By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
The Brandon High School Construction 1 class is selling the doghouses they made to help fund their program. The doghouses are the project that students work on for the class to help them develop hands-on skills they can use in the future.
“They learn basic framing skills, they use handheld tools that they wouldn’t use in the regular woodshop class, it gives them a chance to use roofing and work with flashing,” said instructor Nathan Gillett. “It also prepares them for Construction 2 where they build a shed.”
Gillett has been running the woodworking program for three years, and currently he teaches Construction 1, Construction 2, and woodworking classes at both the middle school and the high school.
“This is the class where I get mostly freshmen and sophomores, and they all enjoy it,” he said. “At the beginning we go through book work and tools, but then this is the project for the semester.”
Currently the class has finished three doghouses and are working on three more in small groups. Each one costs around $250-$300 to make, and they are fully roofed with shingles and painted.
“The sales are to help fund the program,” said Gillett. “We’re selling them for $150 each just to help buy the materials for the next class.”
Anyone looking to purchase a doghouse can email Gillett at ngillett@brandon.k12.mi.us.