High school is the time for experimenting; the time to discover hobbies and passions. Extracurricular activities that nurture these interests aren’t just sports and clubs, but elective classes as well. West Albany High School has 12 Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, covering a wide variety of interests through many different electives. These electives range from things like culinary to child development. Though others are interested in performing and culinary arts, some students are interested in hands-on activities, like woodworking and jewelry making.
When stepping into the woods classroom, the air instantly fills with the smell of sawdust. The floor is slick and ambient music fills not only the room, but the hallway as well. The woods class is a part of the CTE rotation, giving freshmen an introduction to the basics of woodworking. Everyone comes into the class with different levels of experience. Some are ready to work and are well-versed in the ins and outs of handiwork, while others need help with a hammer. The class is taught by woods teacher Ricky Hall, who teaches students a variety of skills as they advance from Woods I to Woods IV. During the CTE Rotation, freshmen do two projects: a wooden pen and a heart with an arrow through it.
If students are interested after the CTE rotation, they can join Woods I either at the end of first semester, or forecast for that class sophomore year In Woods I, students create a cutting board, another wooden pen, and a lathe (a string puppet that flaps). These small projects help students create the fundamental skills that they build on later. In a similar manner to the CTE rotation, Woods I is very beginner-friendly, with no prerequisites required to join.
In Woods II, Hall starts to let his students have more creative freedom. They work on the process of creating their own designs and are allowed to use the bigger tools. At this point, the techniques students learned during Woods I become the building blocks of the projects they choose to tackle.
Woods III is where the big project starts. Hall challenges his students with making a nightstand, along with giving them creative freedom to work on more independent projects.
After this course, students who choose to continue on the Woods CTE path can join Woods IV. In this class, students are allowed to create whatever they want to, with minimal restrictions.
For students who are interested in pursuing woodworking professionally, West offers a Wood Working Practicum class, which is a course that offers kids real working experience while getting credit at the same time.
The students enrolled in jewelry making have a very similar introduction to the woods students. Jewelry making is a part of the CTE rotation, taught by fine arts teacher Erin Wallace, and is one of the many classes you can take to become a CTE fine arts completer. In the CTE rotation, students learn the basics of jewelry making. With pre-made chains and basic wire work, the jewelry making CTE path is made to help students dip their toes into niche hobbies to see if they enjoy it.
If students are interested in taking the next steps into the world of jewelry making, they can take Jewelry Making & Metals I. The course uses fundamentals students learn in the CTE rotation. They are able to work more with wiring, beadwork, as well as pre-made bezels (thin pieces of metal that hold resin, gems, stones, etc.). Jewelry Making & Metals I is mostly for the fundamentals of the craft. As students advance up through Jewelry Making & Metals III, they build on the skills they learned in Jewelry Making & Metals I.
