Hurley gets thumbs up on home maintenance course

By MEGAN HUGHES

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — The Board of Education for the Hurley K-12 School met on Monday for their regular meeting. During the meeting they heard a presentation from Jacob Hostettler, metal shop teacher in the school’s student-run Northwoods Manufacturing.

Hostettler reported on the progress that students have made in the past semester and provided a brief summary of topics being taught.

He spoke highly of students in the home maintenance course that he also teaches and noted their keen interest in cooking and sewing.

“It has been an awesome class so far,” said Hostettler. “There are 12 students, and it turns out that all guys took it. We do cooking once a week. We do a prep day, having them do grocery shopping on the Walmart app, and we do the cooking the next day... We prep whatever we can, learn nutritional facts on it and have a discussion about the budget of it and nutrition, and we cook the next day.”

The class is planning a Thanksgiving meal for Friday, with students inviting friends and some of the teachers to participate throughout the day. Students will brine and cook turkey for the occasion.

“We started sewing too,” said Hostettler. The class is learning the skills with the help of video tutorials and the assistance of Joanna Krone, school custodian. “She knows a lot more than I did (about sewing),” said Hostettler.

According to him, the students have taken a liking to the sewing projects.

Looking toward the future, Hostettler is planning units for general home maintenance and repair, as well as finances. He said the unit on home maintenance will focus on minor home repairs such as changing air filters, so that students can perform basic tasks without having to call in a professional every time.

The class also has been raising money for new cookware. Students held one fundraiser during homecoming week and are planning a second.

In other news, the board:

— Heard that Northwoods Manufacturing has received the equipment that had been purchased with a grant. “So far, so good; they are great machines,” said Hostettler.

— Heard and approved administrative reports.

— Heard the CESA-12 report.

— Entered closed session and took no action upon returning to open session.

— Heard a career planning update.

The board’s next regular meeting will be on Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the school.