By Thereasa Rasmussen
This fall Weiser High students in Mr. Bernie Weldon’s Business Technology class focused on getting MOS certified in Word and then students who had passed their Word exam were able to pursue getting certified in PowerPoint. This fall semester twenty-seven students passed the MOS Word certification and ten passed the PowerPoint certification.
Weldon shared that this semester was especially impressive with many students passing with a score above 900. The total points possible is 1,000. One of those students was Jacob Verplanck. VerPlanck not only was the first WHS student to pass the expert version of Word MOS, he has the highest score in Idaho for Microsoft Powerpoint, making him the Idaho State Champion! With this recognition VerPlanck was selected to compete in the upcoming Certiport’s 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship in Orlando, Florida that takes place in June.
VerPlanck is invited to represent Idaho at this competition where he will compete against other top-scoring students from across the United States. The winner will receive scholarships, prizes, trophies, certificates and the title of U.S National Champion. An all-expense-paid trip to the World Championship in July, also being held in Orlando, Florida, is also included.
Students from Weiser High also hold Idaho’s second and third place ranking in Word with Ethan Morgan in second place with a score of 976 and Michael Kielhorn in third with a score of 962. The following are student who scored a 900 or above
Word(2016): Jacob Verplanck 978, Ethan Morgan 976, Michael Kielhorn 962, Elijah Santoyo 962, John Apostoli 943, Blake Quinton 925, Timea Osvath 925, Natalee Mink 914, Gracelynn Perez 907, Ariana Tarelo 906, and Eithne Walker 906.
PowerPoint (2016): Jacob VerPlanck 935, Gracelynn Perez 935, Gage Walker 914 and Timea Osvath 914.
Weldon shared that he is proud of these students and foresees more success coming in the spring semester when his class focuses on Microsoft Excel. Students who pass and receive their certification in Excel will be able to pursue Microsoft’s Access or Developer tools.
