Sandy Ponticello, BOCES 2 Career and Technical Education instructional specialist, hopes that everything will be coming up roses for CTEs new class. Ponticello has been assisting in the development of a floral design course to begin next year. "I love flowers and I'm very excited about this new class," said Ponticello. "I think students with creative and artistic ability will enjoy it." Students had an opportunity to get some information on the new class offering recently as local florists Wendy Jones Rockcastle with Rockcastle Florist of Greece and Michael Miller with Kittelberger Florist of Webster came in to put on a student demonstration. The students learned floral arrangement and created floral baskets and corsages. Miller took the mystery out of arranging a dozen white roses by showing students "it comes down to simple mathematics" he said, as he arranged the flowers in various heights in a vase in a row of five roses, then four, then two, then one creating an artful arrangement. Miller said the professional community will welcome this class. "There are fewer and fewer places teaching horticulture, so it's important for students to take this at the high school level and go on to college and study," said Miller. "It's a profession we need to keep going. Flowers are important in our lives today." Joe Salemi, CTE executive principal, said the new class will meet a local need for entry level floral designers with theoretical and practical design training and experience. These courses have been offered in other regions with success, attracting a number of students. Gates Chili student Morgan Wheatley attended the floral design demonstration because she is researching courses at the BOCES 2 Career and Technical Education Center. "It's interesting what you can do with flowers," she said while building a corsage. "They're so colorful." The Floral Design class will add to CTE's course offerings for artistic students, and will provide students with an entry level understanding of the floral design industry. Students will learn the principals of the floral design industry from floral arranging to retail responsibilities. Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES offers thirty different courses and serves 1,200 students in nine school districts from: Brockport, Churchville-Chili, Gates Chili, Greece, Hilton, Holley, Kendall, Spencerport and Wheatland-Chili. March 12, 2006 |
