Fostering powerful change: Germanna's Great Expectations Program seeking to bring together former or current foster children and student mentors

Great Expectations is a free program for current or former foster care youth designed to help with the transition to college and/or a career. Through this program at Germanna, participants gain information about the services of the college, participate in a mini-college experience, and receive one-on-one mentoring. They also participate in monthly dinners and activities (sporting events, picnics, bowling, movie nights, tours of local colleges and university visits, etc.), funded by the program.

If you know of anyone who would benefit from this program, please contact Marcy S. Farris at msfarris@germanna.edu by email by Friday, July 6 for the summer session or Friday, Aug. 3 for the fall session.

The program is also seeking student mentors.

MARCY S. FARRIS
Coordinator of Great Expectations Program
Germanna Community College
msfarris@germanna.edu
(540) 834-1066

MORE:

Learning through fun and games: Video Game Maker and Lego Collision Cars classes teach 1st- to 6th-graders basics of technology and engineering

GCC Workforce Development and Community Education business and career coordinator Jennifer Mihalcoe works with a rising first-grader in Germanna's Video Game Maker class.. For information on registering for this class and Lego engineering classes at the Daniel Center, including Collison Cars, click on the link below.



By RHONDA SIMMONS | Culpeper Star-Exponent
Published: June 23, 2012

Combining video games and/or Legos with the learning process seems like a genius idea, right?

That’s exactly what Jennifer Mihalcoe, business and career coordinator for Germanna Community College’s Workforce and Community Education, believes.

Mihalcoe said a new 12-hour Video Game Maker class — offered at Germanna’s Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper this summer — is intended to use children’s fascination with video games to help stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

“Children need not be strong math students to enjoy and benefit from this class,” she added.

Mihalcoe and co-worker Ben Sherman, a business and career coordinator for Germanna Workforce, also agree that using Legos to teach basic engineering can achieve the same goal.

“Both video games and Legos,” they say, “can be used to start students on paths to careers that pay well and boost our local and national economies.”

MORE

Some tips from Germanna's Veterans Affairs Education Office

Veterans: Please sign up for and track your E-benefits here.

Tips for veteran students from Dianne S. Frausto, Germanna Community College Veterans Affairs Education Office representative. (540/891-3023, dfrausto@germanna.edu):

By DIANNE S. FRAUSTO

Fall Semester will be here before you know it. Here are some tips to remember...

Fall Certifications will be processed Sept. 6th – 13th. Even if you turn your paperwork in prior to these dates, I will not begin certifying until the 6th. GI Bill benefits refund you $41.67 per credit hour.

You must be enrolled in 12 credits for the full term in order to receive full BAH. If you are registered for three credits the whole term, three credits the first five weeks and four credits the last five weeks, you will not receive full BAH funding.

Any courses listed as "distance learning," "distance education" or "hybrid" are entered and recognized by VA as online classes.

You must be registered for at least one in-house (face to face) lecture class in order to receive full benefits.

You are required to complete and return a Registration Certification form to me the same day you register for classes.

The two-year option: Community college growth demands the schools be prepared to welcome it

The Free Lance Star published the following editorial today:

IF EDUCATION beyond high school is the key to a more successful future (and it is), then Virginia students and families need a practical alternative to the four-year commitment, escalating cost, and increasing selectivity associated with Virginia's public and private four-year colleges and universities.

The state's community college system must be prepared to fulfill that need close to home, at an affordable cost, and with the flexibility modern life requires. It is already striving to meet that responsibility in an admirable manner.

But community college officials here and in other states see their mission unfairly hampered in many ways, from a lingering reputation as being more high school, to being the place for those ill-suited or ill-prepared for grander institutions. By now, the public should know that's hogwash.

MORE

Friday, June 8, 2012

Stop by the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 9 Open House at GCC's new Science & Engineering Building to learn about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Reminder: There will be an Open House for students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 9 at Germanna's new Science & Engineering Building and Information Commons at the Fredericksburg Area Campus at 10000 Germanna Point Drive in Massaponax.

Hear GCC Faculty speak about STEM programs

Learn about transfer options and Guaranteed Admission Agreements

Tour the high-tech new Science & Engineering Building and Information Commons

If you're considering a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math, Germanna can help you prepare for careers in these growing fields. Join us for the first STEM-focused Open House! Hear from faculty from STEM areas, learn more about transfer options, and get a close look at the Science & Engineering Building and Information Commons.

Join Germanna faculty, students, alumni on Spring Break 2013 tour of Italy

A group of people from the Germanna community will be traveling to Italy for Spring Break, 2013. The group will be visiting Rome, Florence and Venice seeing the highlights of this beautiful country.

Tour Itinerary

•

Day 1 Start Tour •

Day 2 Ciao Venice Meet your Tour Director, travel to Venice & check into hotel Dinner en route to Venice •

Day 3 Venice Landmarks Venice Guided Walking Sightseeing Tour with Whisper headsets St. Mark’s Square, Basilica, Doges’ Palace visit, Glass-blowing demo •

Day 4 Venice--Florence Travel to Florence Verona Tour Director-led Sightseeing Tour Romeo and Juliet balcony, Roman Arena Italian Pizza dinner •

Day 5 Florence Landmarks Florence Guided Walking Sightseeing Tour with Whisper headsets Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Chiesa di Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, Duomo visit, Leather workshop, Gates of Paradise, Giotto’s Bell Tower, Dante's house Baptistery visit, Leaning Tower Dinner •

Day 6 Florence--Rome Travel to Rome Rome Guided Walking Sightseeing Tour with Whisper headsets Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel visit, St. Peter’s Basilica visit, Colosseum visit, Piazza Venezia, Forum Romanum visit Dinner •

Day 7 Rome Landmarks Rome City Walk Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona Authentic Trattoria Dinner •

Day 8 End Tour

Tour Fee Includes:

Round-trip airfare

6 overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms

Full European breakfast daily

Dinner daily

Full-time services of a professional Tour Director

Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary

Visits to select attractions as per itinerary

Guided sightseeing tours with high-tech headset as per itinerary

Tour Diary™

Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided

This trip has limited availability left so be sure to get in quickly to secure your place! Tour fees will go up on June 26. The tour is being organized and led by Germanna faculty.

Email Prof. Kellie Bradshaw at kbradshaw@germanna.edu with questions, and for sign-up information, or go to https://www.explorica.com/sign-up.aspx and enter Bradshaw-9149. This trip is open to students, alumni, staff, faculty, adjuncts, and their families.