013:  Joined the Competition Team at Demko Martial Arts
• April 2013:  1st place at the NAGA World Championships, Jiu Jitzu
• 2013: 68 wins and only 12 losses as well as finishing in the top 15 teen Jiu Jitsu competitors in the Nation
• Late 2013: Began training for Adult Jiu Jitzu and MMA
• January 2014:  Jiu Jitsu Championship Belt
• 2014: Began training in wrestling
• Throughout 2014: 7 Jiu Jitsu Championship Belts and finishing nationally in the top 10 Teen Jiu Jitsu Competitors
• 2014: Accepted into the National Vocational Technical Honor Society at LCCTC
• 2014: Trained as a Peer Leader and continued to maintain honor and high honor roll academic status
• In 2015 Mike continued training MMA, Boxing, and Jiu Jitsu as well as competing in Jiu Jitsu tournaments competing in Teen & Adult divisions throughout Pa, Oh, Va, Mich, NY, NJ, WVA winning an additional 8 Jiu Jitsu Championship Belts as well as finishing in the top 10 teen Jiu Jitsu competitors in the Nation
• April 2015: 2nd in Gi 
• May 2014: Adult Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt under Coach Mike Demko
• July 2015: NAGA: Mike received a belt in Philadelphia tournament. 
• August, 2015: Mike successfully fought to defend his belt in New Jersey.
• October 4, 2015: 1st Place In Mens No-Gi Intermediate & Also 1st Place In Men's Blue Belt Gi
• December 23, 2015: Double gold NAGA Teen Expert 
• January 30, 2016: An impressive win for his MMA Debut with a 49 Second 1st Round submission finish in Yankee Lake (just 12 days after his 18th birthday) 
• March 5, 2016: Won 37 seconds of the 1st Round via TKO at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH.

What events should we watch for in the near future?

Walters 2-0 Will Be Fighting Cory Kemp (3-2) On March 19th at St. Lucy's In Campbell, OH

Mike currently studies Health Assistance. In the fall, he will begin college at Butler County Community College to begin studying for his double major in the RN and Physical Therapy programs. Previously, he attended Union Area High School and New Castle Area High School.  He currently works at the family business, Grafik Vapors. In his spare time, he enjoys taking care of his little brother, practicing tricks on his scooter, and, with his friends, helping coach MMA.

ALICE Training ~ Madison Hansotte and Samantha Amon

ALICE: Active, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.

Their mission: To improve the chances of survival. 

During Christmas Eve 2001, husband and wife duo Greg and Lisa Crane were having a deep discussion about an Officer who was recently killed in the line of duty. That's when Greg, a law enforcer, turned to his wife, an elementary principal, and asked what her school's plan of attack for when they have an intruder and are waiting for the police. Lisa says what most education authority will say "I put out a “Code Red” over the PA, the teachers get everyone in a classroom, lock the door, turn off the lights, sit in the corner and wait for the police to arrive.”

Some time after his conversation with his wife, Greg and a fellow officer decided the schools needed a new strategy to follow when faced with violence and dangerous situation. Thus began the development of the ALICE program.

On February 12th, 2016, while students from LCCTC were sleeping in, our teachers took on the role of students and learned about ALICE. Their teacher, Detective Crum of the New Castle Police Department, was invited by the Safety Committee.

One of the teachers who helped demonstrate was Mrs. Pasterik.  When asked about the ALICE program, she stated,"Good! I think it is an excellent concept to have our students be proactive in our safety." 

Mr. Barker explained that his experience with his training was very informative, "It makes me feel better about what to do if an active shooter is in the building." He added that it would be beneficial if everyone could participate in the training.

Detective Crum, of the New Castle Police Department, he presented ALICE training, the acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. 

According to the ALICE Institute, as much as we wish, no one can can guarantee 100% success with this or any incident, but the skills taught by ALICE will greatly "increase the odds of survival should anyone face this form of disaster."

Detective Crum demonstrates with our very own SRO, Officer Preisel.

Mr. Ovial takes down our "assailant," Mr Barker.

Mrs. Pasterik steps up to help subdue the "bad guy"!  

Mr. Wilkison and Mr. Simon make sure our "bad guy" stays down!

While our "bad guy" unsuccessfully struggles to get away, our staff looks on.

We can all help to make sure our school is well-protected if our worst fears should occur.

We are ready -- We are rising!

"ALICE Training Institute." ALICE Training Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. <http://www.alicetraining.com/>.

Promposals 2016 ~ Jeralyn DeNome

As the weather gets warmer, girls begin to shop for extravagant dresses in every color of the rainbow, just hoping that special someone will ask them to such an important event. As if asking a cute girl or boy to prom wasn’t nerve-wracking enough, these intelligent students have come up with the idea of “Prom-posals” which have the appearance of marriage proposals, but without the long term commitment. Today’s social media features brave souls decorating poster boards, applying a thousand sticky notes on cars, and delivering bouquets of flowers.

Here at LCCTC, it’s no different.

With prom right around the corner, consider this: Has the delivery of these “prom-posals” become a competition -- to see who can outdo the next? Does the “date-to-be” truly appreciate the efforts of the “prom-poser”? How would you like to be asked to prom?

Gemma Gatto asked her best friend to the prom by “stepping up to the plate!” Both have played softball and baseball since they were little, so when it was time for her to pop the question, she didn’t drop the ball; on a poster in the shape of home base, she wrote, “I’m stepping up to the plate! Will you be my date to prom?” She presented to him a baseball which had the message “Prom?” He said,“YES!”

Bradley Shoaf wanted to ask his girlfriend to prom which he did in a unique way. When asked about his perspective on prom-posals, he did say it was stressful because he couldn't think of a good way to ask her. “I just want whoever I am asking to be happy and smile, that's what it's all about!" Brad thought outside the box with this prom-posal and taped balloons to her car with a beautiful poster with the question Prom? Thankful for him, she said "Yes!"



Another unique prom-posal from Chris Maunder. He "just kept swimming" till he found his Dory. On the next day, Chris followed up his invitation with a bag full of candy and caffeine-filled beverages.