User talk:Owitvet

THE OWITVET EXPERIENCE

CERTIFICATION, November 27, 2010 “A Training for Life” that is our ultimate goal here at the Orange Walk ITVET and on Saturday, November 27, 2011, we once more proved that no dream is unattainable if we pursue it through hard work and dedication. As we celebrated our Fourth Certification Ceremony, we were graced with the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Honorable Gaspar Vega, the Minister of Education, The Honorable Patrick Faber, ETES Director, Ms. Margarita Gomez, many staff members of ETES and the Ministry of Education, our Board of Directors, our Manager, Mr. Armando J. Gomez, Fellow Colleagues and our families. It was truly a momentous occasion since we Institutionally Certified a total of 62 Trainees in both Pre-Vocational and Trade Programs and we BZNVQ Certified 12 Trainees in the Plumbing, Electrical, Automotive and Carpentry Trades. In addition, the Orange Walk ITVET took the time out to recognize the dedication of its staff by giving awards for Employee of the Year and Instructor of the Year. Our Fourth Certification Ceremony will definitely be remembered by our Trainees since both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Education delivered truly inspiring speeches in which they congratulated our Trainees, encouraged them to continue in their pursuit of technical and vocational education and publicly acknowledged the outstanding work of the Manager, Instructors and Support Staff of the Orange Walk ITVET. Go ORANGE WALK ITVET!!!!

STAFF EDUCATIONAL/RETREAT, December 3 - 4, 2010 As is the norm at our Orange Walk ITVET, hard work is always compensated with an opportunity to grow as professionals but also with an opportunity to have fun along with all our colleagues as one Orange Walk ITVET family. The entire staff of the Orange Walk ITVET was treated to a very memorable trip to the educational facilities of the Conalep located in Chetumal, Quintana Roo and to the Five Star Resort of Barceló located in Playa del Carmen. Our trip began at Conalep, Chetumal, where we were greeted by the Directors of this facility. They had a fun filled agenda for us in which we got to see how they ran their facility in both the academics aspect and office work. A lot of interaction was involved and we daresay we planted the seeds for a very fruitful friendship in the years to come. We were also given a tour of their spacious and well-equipped facilities. We left having learnt much from them and we left knowing that this is the first of many visits to come. Our trip continued and we then left en route to Barceló. Barceló is definitely an experience that we will remember for many years to come. It was a great chance for our colleagues to have fun together since there were many sights to see and enjoy. There were cultural events held for us to take pleasure in and of course we all took in as much sun as we could handle. We are all definitely looking forward to our next trip since these trips unquestionably broadens our minds and solidifies the bond and camaraderie that exists at the Orange Walk ITVET.

COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY, February18, 2011 At the Orange Walk ITVET, it is vital to us to take an active interest in our community since the Orange Walk ITVET’s success is greatly due to the ongoing support of its community. With this always at the forefront of our minds, the Orange Walk ITVET adopted the Otro Benque Park located in Orange Walk Town as a form of giving back to our community and showing how proud we feel to be a part of it. It is important to us to instill in our Trainees a sense of pride and appreciation for being Belizeans. The Orange Walk ITVET family set out to Otro Benque Park at 8:00am on this beautiful Friday and as always we went prepared to work and to give it our all. Our Trainees and Staff had already been divided into teams so that we could work on rejuvenating all aspects of the park. We had teams painting the stones with the proud colors of the Orange Walk ITVET, yellow, blue and orange. Some were revamping the basketball courts, others the see-saws and the swings, the park benches and some were even installing a new playhouse and slide for the children to play. It was a day filled with work but a day filled with a sense of accomplishment since we gave back to our very own community. In addition, the Orange Walk ITVET, as always, recognized that hard work has its just rewards as both the Trainees and the Staff was treated to a delicious lunch, which they all sat and ate together as one family. At the end of the day, the Orange Walk ITVET accomplished what they had set out to do proving once more that we can perform at our best since team work definitely means success.

DINNER DANCE FUNDRAISER, February 2011 The Orange Walk ITVET held its first dinner/dance fundraiser at the Orange Walk ITVET campus. It was a grand event filled with food, music, fun and laughter. We had cultural presentations and those in attendance had a really great time. As always, the whole ITVET Family was in attendance along with their families. Added to this, we had the participation of Trainees who assisted with security and ushering duties. While we had much fun, the purpose of this occasion was to fund-raise money in order to complete our much needed classrooms which will be located in our Mechanical Building. The estimated profit was $5,000.00 and we are delighted to know that we have been able to meet our target since the classrooms are necessary for our Trainees to work more comfortable and contented. Once more we recognize that this success would not have been possible without the support of our Trainees, Parents/Guardians, and the community who really did go above and beyond to ensure that this wonderful affair was a major accomplishment for the history books of the Orange Walk ITVET!!!!

