Del Norte HS Class creates holiday gifts

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DEL NORTE— For the first time in the Del Norte High School, Woodshop 1 and 2 teacher Bill Sauvigne has brought a manufacturing class to students and the outcome has been more than enlightening for both students and staff.

“I went to some seminars and did an annual survey where trade companies respond to their needs in future employees, and the one thing that stood out was the lack of work ethic in young adults. So, with everything I learned I used it to create a manufacturing class for the students to help them achieve their academic goals while learning the art of working with their hands can be a life-long achievement that yields financial success,” said Sauvigne.

When starting out the program, Sauvigne decided that he wanted students to design, produce and sell gifts in order to show them work ethic in the trade industry. In partnership with the Sargent School District, the two woodworking classes came together to design and build cutting boards, makeup brush holders, barbeque spatulas, jewelry, bottle openers and honey tumblers. The end products are well made, sturdy wooden products that showcase the importance of hard work and preservation. “The supply and demand lesson here is what shows the students work ethic. They know they can’t skip on the quality of their products or take shortcuts just to make more,” explained Sauvigne.

Sargent School teacher Clint Mondragon works with his students to produce the metal needed for the spatulas, having the proper tools at their school to make the thin-like material needed, then transferring the product over to the Del Norte students so that they can add a wooden handle and finish the product. The two schools swap materials in order to make the end result, creating a partnership that otherwise would be nonexistent.

Students taking the course have to fill out a manufacturing log that breaks down the cost of making the product verses the price at which it will be sold and they have to look to their peers for quality control. “Students have to take their products to students not taking the course in order to get feedback. They have to ask whether or not the students would buy the product and get honest answers on the quality,” explained Sauvigne.

“When considering what to do with the funds that come from selling the products, I decided that it would be best used by the students that worked so hard on creating the products. A lot of the time, classes like this will give to under-funded programs in their communities and I feel that the students in the class were the under-funded program. So, we plan on taking them on an educational trip to Denver or Albuquerque, New Mexico at the end of the year, or something to that effect,” said Sauvigne.

The gifts are for sale for the holiday season to anyone wanting a homemade gift for family and friends. Next year, Sauvigne hopes to enlist students into craft shows around the Valley to show them the hard work that goes into selling their products.

To purchase a gift, interested parties can contact Sauvigne through his email at [email protected] or stop by the school to place an order.