JEFFERSON — Despite the frigid blast of snowy weather on Dec. 10, the annual Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School holiday dinner went off without a hitch. The meal was not supposed to begin until 4:30 p.m., but people began showing up at least one hour earlier, hoping to be among the first people to go through the line and scoop up the menu items of: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, a Christmas cookie, and a choice of one of two deserts – a cake or a chocolate mousse.

Students from the culinary programs helped prepare, serve and wash dishes. Meanwhile, students from nearly all the school’s many career programs bused and cleaned tables, helped guests find a place to sit in the cafeteria, collected meal tickets and served people their dinners. Public Safety Academy students helped out by directing people to parking spots on the school campus and controlling traffic.

Besides the dining experience, many of the student programs held fund-raisers during the meal. Culinary students sold a variety of baked goods, horticultural program students sold poinsettias and holiday centerpieces, and cosmetology students painted nails and gave hand/arm massages. Precision machining students sold ornaments, Graphic Communications I students sold Christmas cards, present labels and ornaments, while the Graphic Communications II students sold pictures with Santa. The early childhood education students sold “yummy” stocking stuffers.

By all accounts the evening was a tremendous success, as a near-record number of visitors came to the event. Gilda McQuoid, ACJVS instructional coordinator, said a total of 923 tickets were turned in.

The meal has been a fixture at the ACJVS for many years and the proceeds are used to fund the school’s scholarship fund.

The next community meal is the annual spaghetti dinner, which will take place in the spring.

On Dec. 9, six health care technology seniors taught kindergarten, first- and second-grade students at Ridgeview Elementary about dental and medical procedures and practices. Kristie Organiscak and Cassandra Hubbard taught the youngsters about cavity prevention and the proper techniques used in brushing and flossing one’s teeth.

“It was a great opportunity to teach the young kids how to brush and take care of their teeth. It makes me feel really good,” said Organiscak.

Conducting the medical side of the program were Kayla Rettinger, Danielle Gay, Matt Painter and Hazel Kurpyl. They taught the students about their internal organs, the oxygen level in their blood and the bones that support their body.

Matt Painter was surprised at the students’ knowledge level. “I thought it was very impressive how much all the kids really know about all the organs and bones,” he said.

“It was wonderful to hear that a lot of the kids want to become doctors and dentists,” said Rettinger. “It feels good to know that we can make that kind of impression on them.”

Sophomores from every high school in Ashtabula County, and even some from schools in Trumbull and Geauga counties, came to visit the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School this month. Many expressed interest in attending one of the school’s 23 exciting programs, but some could not attend due to illness or another absence. Those students do not need to worry; they can visit on one of the following make-up days: Jan. 29, Feb. 19 and March 31.

Visiting high schools included Jefferson, Conneaut, Ledgemont, Howland, Pymatuning Valley, Grand Valley and Geneva. Lakeside, Ss. John and Paul and Edgewood high schools had to cancel their scheduled visits. Make-up visit dates are being scheduled.

While the sophomores visited the campus, ACJVS students had the opportunity to conduct job shadowing at companies that are involved in their lab field. ACJVS instructions coordinator, Brian Kimmel, said this gives students a tremendous opportunity to learn from someone employed in a job they may want to have some day.

“For example,” Kimmel said, “they would learn what the typical work day is like or what skills and education are needed, how much money they can earn or benefits that may be available. It is a way to help the students make an informed and educated decision about their future career choice.”

“The experience was awesome for both the student and I,” said Bob Addamic, owner of RWA Shipping in Mentor. “It was an “A-plus!”

“It was a good experience. I enjoyed having the student in my classroom,” said Sandy Olsen, a preschool teacher for the Ashtabula Family YMCA.

Students from the junior and senior classes conducted some spirited fund-raising events to help the needy in our community. The events included buying a link in a class spirit chain, a canned food drive, direct donations into class jars and a whipped cream pie-in-the-face auction. For the final item, students put an amount of money into a bid and whoever put in the largest bid got to throw a pie into a teacher or school administrator’s face.

Tiffanee Seames, who was in charge of a number of the activities, said the Spirit Links and pie-in-the-face auction raised $540. The canned food drive pulled in more than 7,000 cans.

The ACJVS staff and students would like to extend condolences to the family and friends of Melanie Moretti.