Back to School: Welcome

Welcome to one of Grant's newest offerings: 

Introduction to Wood Technologies 1/2

Yes, it's a fancy name for Wood Shop; Yes there is a reason: Career and Technical Education. Our program is (capitally) funded in large part through state and Federal dollars earmarked for classes that prepare students for "High Wage" and "High Demand" professions.


Jamie Zartler (26th year teaching; first teaching Woods) jzartler@pps.net extension x81455

Woods at Grant is a challenging course that will help students learn:

Personal Management
Problem Solving
Communication
Team Work
Employment Foundations and Career Development

These are the state's Career Related Learning Standards. These standards will be how your student is evaluated in this course.

I beg your forgiveness, but I haven't yet, completely worked out how I will translate these standards into grades. I expect to have a student-family friendly version worked out by the end of the week, and will use Synergy email to send a complete syllabus to all contacts.

Woodworking I and Advanced Woodworking and Construction, and GeoTech are classes designed to expose students to the high demand high wages jobs in Construction and Wood Manufacturing. Though many of the projects pursued are of traditional bench woodworking the goal is to fulfill the requirements of the Federal Perkins Funding that allows us to have this program. Students who complete two or more of the Woods classes will be asked to take a culminating assessment, and will be eligible for an appropriate cord at Graduation.

SAFETY

The first priority of the class is safety, however, there is inherent risk. I will do my best to teach your students to: be safe; to make good decisions; to ask for help when they need it. I ask for your help in encouraging them to be safe for themselves and others.

I am encouraging my students to make good use of Maucks.com to study machine and tool safety.

An essential safety skill is knowing one’s limits and assessing one’s ability to perform specific tasks. This includes recognizing when illness or other factors prevent one from operating machinery or hand tools safely. Students will not be penalized when then notify the instructor that they are not able to perform. It is assumed that these instances will be rare, and if they recur regularly may indicate a need to plan or problem solve with parents, counselors, or administrators.

Students are expected to use appropriate personal protective gear at all times. Closed toed shoes are required when working in the shop. Grant provides protective eyewear and a reasonable number of reusable ear protectors each year. 

MATERIALS

This year the materials for this course will be provided. While this may or may not continue to be the case we are very excited. Additionally the Landers-Bree Foundation made a very generous donation of lumber to start our program off this year, and Hardwood Industries provided a pallet of off sample, test, and practice wood.

If your student requests money for wood they are doing so because they wish to make additional projects or to use more costly woods than the school is providing. This is, of course, voluntary.

The district, as well as private and public donors,  have provided a substantial tool inventory. While there are always things on a wish list, at this time we can do fine without additional tools. However, if you are a estate sale fiend and you happen to find some spoke shaves-- these would be welcome.

PROJECTS

Students will make a variety of projects this year. The first individual project will be a finger jointed box.

Students will make there own mallet out of beech.

Second semester students will make wooden toys to donate to those in need in collaboration with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers.

Second semester projects will include a small table; and a dovetailed box or small cabinet.

VOLUNTEERING

If you have a specialty you'd like to share with Grant's Founding Woodworkers ....

If you have a truck, and you'd like to occasionally pick up some lumber for us ...

If you can sharpen a western style saw ...

Please let me know: jzartler@pps.net