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Woodworking
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Currently, Willow Hill School offers both elective Woodworking classes and an extra-curricular Woodshop Club for students. Middle School elective classes meet once a week and begin with simpler projects and concepts, while an 11th and 12th grade class, which meets four times a week, focuses on historical themes (i.e.: the Shakers) and on completing more difficult projects. Woodshop Club acts as a more open-structured setting where students can work on guided individual projects. Many students who opt for the Woodworking electives also commit to attending Woodshop Club regularly. These students tend to gain skills more quickly and, as a result, are able to assist other students in their elective class.
Each Woodworking class begins with basic safety training, regardless of skill level, which students with past experience are encouraged to help facilitate. Students who are new to a woodshop and have not yet acquired the requisite skills for the planned project are able to choose modifications based on skill levels and interests. These students often receive one-to-one attention, typically from a staff assistant. Students who tend to work more independently and finish projects early are given another assignment to complete. The Drafting elective provides an opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing woodworking, architecture, or engineering to broaden their technical skills and learn how to communicate ideas nonverbally, through sketches and technical drawings.