Shop Goals

The goal of the Golden Secondary School Woodshop is to provide students with a fun, and exciting educational experience while working with their hands with wood.  We believe that a broad set of skills and experiences in high school, including experiences in practical arts, is beneficial for every student making them well rounded individuals.  Those who choose wood related trades as a career path, will leave GSS well equipped with an excellent set of skills; those who just like it for fun will have the skills to enjoy working with wood as a hobby for the rest of their lives. Efforts are made to encourage students to realize their full potential and become lifelong learners. 

Safety in the Shop

You cannot talk about the wood shop without talking about safety.  As the top priority, safety is the first thing covered in the shop.  Students are given detailed safety lessons, modeled safe practices on each of the machines, and then have to write a series of safety tests with an 80% passing grade.  Once the test is passed, the student then has opportunity to demonstrate that they can use the machines safely to the instructor.  Frequent reinforcement and discussions on safety occur as the year progresses.

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Woodwork - Grades 8, 9 and 10

Students often enter the wood shop for the first time with little on no previous experience.  They are progressively given opportunities to build skill sets and have experiences that build self-esteem and confidence, that create the satisfaction of “having made it yourself”, as well as a healthy work ethic.  Projects range in ability level, but as student progress along the learning curve they will continue to find new and challenging projects to build that are fun and gratifying.

Those students who come into the shop with previous experience will also find great challenges in the courses offered.  Once they have completed their required project work, they will have the opportunity to create their own designs and ideas, or to choose projects from magazines or plan books that meet their individual tastes, interests and skill level.

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Woodwork - Grade 11

Wood 11 is for those students who are not considering a career in the trades, but would like to continue working with wood because they enjoy it.  It is tailor-made for those who cannot fit a 4  credit wood course like Cabinetry and Joinery 11 or 12 into their busy course schedule, or consider woodworking a hobby, or those who have such a heavy timetable that they just need to use their brains and hands in a different way for a couple of hours each week.  Wood 11 is a continuation of Wood 10, with a series of challenging projects that develop and refine your basic skills and introduce new skills.

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Cabinetry and Joinery (Grade 11/12)

The newly renamed Cabinetry and Joinery courses at Golden Secondary School offer first rate training, equipment and experiences.  Students are challenged and skills are honed.  Projects tend to be more complex and large.  Students learn how to build cabinets and furniture, how to make a wide variety of traditional woodworking joints, design and render their own plans and ideas.

Community Projects

As a commitment to developing responsible citizens in a modern society, we like to build community projects each year.  It is a chance for students to give back to a community that has nurtured them from infancy.  One year it may be nesting boxes for an environmental project, the next year it may be benches for the school hallways, or a garage for the antique fire truck at the local fire department.  Who knows what it may be next?

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Apprenticeships in Woodwork

As seniors, students have the opportunity to investigate and explore opportunities in the trades.  An apprenticeship is a great way to start a career in a trade where working with your hands is as important as working with your head.  As an added benefit, an apprenticeship allows you to earn money while receiving on the job training, without the headache of taking on student loans while going to university.  Many people do not realize that in British Columbia the average age of a tradesperson is 50 years old.  We are anticipating a serious shortage of skilled labor in the province.  This is a great time to look at that option, especially if you like to work with your hands, or, are creative, or love to problem-solve and trouble shoot.

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