The staff at ACE invites the public, ACE parents, alumni, and industry partners to its annual holiday open house tomorrow and Friday. This special event, both days from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school, is a showcase for students’ handcrafted work.

You can buy a gingerbread house at the ACE Academy Annual Holiday Open House tomorrow and Friday.

Christmas and toy items will be on sale, proceeds in support of ACE students and programs.

Custom designed gingerbread houses, hand finished mantles, magical toy trebuchets, and a robot challenge are examples of display items.

Posted online, a recap of the October 2011 edition of the Mid-county Memo  follows ….

At 15, Curtis Crawford joined the Knott Street Boxing Club; it changed his life forever. Crawford is a mixed martial arts fighter, youth boxing coach and a personal trainer at his gym, Curt’s Ultimate, in Gateway; he lives to fight.

Curtis Crawford, from left, with Curt's Ultimate Youth Boxing coaches Ray Monge and Joel Caldera. Crawford's gym, his mixed martial arts career and youth boxing program are featured on the Memo's front page this month.

East Portland Rep. Jefferson Smith throws his hat in the ring for Portland’s mayor.

The Oregon Building Congress board of directors to replace the recently retired Mike Taylor as director of the Academy for Architecture, Construction and Engineering has tapped Mike Bryant, an experienced educator with a student-centered approach.

Bryant has more than 10 years of teaching experience in career and technical education. He taught construction and business and computer applications at the high school level. At the college level, he spent several years working as a computer aided drafting instructor.

Mike Bryant, new director at east Portland's Academy of Architecture Construction and Engineering.

Mayor Sam Adams and Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith visited east Portland’s Academy for Architecture Construction and Engineering last month to learn more about the innovative public charter technical high school that draws from seven east county high schools — Parkrose, Reynolds, Centennial, Gresham, Barlow, Springwater Trail, and Sandy.

A wide-ranging conversation from construction industry representatives centered on why ACE’s industry partners are committed to the success of the design-build centric school and ways the mayor and Portland Public Schools can get more involved.

The July issue of the Memo was posted earlier this week.

This month’s feature stories include: a story by Heather Hill about the schism at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Parkrose; Lee Perlman reports on the progress of PAC, or the Gateway Regional Center Urban Renewal Area Program Advisory Committee; Perlman also reports on the wrapping up of the Portland International Airport’s Master Plan; finally, this month’s Perlman’s Potpourri, a beat reporter’s round-up of news and information in Mid-Multnomah County.

As always, the Memo Calendar, containing east Portland’s most comprehensive listing of community events.

Mel Sears, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon, presented the Academy for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) Academy with a donation of $2,500 recently.

The gift was made possible through the collaboration of local firms and ACEC Oregon. Participating firms included Parametrix, CH2M HILL, David Evans and Associates, and Petersen Structural Engineers.
 
“We are a part of the community and pleased to financially and professionally support young adults interested in pursuing engineering as a career,” said Mel Sears, Parametrix Executive Vice President, and ACEC Oregon President.

Recently, we received an e-mail from ACE Academy Director Michael Taylor, inviting us to their barbecue welcoming parents, staff and patrons and the all-new charter high school in east Portland inviting us to their barbecue welcoming students, parents, staff and patrons.
The Academy for Architecture, Construction & Engineering, or ACE Academy, is a public charter school combining technical and academic education for high school juniors and seniors.

Taylor’s note follows: