The 2018-19 school year at BAVTS has been busy. The school hosted its seventh annual car show Sept. 30 to benefit the SkillsUSA organization with the premiere sponsor being Koch 33, a Ford dealership you can find in Easton. Another supporter of the event was Joe’s Tire and Battery, a local car service that has been open since 1967 in its current location in Allentown.

It was a beautiful day, with a variety of vehicles, baskets and home cooked food, including chicken kabobs, sausage sandwiches, corn on the cob and various homemade side dishes.

Car Best of Show was a 2016 Challenger owned by Alan Fenstermacher and a Best of Show for the Motorcycles was a 1971 Harley Service Car owned by Patricia Purnell.

BAVTS will be hosting its open house Oct. 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Please join us for an evening of fun. There will be automotive technology and welding demonstrations, sticker or T-shirt demonstrations, photo booth, food samplings, and a s’mores station. Other activities include glitter tattoos, fashion figure drawings, and decorating chef hats.

The Dream Team, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. and SkillsUSA will also be here to share the need for skilled employees. There isn’t a day that goes by that employers aren’t seeking skilled employees who have employability skills. Speak with one of these groups and they will enlighten you on the opportunities occurring in the workforce today.

Did you know 93 percent of students concentrating in CTE graduated high school – 13 percent higher than the overall U.S. graduation rate. Ninety-one percent of high school graduates earning 2-3 CTE credits subsequently enrolled in college. Thirty percent of job openings created by 2020 will require some college or a two-year associate degree. Eighty percent of manufacturers report that talent shortages will impact their ability to meet customer demand. Source: https://www.acteonline.org/why-cte/what-is-cte/basic-facts/

Come see the pumpkin carvings related to the students’ technical areas. It is always a creative opportunity for students to highlight their occupational training area.

Our baking and culinary classes recently partnered with the Bethlehem Rotary for its Taste and Tunes event held at Moravian College. This year’s beneficiary was the BASD Educational Foundation. Culinary Arts contributed many scrumptious samples of savory pumpkin hummus with grilled pita and naan flatbread, roasted butternut squash bisque, healthy quinoa salad and vegetarian stir fry. Bakers contributed an assortment of mini desserts.

Our partnership with the Rotary Club doesn’t stop there. Students shadow professional meetings and are recognized with for achievements, thanks to the Bethlehem Rotary’s generosity. Student shadows for this year are Victoria Gilbert, LI-12; Biance Kamundia, FR-12; Sarah Lieberman, NO-12; Tathiana Millien, LI-12; Jalissa Molina, LI-12; and Richard Oliver, LI-12.

The artisans are Veras Jalissa, LI-12; Nicole Flores, LI-12; and Abigail Wenger, LI-12.

The Bethlehem Rotary and our school have been engaged in this partnership since 1999.

Students from the Electronics Technology program and their instructor recently toured Bosch Rexroth Manufacturing, located on Brodhead Road in Bethlehem, to learn more about manufacturing. The entire concept of Manufacturing Day is to continue educating technical students about the STEM opportunities that are available to them in the manufacturing industry.

Additionally, students have been providing technical assistance at the Camel’s Hump Farm located on the Johnston Estate. Masonry students resurfaced the barn wall and removed old mortar from the paddock wall to prepare to pressure wash and install fresh mortar. Students from masonry involved in the process included Thomas Coffin, SV-12; Jase Crouse, BECA-12; Cody Eckhart, NO-12; and Ariel Montanez, LI-12. Two cooperative education students: Joseph Fekete and James Spadafore, both FR-12, worked on improve the walkway by the barn. James correcting a warp in the boards and Joseph corrected the floorboards for drainage and proper expansion.