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Industrial Arts Students Compete at FHSU
Launch the media gallery 1 playerProjects Earn Medals, Plaques
Friday, April 27th, students traveled to the Fort Hays State University campus to display their work and compete at the 53rd Annual Western Kansas Technology Fair. The fair consisted of student work in the areas of Communication, Power and Energy, Arts and Crafts, Open, Multi-Pupil, Metals and Woodworking. Kiowa County High School students took fifteen entries to the fair this year. There were also several competitions throughout the day including Problem Solving, Communication and Technology Challenge.
The student work did very well at the fair, with all of the Woodworking entries getting Superior ratings and all but three receiving a medal. Medals were awarded to projects that were at the top in their division and were built as well as they possibly could be. The top awards for the best Freshman and best Sophomore projects came home with Kiowa County for freshman Hannah Brown's dining room table and sophomore John Colclazier's armoire entertainment center.
In the Multi-pupil division, Kiowa County secured two more superior ratings and medals for their entries for the shop and classroom cabinets they built for the shop at the beginning of the year and for the 5-piece living room set they built for the Senior Center. Seniors Weston Jantz and Dillon Crumpler, juniors Cody McVey and Taylor Amerine and sophomore John Terhune were later awarded the Dennis McKee Plaque for the best Multi-Pupil Project overall. The students built two end tables, a coffee table, a TV stand and a bookcase for the new Kiowa County Senior Center. The students worked with John Wickland to plan out the projects and then produced them in about two months, just in time for the center's open house in April.
Junior Kadie Larsh, McVey, Colclazier and freshman Aaric Kipp were awarded a Third Place plaque for the Communication contest where they were given a topic and had to create a 30-second commercial for the product or event.
The final award given out to students was the Ross Beach, Sr. plaque for the most outstanding technology program at the fair. This year the award when to Kiowa County.
I am extremely proud of our students, our program and our school. The last time I went to the fair there was no Kiowa County High School. In 2007, Greensburg High School took 52 entries in various areas of the competition. We took things with the intension of winning the best program. It was an extreme amount of work by the students and me, but by the end of the Awards ceremony it was all worth it because we had won the top awards we had set our sights on. One week later that was all torn apart by the tornado.
This year we did not set out to win the whole thing. We started the year with the goal of getting the new shop set up and to make it as functional as we could. When we were done with that we started student projects, without the thought of the Tech. Fair ever entering our minds. As the year progressed and projects progressed, it looked like we were going to have some pretty good stuff. About a month ago, I looked around at the projects nearing completion and I said, "Hey, we might have some stuff done in time for the Tech. Fair this year."
We had a few nice projects that were real close, so we put in a few extra work nights and we took what we had up there. On the drive up I said, "Remember what a hassle this is because we need to make a decision if going up to the fair is worth it." It was pretty much unanimous heading home on Friday that it was worth it.
The great thing about it is that we did not do anything special to win this time. We just built projects like we always do. We happened to have stuff done and we took it. As it turns out, I guess we are really good now. We won it in 2007 with entries; a lot of entries in a lot of areas. We won it this year with quality. This is the best our woodworking has ever done. We came home with 10 medals and two of the four top woodworking awards. I am very pleased about that.
One final thought is just that it took more than the students who took their projects up this year. It took more than every student in my class this year that helped get the shop set up the way it is (which is awesome). It took an administration and school board that saw the importance of our program and did everything they could do to make sure it was a good as it could be.
I feel like more importantly, it took a group of students over the past five years, some of which never got to compete in a Tech. Fair, to get the program to where it is at, from nothing. Those students, who did not let the frustrations and inconveniences of work and storage space limitations limit the quality and complexity of their projects. Those students worked the first year, first on things for the rest of the school, and then to get the "temporary shop" functional, and never complained about not getting to work on their own projects. Those students, who over the course of the next three years, packed the shop as full as it could be packed full of beautiful projects that made it less convenient to work in but set the bar for the rest of the classes to follow. Some of those are the students that took a bus ride from Haviland everyday only to have about 30 minutes to work on projects in a shop that was far too crowded and ended with projects that were amazing. Those are the students I am most proud of and grateful to have had, and who got us to where we are at. It has been quite a journey, but I finally feel like we have made it.
Fort Hays State University Technology Fair Results
Freshman Woodworking:
Aaric- Entertainment Center Superior
Dillon T- End Tables/Coffee Table Superior Medal
Lance- Table Superior Medal
Hannah- Gate Leg Drop Leaf Table Superior Medal Best Freshman Woods Project
Sophomore Woodworking:
Shawn- DVD Carousel Superior
Charlie- Entertainment Center Superior Medal
John C- Armoire ET Center Superior Medal Best Sophomore Woods Project
Junior Woodworking
Kadie- Porch Glider Superior
Senior Woodworking
Keith- Dresser Superior Medal
Keith- Night Stands Superior Medal
Sophomore Open Class
Evan- bowl Excellent
Shad- Bowl Superior
Sophomore Arts & Crafts
Justin B- Grenade Coozie Superior Medal
Multi Pupil
Everyone in Shop- Shop and Classroom Cabinets Superior Medal
Weston, Dillon, John T, Cody and Taylor- 5 piece furniture set for the Senior Center
Superior , Medal, Dennis McKey Award for the best Multi Pupil project (It is a big plaque with a guys face on it, kind of a big deal)
Communications Contest- 3rd Place Plaque: Kadie, Cody, John C and Aaric
Ross Beach, Sr. Award for the Most Outstanding Technology Program- Kiowa County High School (It is another plaque with a guy's face on it, still kind of a big deal)
