Academy Loses Beloved Teacher and Friend

Ingrid Boffi, Commercial Art Instructor for the Communications Academy, passed away August twelfth after a long battle with cancer. Ingrid started teaching Commercial Art at BOCES in September of 1984, and was instrumental in forming the Communications Academy in 1995. Her degree from the School of Visual Arts coupled with her lengthy experience as a commercial artist, allowed her to pass along a great deal of skill, as well as a love of art to her students.

Ingrid touched many lives during her tenure at BOCES. She was a very caring, friendly and talented teacher who became a favorite to many students. As a co-worker, she exhibited the same amount of kindness and good cheer. She will be greatly missed by all. A memorial scholarship will be set up in her name.

Ingrid is survived by her husband Bernie, their two sons Oliver and Andreas, her mother Dorothea Soltner, and sister Ute Soltner.

Senior Option - Four-Hour Program

Students enrolled at the Communications Academy have the option of attending for four hours a day to receive one credit for English 12, one credit for Social Studies 12 (Economics and Participation in Government), 1/2 credit for Physical Education, and 3 1/2 credits in their Occupational Trade. This is the fourth school year that the four-hour program has been in existence, having grown bigger every year. Seventeen students were enrolled in the program this past school year, and they attended school at the Tech Center from 8:00AM to 12:00PM, Monday through Friday. Many of these students were enrolled in a 3-credit College English course as well.

Recently, the class took a field trip to Turkey Mountain. They hiked to the top of the mountain and spent time reading, making journal entries, and shooting photos and video. This type of activity is one of the many unique ways that they are able to satisfy their Physical Education requirements.

Purdy Scholarship Shared by Two Students

Jean Purdy of Croton, the mother of a former Tech Center at Yorktown student, established a scholarship in his name and presented a check last November for $500 to both Nicole Caggiano from Carmel and Nikki Gouveia from Mahopac. Nicole was a TV student, while Nikki attended the Computer Graphics class. The two former students are both enrolled in college in their respective fields of study.

Mrs. Purdy established the Scott Purdy Memorial Scholarship for a promising, dedicated and talented student. Scott graduated from the Tech Center in 1975, went to college, and later secured a position in the video communications department at Morgan Stanley in New York City.

Jen Devery, who was the first recipient of this award, graduated in June of 2000, and is enrolled in Parsons School of Design; she is well on her way to becoming a fashion designer.

For the 2001 school year, the award was given to Jared Goldfeder, a former TV Production student from Carmel. Jared is currently working toward a degree in the television field.

Class Projects

The Communications Academy recently completed a Breakfast Cereal Project. Students from all three classes formed groups and acted as advertising agencies to come up with original breakfast cereal packaging and promotional items. Eight groups, consisting of six to seven students, each created a cereal package, actual print ads, video and radio commercials, and a fully developed strategy statement. Take a look at the great job they did.

You can also view the same project from five years ago.

Television Production

The Television Production students worked hard this school year, learning the various facets of the trade. Producing, directing, and editing were all learned through the completion of a variety of projects. For these assignments, all students use the Avid system to edit their final productions. Early in the year, students created a short video centering around a theme, where they incorporated music and photos. Second-year students then produced a short segment highlighting the Communications Academy, while first-year students worked on a stop-motion project. They created a short film using clay figures.

Although this course concentrates on the television industry and the production of professional programs, students had the opportunity to explore different areas such as film and radio. These students worked on projects that gave them a better understanding of this field of study, and a hands-on experience which reinforces their creative and technical abilities

For more information visit our T.V. Production Page.

Commercial Art

The Commercial Art students have been busy this past school year, completing various projects which will help them to build their portfolios. They started the year off with an illustration project in which they had a choice of many different mediums. Composition was explored through the 8-Parts Project in which students had to use 8 geometric shapes to create different arrangements. This project utilized various mediums such as pencil, ink, and gouache. Also, two observation drawings were completed by all Commercial Art students. These drawings are a very important part of the students' portfolios, because the art schools put a lot of emphasis on drawing skills. These drawings were completed using ebony, charcoal, and pastels. In addition, the students explored logo design and advertisement layout.

For more information visit our Commercial Art Page.

Computer Graphics

The Computer Graphics class has done quite a bit this past school year. The first-year students learned the three major graphics programs: Illustrator, Photoshop, and QuarkXPress. With these programs, the students created such things as CD covers, illustrations, self-portraits, and advertisements. In addition, they learned how to design web pages with Dreamweaver. Second-year students designed playing cards using original themes and symbols for suits, and learned a 3D animation program called Bryce 4, with which they designed surrealistic images and environments for a new video game. Lessons involving typography, color theory, and layout enabled all Computer Graphics students to successfully complete advertisements for the Cereal Project.

For more information visit our Computer Graphics Page.

Visiting Colleges

The most prestigious art schools in the area have paid visits to the Communications Academy. This is a very enriching experience for the students because they get the opportunity to speak to representatives from the schools, and find out valuable information such as costs, program information, and portfolio requirements. We have been visited by the School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design, The Westchester Business Institute, The Art Institute of Philadelphia,and Mercy College.