TST BOCES Career and Tech Center

🎃 Pumpkin Launchers: Let the Project Begin! 🚀

Last Friday students from multiple CTE programs gathered in the Smith School Cafeteria for the Pumpkin Launch Project Kickoff Party, an important first step in this collaborative math and science project-based learning experience.

Students were introduced to the challenge, expectations, goals, and timeline before jumping into a hands-on engineering competition. Teams began designing and building miniature versions of their future pumpkin launchers, putting creativity, teamwork, communication, and their problem solving skills to work! 🔧🧠🤝

We can't wait to see how far their pumpkins will fly! ☄️

We loved giving these students a taste of the CTE world!

This week, students from Groton CSD's Career Academy spent time at TST BOCES getting their hands dirty (sometimes literally!) while exploring some of our trades.

A huge thank you to our CTE instructors for welcoming students into their shops and sharing what they do every day:

🔧 Matt Lott - Auto Body
🚗 Doug Houck - Auto Tech
⚙️ Jeff Brockway - Machining & Manufacturing
🔥 Randy Jackson - Welding

And a special shoutout to Groton CSD alum and TST BOCES Welding Class of 2026 graduate Madison DeGraw for volunteering her time to show the next generation how to strike an arc and spark an interest in the trades. ⚡ Thanks to Groton Central School District for partnering with us to make opportunities like this possible!