At last we have a workshop

I have moved from my temporary accommodation in room 9 and am now teaching in the refurbished wood workshop.  There are still a few things to tidy up but everything is up and functional.

The first project out of the wood room this year.  A poppy I made to demonstrate the Intarsia technique that we are using at the moment

And the cycle starts again

We have had many groups moving on to learn in new areas of technology recently, which means I have had new groups gracing my work area as well.  We have been learning about expectations and about how an outcome needs to meet the specifications.

Not all products (title page) met the specifications, but upon discussing with the stakeholders (teacher and classmates) it was decided that the products still functioned as effective title pages but may not have been as aesthetically pleasing (pretty).

Nail/String Art

A finished piece from Our Lady of Rosary School

Air Conditionng installed

They have installed the new air conditioning units in the workshops as part of the renovation.  This should be great in summer, however I am not convinced of their effectiveness during the colder months or how secure they are.

Of Kites and Marshmallows

Normally I would like a nice calm day, however kites don't do so well without a good breeze.  We still finished our kites and have some great designs.  Looks like homework will be to fly the kites.

We tried flying, however the wind was maybe not as friendly as I had hoped

A couple of designs on the kites, established through using the design process.

A bridge being tested to destruction with static loading

We used the rest of the day to design and make bridges to see what structures would support the most weight.

Hillary hard at work

Take care with the knife!!!!!!!!

James on the final stages of his Marquetry project

Marquetry

The year 8's have been working on developing accuracy and precision by working on some marquetry.  Here is an example of the finished product from St Michael's, one of our client schools.

Workshop Progress

I thought I would share a few picks of progress in the workshop, current predictions are for work to be finished by the end of the term.

Not much progress in the wood room yet, but lots of material sitting around waiting to be used.

More to see here. This is what I would call the annex, other might call it a Modern Learning Environment.  It will be a Soundproofed room between the Wood and Multicraft workshops that will be used for research and design work.

Welcome to 2015

Hi

Welcome all to Woodcraft at AIS for 2015.  It has been a bit of change for me, coming from a small town High School in the South Island.

The first classes today were great, we talked about what we wanted to do for the year and the expectations the class had of me and I had of the class.

I look forward to a great year of creativity and fun (especially when the workshop is finished).


Mr Connochie