Hello my name is Matthew Paradise and I’m a senior at Tech Valley High school

My home district, Ichabod Crane, is a good school but I was looking for something different – something that would grab my interest and prepare me for my future.

The Tech Valley came along and opened my eyes to a real 21^st century

(Introduce slide show: “Tech Valley and Me…”)

My experience at Tech Valley so far is unlike anything I have ever expected it would be

Here are some highlights of both my personal experiences and the experiences that I’ve shared with my fellow classmates

(Slide: Future Tools)

At this school unlike any other I have the freedom to use machines I never even knew existed and probably wouldn’t know existed because these type of tools aren’t really available to use in traditional schools

The 2 machines that I learned how to use was a CNC machine and a 3D Printer

When I First saw this blue and silver machine in our EYP Fab lab I didn’t know what the heck it was, So I asked my art teacher what is was and I found out it was….

(Slide: CNC machine)

A CNC machine 

When I first learned just what this Machine could do and what it was capable of it immediately sparked my interest and I wanted to use it

I asked when I would be able to and he said we will do an art project involving it

So I finished my first project very early like I was the first one done with that project and I immediately jumped on learning the CNC modeling software (part works V2.5) and building software (Shotbot)

And with little instruction from my art teacher I basically played around with the software and I can know use the CNC as well or better than him

(Slide: 3D Printer)

When we first got the 3D printer I just thought it was a cheap white box

But later I found out that white box cost 20,000 dollars and was a 3D modeling beast

I asked Ms Weldon (the teacher trained on how to use it) to teach me how it works 

And she put the manual in front of me and said we gotta learn together because I completely forgot, and what happened was instead of her teacher me I taught her, myself just learning by playing around with the software (which is solidworks to design the model and Soildo to actually bring it to life)

(Slide: 9th grade project) 

Unlike traditional schools - this school has opened my eyes and the eyes of other students to 21st century learning like teamwork and tools like the ones you just saw

(Picture of students working on 3d printer in SPLIT class). 

The 9th grade SPLIT (Geometry and ELA) student teams were asked to create a new innovative packaging design for either the classic LEGO bricks or the standard Tempo tissue box.  Their digital designs, package prototypes and display boards will show a strategic combination of volume and surface area calculation, packaging material choice and consumer/marketing research to produce innovative solutions to current packaging challenges.   Students will produce a scale model of their packaging design using the 3D printer.

 (Slide with giving props to Linda Cody Joe and Siena)

This school allows the students to grow and realize their full potential, it allows you to be all you can be and be who you are

It gets you out of your shell and showspeople and the school who you want to be not who you have to be

(Gives props to Cody Linda and Joe)

(Slide Technology)

In this school unlike any other there is a high use of technology

In traditional school you get a text book that’s older than your principal and holds limited knowledge

At TVHS we have access to computers and access to a much wider spectrum of knowledge because the technology is in the hands of both the students and teachers.

(Final slide)

So all in all my experience at TVHS was very eventful and was unlike anything I could imagine, and though there were some ups and downs it was worth it to be able to be a part this amazing school, and its 21^st century learning environment

Thank you