world languages week 2026

From March 2-6, 2026, the ACE Center at Highland Springs and schools and organizations across the nation celebrated National Foreign Languages Week which originated in 1957! Students had the opportunity to answer Challenge Questions as we observed and celebrated the benefits of learning and using different languages to enrich our ways of thinking, our ways of understanding others, and by acknowledging the employment and salary opportunities that can come with knowing another language or several languages!

ARCHIVED WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

Exploring the possibilities

Criminal Justice students learning about Air Force opportunities and expriences with a recent visit from recruiters. They got to try on tactical gear, too!

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From Hardware to Software

After spending time exploring the inner workings of computer hardware, first year students are now shifting their focus to the world of software. They are beginning to learn about the many operating systems that power modern computers, from those used on personal devices to systems that run servers and large networks. Along the way, students are discovering how operating systems manage hardware resources and allow programs to run smoothly. This transition highlights an important concept in computing: hardware and software rely on each other to make a computer function. Together, they form the foundation that allows technology to work the way we expect every day.

Get Me Out of the SWAMP!

GIS/Drone students are finishing a three-week project concerning mapping techniques. The "Get Me Out Of The Swamp" project challenges students to select a location within the US. They must then locate Fast Food and Grocery Stores within their region. Then analysis whether they are in a Food Desert or Food Swamp !

Systems and Centroids

HTA students used some simple physics knowledge to find the center of mass of one and two dimensional systems. They put one or more masses in a one or two dimensional system and used moments to calculate the location another mass would need to be in so that the system balanced. We then took that knowledge and applied it to whole surfaces bound by functions to find the center of mass of those "planar lamina".

VIRGINIA KINDNESS WEEK

National Black history MONTH & cte month

Our ACE Center at Highland Springs Family observed Virginia Kindness Week from February 9-13. Students had the opportunity to complete a Virginia Department of Education Kindness Challenge Board and to participate in the ACE Center Kindness Spirit Week developed by our Educator’s Rising students in the Early Childhood Education program and Mrs. Por and Ms. Briggs, program instructors! This month, we are also celebrating National Black History Month and Career and Technical Education Month. Students will have the opportunity to answer trivia questions about Black History and Career and Technical Education.

Mock Trials

Criminal Justice students have been learning about the justice system and conducting a trial. They recently conducted Mock Trials to practice various aspects of a trial.

Skills on Display

Our students recently showcased their technical talents at the Career Rodeo Skills Challenge, where they competed and demonstrated hands-on skills in computer hardware, software troubleshooting, networking, and wireless network security. It was inspiring to see them apply classroom learning in real-world scenarios with confidence and precision.

Students collaborated, solved problems under pressure, and impressed judges with their knowledge and professionalism. The event highlighted not only their technical proficiency but also their passion for technology and readiness for future careers. We’re incredibly proud of all our students for representing our program with excellence!

Promo: GIS and Drones

Our drones class has been working on how to make promotional content for a customer. While still in the beginning stages, students got a great first hand experience with what it takes to highlight their chosen subject with feedback from Ms. McGhee on their work with our trades programs.

On the GIS side, students have also dipped their toes in the world of package routing and completed a challenge to deliver as many packages as they can in 6 hours from up to 36 sites.

ENGINEERING THE PERFECT LANDING

HTA students are currently applying the engineering design process through an egg drop challenge with strict design constraints. With limitations on materials—such as no Styrofoam or packing materials—students must think critically as they plan, design, test, and refine their devices. The challenge highlights creative problem-solving, thoughtful use of resources, and learning from failure, all of which mirror real-world engineering practice.

NATIONAL INLCUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK 2025

Even an early December snowfall did not stop us from our annual celebration of National Inclusive Schools Week! Students had the opportunity to participate in classroom activities and to paint a rock for our ACE Center Inclusive Rock Garden! Day 1 students painted their names on rocks and Day 2 students painted words of encouragement and words to inspire others on their rocks! The ACE Center at Highland Springs is an inclusive school!

Inspiring the Future!

Criminal Justice students taught future elementary students how to conduct fingerprinting during visits this past month. We also are wrapping up our unit on Juvenile Justice and moving to Drugs in Law Enforcement this week.

Designing the Future:

Student Network Architects at ACE

Our second-year cybersecurity students took on an exciting real-world challenge: designing a functional network for the upcoming second-floor construction at the Hermitage ACE Center.

Armed with blueprints, creativity, and a healthy dose of teamwork, they mapped out everything from switch placement to cable runs like true industry pros. What started as a classroom assignment quickly turned into a professional-level planning session, complete with debates, redesigns, and “aha!” moments.

