Students at Dryden High School have made a significant contribution to the new Youth Soccer complex.
Over the course of two years, they constructed, installed and put the finishing touches on the hooks and benches in the four change rooms of the building.
A majority of the work was completed in the shops at the school and then the materials were transferred to the building, where the students installed them.
Teacher and Project Leader Dave Darling says students could actually see how their creation was appreciated by all.
Darling adds the project gave his kids an opportunity to gain meaningful hands-on experience.
“Students. They put a lot of effort in. I think they really bought into what we were doing just because we were able to say that this is something that’s going to be around for a very long time and we put together a quality project and I think everyone was pretty satisfied with the results.”
However, the main goal was giving students an opportunity to give back to the community.
Darling says “Like I tell my students. They will be taking their kids to Soccer practice one day and they’ll be using it. So it’s something that exists way beyond just the walls of the classroom, which is excellent for student learning and engagement.”
He adds “We all live in Dryden. This is our community and part of what makes us a great place to live, in my opinion, is the number of people that are working to make this a better place and I thought it was great for us to be involved in that and kind of produce a long lasting product.”
Dryden Youth Soccer presented staff and students with a plaque to recognize their efforts.
Officials are thanking Dave Darling, Jamie Cran, Mr. Hodgkinson, Mr. Bartlett, Serena Lalonde and the students.
(Picture Credit: Lorna Tremonti)
To hear more from Dave Darling, visit the Audio link below
