At the behest of Thompson Falls High School's athletic director, students in the shop class have completed a project to help raise money for the athletic department. The project also wrapped up around the same time another round of products were finished, that were a year in the making.

"The design is similar to past products we've made, but the decorative vents have Blue Hawk logos in place of the generic evergreen silhouettes seen in last years fire pit creations," said shop teacher Mike Bruse. "They turned out to be sharp looking additions for anyone's backyard and sold well last year, we're hoping this helps the athletic department in their fundraising goals."

The five-plate metal welded fire pits will be auctioned off to benefit the sports programs at Thompson Falls High School and mark another notch in the belts of students in the hands-on class.

"They were pretty time consuming, but we liked the change-up in the vents in the shape of the Blue Hawk," noted junior Ryan Battles.

Bruse also bragged about students in the business trade class recently completing two large sheds. A set of 10-foot by 12-foot sheds, complete with quality windows and doors, were started last year but put on the back burner until a later time.

This year, students took on the task and celebrated the finished products this semester. One shed sports a segmented roof in a barn red color, while the other has a standard pitch roof in a light turquoise. Both have swing-open double doors and solid reinforced flooring.

"These structures are heavy due to the solidity in materials and design," shared Bruse. "They are definitely built to last."

Skills that were acquired by students such as Battles will likely be used in the future.

"I could use these techniques from welding and construction to do repairs or welding on a ranch or somewhere else they might be needed," Battles said.

The practical nature of the classes appeal to certain students where the concepts are readily visible and tangible, where other students are geared for more abstract concepts such as mathematics or science. But the application of materials, interaction of substances and use of heat, glues and other chemicals in shop class are physical manifestations of those abstract lessons in more traditional school subjects.

The two outbuildings, as well as the fire pits, will be auctioned off at the Blue Hawk athletic fundraiser on November 17. The reserve price for the sheds will be $2,500 each. For more information contact Mike Bruse at the high school, 827-3561.