Middle schoolers learn practical arts at the Henniker Community School

Tech Ed and Family and Consumer Science have returned to the middle school experience at the Henniker Community School at the hands of one versatile and creative teacher.

Henniker teacher Todd Storro teaches Tech Ed and cooking classes to students in grades four through eight. For students in grades four, five and six, the focus is on kitchen and food safety and nutrition. Projects have included making sugar cookies and tortilla s’mores. Students in grades seven and eight grade also focus on food and kitchen safety along with food storage, restaurant careers, meal planning and personal budgeting. They’ve learned to make cheese omelets, Italian wedding soup, and tortilla egg wraps.

Wearing his Tech Ed teacher hat, Storro’s classes focus on shop safety, hand tools and uses, measurement, joinery and design. Students in grades four, five and six this trimester have made jump and peg board games and note-taking roll pads. Seventh- and eighth-grade projects included decorative boxes, serving trays, and planters.

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer students a chance to pursue their passions through exploration in the woodshop and the kitchen,” said Henniker Community School Principal Matthew Colby. “Students are learning valuable skills that they’ll have for life.”