Dr. C. Bruce McDade; Superintendent

SEAC Meetings

The Superintendent's Employee Advisory Committee met on February 14, 2019. The official meeting minutes can be found here.

If you have an issue that you would like to be addressed at the next SEAC meeting, please see your building representative.

McDade's Download

Vol. 1 Issue 2

College and Career Ready.

Educators and administrators in Manassas Park along with those around the country are charged with the mission of ensuring students are college and career ready.

According to a local business leader, MPCS students are setting the bar for what this means.

Suresh Gursahaney, CEO of MicroAutomation, offers internship opportunities for MPHS students. After offering internships to college-level students and finding the experience to be little more than resume building for the intern, the hiring of high school interns took a leap of faith.

But he said that leap paid off in ways he could not have imagined.

After putting his first interns from MPCS to work with his outside marketing company, the president of that company called him personally.

“Who are these kids?” she asked. “They’re phenomenal; if they were coming out of college, I’d hire them in a minute.”

The students’ contributions did not end there. MPCS students tested products including code and application performance.

“Reports from that team were great,” Gursahaney said. “They found things we didn’t think of, picked up things quickly, and didn’t need a lot of supervision. Their efforts helped us improve our product.”

Gursahaney was also surprised with the level of maturity of MPCS students. They contributed to discussions with energy and excitement for the work, and furthermore, they were not afraid to offer suggestions. At one point R.J. Weaver, then a senior at MPCS, looked at MAVEN, MicroAutomation’s robotic mascot, and said he thought he could animate it.

Gursahaney said that animation was included in a video they now use for marketing, sales, and as a precursor to training. “I just used it at the Pentagon yesterday,” he said with a smile.

Vivian Lam was among the first group of interns at MicroAutomation. Graduating in 2018, she said that the education she received at MPCS was more than enough to prepare her for the experience. Classes like Advanced Graphics, Web Design, and Entrepreneurship as well as clubs like FBLA contributed to her ease at becoming a team member at MicroAutomation.

“These opportunities prepared me to talk to future employers, colleagues, and professors well,” Lam said. “It was easy to have a personal touch and communicate effectively.”

Fellow intern Ilyas Saltani (MPHS, Class of 2018) agreed with Lam’s assessment. His education prepared him well, but the intern experience built on it further.

“[It is] a great opportunity that MPCS provides,” said Saltani. “Continued emphasis can truly be formative, as it certainly has been for me; I’m very grateful for it.”

Faten Hammad, a CTE teacher at MPHS, said that CTE courses truly allow students to gain the skills needed to become successful adults by readying their workplace skills.

“CTE doesn’t just allow students to explore various career opportunities,” Hammad explained. “The courses give them the skills to go into the adult world with knowledge, experience, and exposure to the responsibilities of being a well-adjusted adult.”

CTE teachers with MPCS do not simply focus on academics. There is a conscience effort to also include soft skills. From handshakes and eye contact to conversation and presentation skills, students are prepared for real-world expectations and this focus sets them apart from their peers.

It was this differentiator that made Gursahaney take his leap of faith with MPCS students.

Invited to a Coffee and Collaboration event at MPHS, Gursahaney said he heard the students speak about what they have done. After additional discussion with Hammad, steps were in place to bring the first MPCS interns to his company.

After some initial hesitation about the internship program, Gursahaney finds his team anxious to hire more interns.

“What’s special is that it’s a win/win,” said Gursahaney. “The work they do actually helps us as a company. This generation understands and lives from the web, internet, and social media. Having their perspective is helpful, more so than we expected.

“That is why your program is special,” he added.

If you would like more information about partnership opportunities at MPCS, contact the Office of the Superintendent at (703) 335-8850.

FAB-ruary

I find it an honor to participate in the celebrations surrounding our community’s accomplishments, and we found no shortage of things to celebrate in February.

The following photos highlight just some of the month's celebrations. Despite snow days, late starts, and early dismissals, our Cougars remained as busy as ever because they know that perseverance and hard work is what makes us great.

Honor Roll Assemblies are always an exciting time to congratulate students. At the middle school, I shook hands with more than 250 students who concluded the second quarter on either the Principal’s or Superintendent’s Honor Roll. I followed that with nearly 350 first semester recipients at the high school.

Senior Matthew Smith held his Eagle Scout Court of Honor Celebration.

Earlier this school year Cougar teacher Jennifer Larance was awarded a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Grant. She recently spent a weekend getting to know other participants and preparing for her summer studies.

The Forensics Team had some big wins at the Region B Competition and now head to Super Regionals.

More than 50 student participated in the MPMS Spelling Bee with Ashley Gyawali being named the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner for the school.

We ended the month with a fabulous celebration of Digital Learning Day and showcasing how MPCSConnects! works at enhancing teaching and learning in our community.

A lot of great MPCS news flows through Twitter. Follow schools, teachers, and clubs to get the news first. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

@MPCSVA - @CESMiniCougars - @MpMiddle - MPEScougars - MPCSmcdade