Elementary students throughout our district have some new wood puzzles thanks to the students in Dave Gibaldi’s wood processing class.

Senior Nina Comacho, who has an independent study in wood processing this year, pretty much ran the process. She and Gibaldi came up with the idea of making toys for the younger kids in the district.

 

“We ended up coming up with the idea of a tangram, which is like a puzzle,” said Nina. “We wanted something that was good for all age groups but wasn’t too difficult to produce. We also wanted a toy that was somewhat education but still fun.”

Gibaldi helped guide the whole process but said, “This really was all about the kids.”

 

 

Production time was short – they had just two weeks to get this done. Everyone in the class pitched in to make it happen.

 

 

“Every free period I had I was downstairs working,” said Nina. She even stayed after school some days to get the work done.

“I didn’t do this alone,” she said. “I got so much help from the students and teachers in the tech department. It wouldn’t have gotten done without them.”

 

 

They even pulled in some eighth-grade students to help when they were touring the tech department!

The tangrams – 175 of them – were distributed at the holidays for elementary students and elementary classrooms. A great result for Nina and all involved.

 

This is not the end of the tech line for Nina. After graduating, she has plans to study tech education in college.

“I’ve taken six tech classes throughout high school,” she said. “I’ve loved each and every one of them and have been able to learn and create so many amazing things. The tech department has had the biggest influence on me these past few years and I am so grateful for all of the teachers downstairs. Hopefully I will have an impact on students the way Gibaldi, (Patrick) Reiser and (Kenneth) Marshall have had on me.”