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS VISIT, March 12-17, 2011 On March 12, 2011, the Orange Walk ITVET held its first exchange program with the University of Texas. 19 students of this prestigious university arrived along with the Director of their program. This was an effort in conjunction with Peace Work Belize who had two of their members present with us also. 29 of our very own Trainees from the various Trades, namely, Automotive, Electrical, A/C, Carpentry, Masonry, Plumbing, Welding and Computer Service and Repairs, participated in this exchange. All the students were very excited since during this week long exchange, they would be learning the skills necessary to become young entrepreneurs of tomorrow. All of this hard work culminated with a final presentation of the different groups’ business plans. Members of Youth Belize Trust attended this final presentation so as to decide which team would receive a loan upon the completion of their education here with us at the Orange Walk ITVET. This loan would be used as a step forward in order to become entrepreneurs in their field of study. All the Trainees gave very good presentations but at the end 3 A/C Level 2Trainees won, that is, Giancarlo Mendez, Misael Dominguez and Orlando Gentle. However, all the Trainees received a much deserved recognition and certificate for their dedication and determination to give very good presentations. We know that this exchange is the first of many to come in the near future as the University of Texas did discuss their plans to make this exchange a yearly event.

EXPO AND TRADE FAIR, March 25, 2011 The Orange Walk ITVET held its 4th Expo and Trade Fair on March 25, 2011. In attendance, we had many from the staff of the Ministry of Education and ETES. We also had the visit of the Stann Creek ITVET, Belize ITVET and the Corozal ITVET. Present also were many other schools, our community and parents and guardians of our Trainees. We can proudly boast that we had more than a thousand people coming to see the hard work of our Trainees in all Trade Subjects and Support Subjects. Throughout the day, every hour, the Orange Walk ITVET gave out many prizes to its visitors as we had issued out tickets to all since we wanted everyone to have equal opportunity to win Orange Walk ITVET goodies. We had food and pastries on sale along with soft drinks. However, the highlight of the day and the stars of the show were the Trainees of the Orange Walk ITVET as they had many projects on display. Judges from all over Orange Walk and Corozal were invited to come and grade the presentations so that at the end of the day we could award the best. For the Trades, first and second place was awarded to Welding 1 and A/C and Refrigeration 1 respectively. For the Support Subjects, first and second place was won by Mathematics and IT respectively. For Pre-Vocational, first and second place went to Pre-Vocational 2 and Pre-Vocational 1. We take this opportunity to congratulate all the winning classes and we also want to thank the Stann Creek ITVET who gave us a very good presentation filled with music and dance. It was truly a great and unforgettable day.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMPETITION, March 28, 2011 Four Trainees of the Orange Walk ITVET participated for the first time in the Health and Wellness Competition held by the Belize Family Life Association. The Trainees who participated are Eliezer Baeza, Geovanni Manzanares, Ariel Medina and Abner Cawich and they were all from the Pre-Vocational program. The competition is being held for all secondary schools in the Orange Walk community. The schools are to accumulate points through question and answer and also in games in which the students participate. The school that gains the most points will receive both recognition and an award at the end of the school year. It was a fun-filled competition as the Belize Family Life Association brought their own mascot who served to “hype-up” the crowd. Other Trainees from our Orange Walk ITVET were allowed to participate in different activities in order to further gain points for their fellow Trainees who were participants in the competition. Students participated in a game and in a dance. All in all, the Trainees had much fun participating in the activities and the other had fun supporting their classmates. The Orange Walk ITVET applauds its Trainees for giving it their all and we are crossing our fingers and wish them luck at the end of the year!!!!!

ORANGE WALK ITVET WEB PAGE, Present date The Orange Walk ITVET is currently launching its web page for the first time ever. Our web page will feature information on all programs offered including the content of the modules of the curriculum. The web page will also highlight everything pertaining trainee life which includes daily schedules, BZNVQ timetables, sports, community service and student government, and much more. We will also have a yellow page section which shows advertisements of businesses owned by past Orange Walk ITVET Trainees. This web page definitely will make life much easier for people who wish to become part of the Orange Walk ITVET as it will have online applications and it will offer the online OWITVET Trainee Handbook so that parents and guardians can readily have an insight into the rules and regulations governing Trainee’s Life at our prestigious institution. We will also have available the online contact information for Instructors so that parents/guardians and Trainees can keep in touch at any time. The Orange Walk ITVET web page will bring international exposure to our school and our number one priority is for Trainees to have access to their school at the touch of a button. In addition to this, the web page will serve to market our school and thus increase our intake. Lastly, our web page is a big step forward and will continue to prove why we are considered to be number one in technical and vocational education.