• Flu clinics reduce school absenteeism
• Crafting a fund-raiser
• Schools partner for profitable, annual car show
• A double benefit to fixing bicycles
• Bowling for local Boys/Girls Clubs

Certified nurse assisting students at Worcester Career and Technology Center in Newark, Md., worked with state and local health departments at flu clinics in five elementary schools.

The SkillsUSA chapter, organized by students Malena Hayes, Heather Hicks and My’kia Bailey, observed the flu clinic process and comforted the elementary students during the immunizations.

After a total of 880 Flu Mist vaccines were administered, end-of-year school health reports showed absenteeism due to flu-like symptoms dropped 13 percent.

Students also conducted mini-lessons on coughing etiquette and hand washing. As a result, all students must now wash their hands before lunch, and hand sanitizers have been installed.

The SkillsUSA chapter at the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center in Medina, N.Y., hosts an annual craft show as a fund-raiser. In addition to selling exhibit space to vendors from across the state, students make projects to sell at the event, held at the school.

Cosmetology students put together projects including gift baskets and offer salon services, according to instructor Sue Lindke (on the left in photo).

The SkillsUSA chapters at two Stafford, Va., county schools held their first car show in March. The partnership was such a success that the advisors from both schools have decided to make it an annual event.

Sixty-seven cars, trucks and motorcycles gathered at North Stafford High School, representing more than eight decades of automotive design (1923-2006). More than 175 people attended, and 22 local merchants sponsored or donated prizes.

Students from North Stafford as well as from Stafford High School, with support from their advisors and parents, staged the entire event.

Displays ranged from a Chevy Monte Carlo SS Busch Series race car, provided by the county sheriff’s department, to racers from the Fredericksburg (Va.) Regional Soap Box Derby. An Xtreme Motorsports business demonstrated the power of its 1,800-horsepower 1969 Chevy Nova dragster.

Law enforcement and rescue agencies donated their time and skills. The Stafford sheriff’s K-9 unit held a demonstration, and a police motorcycle unit from nearby Fairfax County conducted a series of precision riding drills. Spotsylvania County Emergency Medical Services displayed an ambulance.

The SkillsUSA chapters also focused on community outreach and family fun, with face painting for younger kids. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program provided child identification information and safety-themed coloring books. A local couple provided soap box derby cars — painted by North Stafford’s collision repair technology classes — that kids were allowed to run in mock races.

The show was an opportunity to demonstrate students’ skills, too.

Awards were created by North Stafford’s graphic imaging classes the day of the show. Each winning plaque featured the SkillsUSA logo, show name, date and digital photo of the winner’s vehicle. Stafford High’s SkillsUSA treasurer, Tyler Underwood, presented the awards in his official SkillsUSA attire.

Drafting students from both high schools displayed 29 custom automotive wheel designs they created using 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) software. Attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite.

The SkillsUSA chapter at Central High School in Cheyenne, Wyo., salvaged 60 bicycles in a four-month project for the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless. Once a month on Saturdays, students took working parts from donated bicycles and created usable bikes.

A surprise benefit of the project, according to chapter member Jon Schlotthauer, was that students learned how to communicate better. As for the homeless, “They have their transportation and know that people in the community care about them,” he says.