NEWMAN – Orestimba High School received the Stanislaus County Occupational Olympics’ top overall award for small schools in last week’s countywide competition held at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.

Twenty-two schools from within the county participated in the 23rd annual Occupational Olympics, annual, which promotes academic and occupational understanding in various career areas. Orestimba, one of nine schools in the small schools category, took home the top prize.

The competition provides the opportunity for students to test their mastery of skills and knowledge in a wide selection of trades including agriculture, business, home economics, industrial technology/engineering, arts, media and entertainment and health.

“It is a fabulous event that recognizes the achievements of students in the vocational areas,” commented Theresa Lerma, OHS Career and College Advisor. “We tend to forget about vocational training because schools tend to put more emphasis on getting students into four-year universities. While of course, we want students to go onto college, we also need to remember that we have a responsibility to train students in areas all of us could not exist without (construction, plumbing, welding, electrical work, automotive repair, etc.)”

Students compete on an individual basis. Each was allowed to enter two of the 23 competition events offered. Students placing in the top eight earned points accordingly for their school’s total. Top performances from Orestimba students in four events secured the win for their school.

Orestimba students excelled in the Portfolio and Job Interview events with one student, Carlee Sterling earning first-place awards in both.

Student entries were evaluated on organization, neatness, accuracy, appearance and writing proficiency throughout the required documents, which included a cover letter, resume, letters of recommendation and work samples.

First time Olympian Maria Navarro earned second place for her portfolio, and Christina Perry took home a third-place award for her work.

“I truly believe that the portfolio project is beneficial because it does make students aware just how much their future goals (going to college, getting a job, etc.) are tied to having effective communication skills; oral, verbal, and written,” Lerma noted.

Janet Ramirez, C.J. Bruce, Martha Alcantar, Wanki Ruiz, and Liliana Macedo each placed in the top eight for their portfolio entries and Devan Reardon placed in the top eight for Job Interview.

Taylor Meza, Jose Espinoza and Pablo Guzman each participated in the Automotive Technology event which included disassembling and reassembling brakes, identifying automotive parts, and battery testing among the skill areas scored. Meza received third place honors and Espinoza and Guzman each placed in the top eight out of the approximately 48 students competing.

A popular event among county students is the Co2 Pitsco Drag Racing competition, in which Ricardo Rodriguez represented Orestimba. Students crafted their own vehicles following strict guidelines prior to the event day, and were judged on design as well as their racing ability. Rodriguez placed in the top eight with his entry in the lightweight class.

Six students also competed in the floriculture event. Although not placing in the top eight, their teacher, Katy Hoag said she is very proud of how they performed. “Their scores on the corsages were very good and they demonstrated what they have learned in the classroom in the identification portion of the contest,” she reflected.

Hoag said the Occupational Olympics provides a valuable learning experience for students from across the county.

“Our county ROP does a great job with this event and we are appreciative that they value it and continue to host it, as it becomes more difficult with state testing and budgeting,” Hoag noted. “Contests like this help prepare students for the workplace and are very valuable. We thank our administration for recognizing the value of this learning experience by allowing our students and staff to participate.”