Last week, January 16th-19th, Palisade High School participated in Individual Career and Academic Plan Week, or ICAP week, which prepares each grade level for their future outside of high school. 

On Friday, January 19th the Freshman class participated in a career fair here at Palisade, to learn about future careers they may be interested in doing. Guest speakers from different careers around the valley came to present their careers and the different aspects in short 30-minute increments. There were five sessions, during the morning, and in the afternoon classes proceeded as normal. The Sophomores went to the Colorado Mesa University Tech Program for their career day and were introduced to their various classes such as culinary, business, veterinarian, and nursing. The Pre-Diploma Program Sophomores stayed at Palisade and participated in the same career fair as the Freshman. The Juniors were sent to various classrooms to practice for their upcoming SAT season in April. The practice was through the website Khan Academy and included a practice test, calculator, and number two pencil and all. The Seniors were given the hardest task, enjoying their morning off.  

Elizabeth Chaney, a math teacher here at Palisade had a few opinions on ICAP Week. Mrs. Chaney has been teaching for three years and teaches Algebra I and II, and AP-Pre Calculus. “I liked the longer blocks during the week, it was nice to have an extended lesson,” Mrs. Chaney states, “However, I think we had scheduled too much time for it, and I would have rather shifted it from the morning to the afternoon.” There was a small gap between when the career lessons ended and when lunch started, giving an extra long lunch before moving on to the rest of the typically scheduled classes. “I felt bad for Juniors coming back to classes and having to do something academic after taking an SAT.”

Jonathan Vazquez a Junior at Palisade took the practice test last week. “I think for some people it could have been beneficial, it was set up the way an SAT would normally go.” Students would go to a room, open their Chromebooks, and begin the test. “The schedule of the week was really nice for me, and I was able to take advantage of my release period to study for the test.”

Thank you to all of our guest speakers for coming in to assist our rising students in choosing a career for their future, and thank you to all students for participating and preparing.