Hays students building tiny home from the ground up

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Vauxhall Advance

By Greg Price
Vauxhall Advance
gprice@tabertimes.com

There’s no place like home.

For some of the student body at Hays School, that home just happens to be smaller than most.

Hays School is holding a tiny home gala today at the Hays Civic Centre which will include dinner, silent auction items and entertainment.

“Our students are actually putting the whole thing on. The Grades 7 to 9 are cooking the meal, the Grades 4 to 6 are helping out with the desserts, there will be 200 made. They will also be doing the salads, running the silent auction and manning the door for people when they check in,” said Melissa Duckett, a Grade 4-6 homeroom teacher at Hays School. “It is fully our students who will be doing the entire project.”

It will be a kick-off to raise awareness for a project where students will build a tiny home (about 320 square feet) from the ground level that will fit on an 8×30 foot trailer which will make it moveable.

“Students from Grade 4 to 9 will be partaking in it,” said Melissa Duckett. “They are building it from start to finish. It will be based on 200 different outcomes for six grades. It will be an awesome, hands-on experience for them to learn how to be an electrician, how to be a plumber. (Also) how to be a contractor and what not in how to do a build.”

At the fundraising gala, students will make a presentation on the project, showing the floor plans that were chosen this week.

“There were three floor plans that were chosen that we are all voting on,” said Duckett. “That will be the floor plan we bring to the architect that we will be building.”

After the tiny house is completed in June, the project will be sold with funds going back to the school.

“It will update technology in the school, go towards sports equipment and offset the cost of field trips,” said Duckett.

At first, Duckett wanted her Grade 4 to 6 Career and Technology Foundations class to build a model of a version of a tiny home. Bringing up the concept to her neighbour, her neighbour encouraged her to think bigger.

“It just so happened that one of our new teachers this year is a certified (Red Seal) journeyman carpenter and I thought ‘this is perfect, this is meant to be’,” said Duckett. “Let’s do this on a grand scale and bring on more hands-on learning from the kids. We may have some students who do not make the choice to go to college or university. Well, here’s a trade you can learn. Education comes in all forms and the trades are fantastic.”

Hays School tiny home gala goes at 6 p.m. at the Hays Civic Centre. To purchase last-minute tickets, call Hays School at 403-725-3755. Tickets are $35 each or two for $60.