Matching skills with over 2,000 of their counterparts from across the state, business students from Westwood High School participated in the 32nd Annual State Leadership Conference of the Michigan Association of Business Professionals of America. The conference, themed, "Launching Your Legacy," saw students not only competing in demonstrations of their business technology skills but also attending workshops designed to aid in professional development and working hand-in-hand with an American Cancer Society service project.

The top seven in each event are recognized during the awards session. Eighteen Westwood students were finalist in State competition, with eight of those students qualifying for national competiton to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, from April 28-May 2. Those students who qualified for nationals are:

JENNIFER BENZIE
1st Administrative Support Team
5th Advanced Office Systems & Procedures

RACHEL BERTUCCI
1st Administrative Support Team

ISAAC DELONGCHAMP
4th Entrepreneurship
Bronze Award - Management/Marketing/Human Resources

KELLY ISOTALO
1st Administrative Support Team
7th Database Applications

ANDY MANTY
4th Digital Media Production

BEN ORDIWAY
3rd Economic Research Project Individual
Bronze Award - Administrative Support
Bronze Award - Management/Marketing/Human Resources

STEFFANIE PEPIN
1st Basic Office Systems & Procedures
5th Fundamental Word Processing Skills

MARY JEANNE RAJALA
2nd Advanced Office Systems & Procedures

WESTWOOD BUSINESS DEPARTMENT CERTIFIES STUDENTS IN MICROSOFT APPLICATIONS

Westwood's Business Department is registered as a testing center for Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint, and Outlook), and as of March 12, 2004, 24 students have become certified in a variety of applications.

Westwood's most recent Microsoft Office Specialists are:

Dawn Baldini - PowerPoint 2002
Katie Currie - Excel 2002
James Scott - Word 2002

VISIT US ON THE WEB

http://www.westwoodbusiness.org

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA

We are pleased to announce that we have combined two courses, Business Computer Appplications and Multimedia, into a one-year, one credit course. This has been done to provide students with an opportunity to learn the advanced functions of word processing, spreadsheet applications, desktop publishing, and graphic design. Students will develop skills and manipulate images using Adobe Photoshop and will be introduced to creating multimedia projects. Students will learn to manipulate a variety of multimedia elements including sound, text, video, and graphics in development of multimedia presentations. Digital cameras and scanners will be used to produce multimedia projects. This course is a prerequisite for all higher-level business courses beginning 2005-2006.

STUDENT TEACHER

There has been a new face around Westwood's Business Department. Ms. Katri LaPointe is completing her education as student teacher at Westwood High School this semester. Ms. LaPointe is originally from Houghton, but has enjoyed living in Marquette over the past five years. She will graduate from NMU this May with a major in Business Education. She enjoys sports and outdoor activities including backpacking, camping, and snowshoeing.

COOPERATIVE EDUCATION

The cooperative Education Program (Co-Op) was designed to combine the student's school program with on-the-job training. Students have the opportunity to enrich their high school experience and receive credit for both work-related classes at school and paid on-the-job performance. Additionally, employers must fill out quarterly evaluation forms, which are used to determine student's grades.

Cooperative Education provides:

• Job related instruction in school
• Career-related job placements
• Placement in jobs with higher levels of responsibility
• Jobs that offer formal on-the-job training
• Assistance for students in making career decisions

The program is designed for juniors and seniors who wish to work in a Co-op position during 7th period each school day or after school. Students must be enrollled in another business class during each semester of the Co-op Work Experience. Students enrolled must be available for work at the end of the school day. Co-op students must have parental permission to travel to and from the participating business.

MARKETING STUDENTS TAKE ON COMMUNITY PROJECTS

This year's marketing students had the opportunity to work on a service project for the Cliffs Shaft Mining Museum. Carl Honkala used his marketing and technological skills to create a brochure advertising the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum. It incorporated information, historical photos, and maps to provide visitors valuable information about the museum.

In addition, Matt Cody, Brandon DeCremer, Ryan Lofaro, and Eric Sibley created and built kiosks for the various items displayed outside the museum. Each kiosk contained a picture and a writeup for the displayed item.

Marc Maki and Larry Annala have produced a MONEY SAVER CARD. The cards are availiable for $5 from any Marketing student or at the High School Office.

The marketing students are also currently working with the Lake Superior Community Partnership on marketing activities for Finn Fest.