A good friend and an always-available resource for the shop, Officer Bloom and K9 Koda stopped by today for an introduction on tracking, recovery, safety, and some laughs. Although the students tried to sacrifice us for an attack demonstration, the questions were great and Koda enjoyed meeting the students. It was also a great opportunity for the students to learn about the Middletown Police Explorer program and other opportunities available to them outside of shop. Thank you Officer Bloom!!

CJPS Seniors had one of their most memorable classes thanks to Vinal Alum Aidan Neely. Aidan reached out to our program and invited the students in for a federally-sponsored Traffic Incident Management course for responders. Students learned all about highway and road safety and how responders can be doing better. The course was a springboard dive into a world that was just eye opening. The statistics on secondary crashes is staggering and the State's DOT Operations Center is specifically designed to make the roadways safer and help clear accidents quicker, reducing injuries/fatalities and improving commerce. Aidan and his team were amazing and the students were happy to see many of the things they have learned such as national incident management and even drones, had practical applications to making the roadways safer. The students were even able to control the traffic cameras around the state and watch the Vice Presidential motorcade live! Excellent few days that now seniors will be able to experience annually!

On Tuesday, 5/10/2022, a large brush fire began in Middletown and by Wednesday morning, the fire had grown to approximately 250 acres. CJPS Juniors grabbed the shop thermal imaging drone, contacted our shop partners, and left for some real-world learning. Students learned about the specialized equipment that wildland firefighters use, forest growth phases, controlled burn techniques, and even methods of division and containment. Students were able to see all of these in action and learn about many new careers available to them when they graduate.

Mr. L led quite a lively mock trial that included several unruly jurors, a witness that "flatlined" mid-testimony, and a ton of laughs. With the Honorable Judge Emma presiding, the case began with opening statements and evidence from a real case the students had to dissect prior while learning courtroom procedure. The prosecution and defense worked diligently and were very impressive. At one point, even the credibility of Mr. Cruickshank was called into question by the defense team (which led to everyone failing the assignment of course ha). Objections were made, witnesses and officers were interviewed; and even the accused took the stand. In the end, the accused was found guilty and a fair sentence was handed down. Without the students' knowledge, the real court came to a similar conclusion and a very similar sentence. Impressive work and lots of laughs!