Students had to consider reliability, scalability, and security—just like actual network engineers. By the end, their designs weren’t just impressive; they were presentation-ready concepts that could exist in a real facility. Watching the class bring technical skill and imagination together was a reminder of just how big their futures in tech can be.

GIS & Drones

As we are getting close to wrapping up for the calendar year, students are putting their accumulated skills to the test. We are learning and practicing our airport operations skills while starting a project focused on the large amount of packages being delivered around the country.

Working with Ms. Harrison, we develeped strategies on how to integrate our skills into the real world right now through products and services.

Exploring CAD with Onshape

In High Tech Academy, our first-year Engineering students have been learning to use Onshape, a cloud-based CAD (Computer-Aided Design) platform used by professional engineers and designers. Through a series of hands-on lessons, students are exploring 3D modeling tools, creating precise sketches, and developing parts and assemblies that mirror real-world engineering applications. This experience builds their spatial reasoning, design thinking, and technical communication skills—all essential foundations for future projects in engineering and manufacturing.

NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

From October 1 -15, 2025 our ACE Center at Highland Springs Family celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month! Local and national resources were shared with teachers and students!

Flag image from: https://www.virginia.gov/hispanic-heritage-month/

NATIONAL INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK 2025

Mock Interviews: Confidence in Dressing for Success

Our cybersecurity students recently participated in the annual Mock Interview event, where they had the chance to practice real-world interview skills with local business professionals. Each student came dressed in professional attire, demonstrating not only respect for the process but also their commitment to future career success.

Interviewers praised the class for their preparation, professionalism, and ability to communicate confidently under pressure. Many students expressed how the experience helped them understand what employers look for and how to make a strong first impression.

This event wasn’t just about practice—it was about building confidence, showcasing talent, and taking one more step toward becoming job-ready professionals.

Autonomous Flight & Presenting Skills

Students have been working hard to assemble and navigate an obstacle course for our drones class. Their flight skills are coming along quite nicely!

We have recently explored setting up autonomous flight plans for our drones, leaning more into the planning side of drone flights. Students are assigned weekly roles to get all aspects of a flight day set up.

In GIS news, students are finding the value in a well formatted presentation for their maps and data.

Mousetrap Cars, TAKE 2!

At High Tech Academy, students take on hands-on projects like this across multiple programs, challenging themselves to think critically, collaborate, and apply real-world problem-solving skills.

Last year, High Tech Academy students built their first mousetrap cars from a kit, but this time the training wheels are off! Students only got a mousetrap and a few wheel choices—everything else is up to their creativity and engineering skills. From sketching ideas to cutting, assembling, and testing, they’re figuring out how to make their cars go the distance.

These pictures show the teams in action, building, problem-solving, and bringing their designs to life. It’s all about experimenting, trying new approaches, and seeing which designs can go the farthest!

WELCOME!

YOU BELONG AT THE ACE CENTER AT HIGHLAND SPRINGS! The ACE Center at Highland Springs was delighted to welcome back our second year students and to welcome our first year students for the first time to our ACE Center at Highland Springs Family! In the first days of school teachers engaged students in activities to get to know each other and to foster a sense of belonging as they began learning about their future professions! We all belong at the ACE Center at Highland Springs!

collecting evidence

Students in criminal justice are learning how to collect fingerprints, imprints, and impressions. They have all done a great job in collecting and preserving this most valuable of forensic evidence.

Building Network Audit

This week in Cybersecurity, students stepped into the role of network analysts. They explored the building’s technology setup, identified connected devices, and evaluated how everything communicated.

By auditing the environment, they uncovered potential vulnerabilities while practicing real-world investigative skills. To tie it all together, students created detailed network diagrams that mapped out the structure clearly and visually.

These activities helped bridge classroom knowledge with hands-on problem-solving in today’s digital world.

Up, up, and away! a GREAT START TO A NEW PROGRAM

GIS and Drones has had an explosive start by raising our enrollment 400% in the first two weeks of school! As things began to settle, students took to the air with paper airplanes during a lesson on forces of flight. Through trial and error and tweaking their designs, students competed to see who could fly the farthest while explaining their changes in terms of the forces of flight. In addition to paper, students have also taken to the sky with hands-on experience with our drones, taking the first steps to becoming master sUAS pilots.

Building Connections, One card at a time

High Tech Academy Engineering students kicked off the year with a hands-on team-building challenge! Students worked in small groups to discover what they had in common, writing their connections on notecards. The catch? Those same notecards became their only building materials for a tower challenge. The activity sparked plenty of collaboration, creativity, and laughter—setting the tone for a year of problem-solving and teamwork in engineering.

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