Foxborough High Students Get Hands On Experience With Technology Education Classes

The following was submitted by Foxborough Public Schools Superintendent Amy Berdos as part of the Teaching and Learning Highlight Series.

Students learning hands-on techniques in technology and engineering through their woodworking and home repair courses were featured as the Teaching and Learning Highlight at Monday night’s School Committee meeting. Foxborough High School students Brian Booth, Michael Riccio, Tyler Vito, Kevin Duffy, and Gregory Beinars joined their teacher, Mr. John Aurrecchia, to highlight part of the technology education curriculum. Woodworking and home repair are two elective courses open to FHS students where students have the opportunity to learn necessary skills that will benefit them in years to come. Students agreed that the value of lessons learned in the workshop go beyond the walls of the school building whether they are going to college, the work force or the military.

Giving thanks to the Foxborough School Committee for continuing to support the technology education program and supporting upgrades to necessary equipment, Mr. Aurrecchia spoke to the many hands-on experiences students are engaged in during either the wood working or the home repair course. In the home repair course, students have learned how to do basic wiring, install doorbells and ceiling fans, put up dry wall and fix vacuum cleaners just to name a few. It’s a course that anyone can use and all benefit from, explained Mr. Aurrechhia. Students enthusiastically agreed with one student saying, “You will end up using these skills in everyday life,” stating that the alternative would be hiring someone which could be costly.

It was clear that Mr. Aurrecchia was proud of the students’ accomplishments in regards to the curriculum, but the pride was even more evident as their teacher described the projects created by students in the woodworking course to give back to the community. The work of the students’ projects have ranged from building benches, building racks for holding musical equipment to the most recent project which includes building a doll house to be donated to each elementary school in time for the holidays. “Classes are always involved in helping someone out,” he explained. Students shared that the knowledge they have gained in learning how to use small hand tools such as lathes to larger equipment such as drill presses have played an important part in their own learning and importantly “enables your creativity.”