<b>TCL will host Aviation Showcase July 28</b>

The Technical College of the Lowcountry is hosting an Aviation Showcase at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the TCL Beaufort Campus.

Visitors will get up-close access to TCL’s aviation lab and equipment, including a Cessna 150. In addition, current students will invite visitors to participate in hands-on demonstrations of VHF radio communications, a turbine engine borescope, aluminum rivet station and more.

Refreshments will be provided.

“This is a great opportunity for people of all ages to see what a career in aviation might look like,” said Sean Henrickson, TCL’s director for Military Education. “Plus, it will also allow students in the Airframes and Powerplants program to showcase the variety of skills they’ve learned and mastered.”

TCL’s current Aviation Professional Programs include aviation maintenance and a commercial radio licensing prep course. Future offerings will include structures and composite courses.

For more information, call 843-525-9369.

<b>Back-to-School Expo to be held in Bluffton</b>

The second Back-to-School Expo will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at Bluffton High School.

The school district teams up with government agencies and private-sector business partners for the expo events, which are designed to give students and their families a day of fun and useful information about the upcoming 2016-17 school year.

An expo was recently held at Whale Branch Early College High School.

Participating business partners include Hargray, Walgreen’s, Walmart and Sodexo. The Bluffton High expo will feature:
<ul>
	<li>Booths operated by district schools that can supply information about school activities.</li>
	<li>Free school supplies for students, courtesy of Walmart, Walgreen’s and the district’s “Pack the Bus” campaign.</li>
	<li>Free dental and health screenings for adults and children, including free HIV testing, by Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services and Beaufort Memorial Hospital.</li>
	<li>Help with school registration and school lunch applications.</li>
</ul>
<b>Local students named </b><b>to Dean’s List</b>

The following students were recently named to the University of South Carolina Upstate Dean's List: Aqeela Aiken, Jaquille Mosley and Terryann Tracey, all of Bluffton; and Janell Berks, Monique Bing, Jordan Fields, Kyrrah Singleton, Sarah Wilson and Chelsea Witter, all of Beaufort.

To be eligible for the Dean's List, freshmen students must earn a 3.25 or higher and be enrolled in at least 12 course hours and upperclassmen must earn a 3.5 or higher and be enrolled in at least 12 course hours.

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<b>TCL re-accredited for massage program</b>

The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) recently renewed its accreditation of the Technical College of the Lowcountry Massage Therapy certificate program through the year 2023. TCL has the only COMTA-accredited Massage Therapy program in the state of South Carolina and was awarded the maximum seven years renewal.

In addition, Program Director Denise Van Nostran has been appointed to a four-year term as COMTA commissioner, a member of the panel responsible for evaluating accreditation applications from massage therapy programs across the nation.

“Because of COMTA accreditation and the success rates of our graduates, students have relocated to our area to participate in the TCL Massage Therapy program,” Van Nostran said.

Over the past 10 years, the TCL Massage Therapy program has graduated 90 students. In the last five years, 100 percent of the program graduates have passed the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam and obtained licensure.

The three-semester certificate program includes 31 credits (750 hours) of in-class instruction and hands-on clinical practice in TCL’s lab and in partner sites across the Lowcountry.

For more information, visit www.tcl.edu/massage.

<b>Jack Kiessling </b><b>graduates from RIT</b>

Rochester Institute of Technology celebrated its 131st Academic Convocation in May. Diplomas were distributed to graduates following the event at separate ceremonies held by each of RIT's nine colleges and two academic centers.

Jack Kiessling of Beaufort received a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering technology from RIT's College of Applied Science and Technology.

<b>County students </b><b>can enroll online</b>

The Beaufort County School District’s online student registration system for the 2016-17 academic year is open for business.

“The thing we continue to hear from parents is that they appreciate being able to register from home and not having to come to their children’s schools to fill out paper forms,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “Our schools like it because they reduce the paperwork associated with back-to-school registration.”

Using PowerSchool Registration (previously known as InfoSnap), parents can access customized online forms for each student to update student information, provide emergency contact and vital medical information, read and agree to important notifications and sign up for special school services.

As an added bonus, parents with more than one child in district schools can copy many basic registration materials rather than filling out separate forms for each child.

Parents receive a unique “Snapcode” for each child enrolled in a district school. Snapcodes are being sent by e-mail to the families of nearly 17,500 students with registered e-mail accounts.

Parents log into the PowerSchool Registration site using the link provided in the e-mail or letter and create an account similar to what they currently do in the district’s “Parent Portal” system.  Parents must complete all of the information required before submitting the form, but uncompleted work can be saved and accessed later by logging back into their account. Once the form is submitted, parents will be asked if there is another student to register. Information that is applicable can be copied from the first child’s form to the second child’s.

Parents who don’t have e-mail accounts, who face language barriers or need assistance can register at their children’s current or future schools.  District schools have multiple computers dedicated to PowerSchool Registration, and parents can sit down with school personnel to complete their children’s registrations.

Parents will still be required to provide proof of residence, either in person at their children’s schools or by submitting the necessary forms by mail.  There’s also a third option for parents because proof of residency forms may now be uploaded using PowerSchool Registration.

If a student is new to the school district, the parents will also need to visit the school first to obtain their “Snapcode.”

Parents are encouraged to complete registrations before the beginning of the school year.