Students support community groups with creations made in tech shop

FERGUS – Students here have made chairs and picnic tables for hospitals and long-term care homes, nest protectors for turtles, bird houses for conservation areas, Christmas decorations, corn hole boards and tool boxes, to name a few. 

The projects are possible because of a new tech shop  equipped with hand tools, power tools, work benches and materials at St. Joseph Catholic School in Fergus that opened in September. 

It’s not only students from the Fergus school who get the hands-on, experiential learning the room offers – the school also hosts students from St. Mary Catholic School in Mount Forest, St. Mary Catholic School in Elora and St. John Catholic School in Arthur. 

It’s a grassroots, pilot project, said Wellington District Catholic School Board (WCDSB) director of education Mike Glazier, and there’s hope it will grow to include more schools.  

School representatives attended a WCDSB meeting on April 7 to offer an update on the tech shop. 

St. Joseph principal Todd Goodwin thanked officials profusely for “turning the dream of a tech room into a reality.”  

Students Gabriel Benshimol and Walker Klein explained to the board what the tech room means to them. 

Benshimol said he most enjoys how hands-on and interactive the program is, and how helpful the skills they’re learning could be in their futures. 

“It’s a lot more fun than learning in class ... you know how learning in class can get boring,” Klein added with a chuckle. 

Their favourite projects thus far were the bird houses and turtle nest protectors. 

Building the bird houses was difficult and creative, Benshimol said – “We had to cut and measure our own wood and nail it all together.” 

And Klein liked using a range of tools and materials to create something that “helps baby turtles survive,” he said.  

Klein added he plans to take construction in high school and eventually enter into the  trades.

His mom, Emily Klein, said her dad was a high school construction teacher, and she always wanted her kids to grow up with the skills to complete tasks such as changing a tire and fixing a fence, and she’s grateful the tech shop is helping students build those skills.

She added she’s hearing the same sentiment from people in the community. 

Technology and Grade 3 teacher Brian O’Donnell said nearly 300 students from other schools visit the tech shop at St. Joseph – mostly Grade 7s and 8s.  

He said the students have been “exceptional – every time a group of kids rolls into the school first thing in the morning it’s like they’re coming in to work, and they actually get the project done and take it home at the end of the day.” 

Visiting teachers have been great too, he said, and they can see all the ways STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics) skills interconnect with the projects completed in the tech shop. 

He said officials cater the projects to what students are currently learning in the classroom – for example, Grade 8 students are studying hydraulics at this time of year, “so we try to fit that in.”  

St. Joseph child youth worker Chris Lane said he helps the students build relationships with community members, including recipients of the students’ projects as well as companies selling the materials at affordable prices.

When the chairs and picnic tables are ready to be delivered to retirement homes, Lane said the students meet the residents and spend time with them. 

Older students also support younger students with pre-assembled projects, he said, giving the Grade 8s a chance to fall into leadership and mentorship roles.

The process often starts in the classroom before heading to the tech shop, O’Donnell said, with students working on the engineering design process, “researching and coming up with all kinds of solutions for problems.”  

Watching students problem solve is a highlight for O’Donnell, especially when they collaborate and share recommendations with peers. 

Next, Goodwin said he’s inviting trade workers such as electricians, carpenters and “anyone that would be willing to speak to kids about what they’re doing.”