Rensselaer Educational Center brings back “Spirit Day”
Brooke Cooney, Jalisa Mellette, Chris Brundige, Nyaisa Gourrier and Ryan McNeil.
Students and staff at Questar III’s Rensselaer Educational Center participated in the school’s annual Spirit Day in late October – an event designed to build a sense of community, increase awareness of other programs and to facilitate discussions with students and staff from different districts and classes.
Staff and students sold tickets for Spirit Day in advance of the event. Staff also donated tickets to students who could not afford them so that everyone was included in the day’s festivities. For every ticket sold, students were entered into a drawing to win donated gift cards and food items.
Many Spirit Day activities were themed around Halloween, with the main office and counseling staff hosting “Circus at the Center”. Activities in the building during Spirit Day ranged from food sales (fried dough from Culinary Arts, cookies and baked goods from Hospitality), to activities such as a haunted science room in ALP, “Minute to Win it Games” in HVAC/R and Auto Services, medical obstacle course in CNA, a football toss in Automotive Technologies, fitness fun in Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), an arcade in Academy for Information Technology (AIT), and the buzzed buggy challenge in Criminal Justice. Students and staff were also able to design their own plaque in Construction, or paint their own nails in Cosmetology.
HVAC instructor Danny Ramirez said Spirit Day was a great opportunity for students to really become a part of their “other” high school. “The experiences built on Spirit Day will hopefully last a lifetime. It was a pleasure meeting students from other programs.”
Work-Based Learning Coordinator Teresa Mills also commented that it was great being part of the REC community. “Working together and supporting one another all for the good of the students. It was great fun, and probably one of my best days at the REC,” she said.
The event raised more than $700 for Rensselaer Educational Center’s SkillsUSA organization and Scholarship Fund. Ninety-two pounds of non-perishable food was also collected and donated to the Cairo Food Pantry to benefit flood victims in Greene County.
