NORWICH – The Norwich City School District’s Board of Education received a visit from a small group of BOCES students at its regular meeting Monday night, as well as reports from Stanford Gibson Principal Dara Lewis and Deputy Superintendent Rob Wightman.

All three presentations are part of the board’s continued focus on student life, academics and finances as the 2011-2012 school year nears its midway point.

The group of Norwich High School juniors and seniors – all members of BOCES’ New Visions and Career and Technical Education programs – shared their thoughts on the vital role both programs play in their individual educational experiences.

New Visions students Laura Bell Zagada and Natasha Brower, both seniors at NHS, are currently enrolled in BOCES’ Allied Health program. The ten-week program, said Zagada, offers them an opportunity to “get a feel for how to present ourselves when shadowing at Chenango Memorial Hospital” and both have “learned a lot about interacting with patients in a respectful, professional manner.”

According to Brower, participating in actual rotations at the hospital has helped her to gain experience she couldn’t get in the classroom alone. The four day per week rotations, she added, include stints in the hospital’s emergency room, oncology, pediatric, respiratory and occupational therapy, orthopedic, physical therapy and cardiology units, as well as others.

Both called the hands-on experience an extraordinary opportunity to mix with patients and work with actual hospital staff.