It’s not just a clever name. Cool School at Elphinstone Secondary lives up to its title, offering amazing hands-on experiences for students that can lead to full-time work in the trades.
Cool School runs every Tuesday from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Elphinstone Secondary School shop, where volunteer instructors share their knowledge and expertise in metal work, woodworking and automotives with the students who drop by.
Youth in Grades 7 to 12 (Grade 6 students can come with an adult) can pop in for an hour or stay for all six, as long as they follow three basic rules: 1) Don’t use any tool until you’re trained on it. 2) While in the shop, focus on learning and working. 3) Have fun!
Students are first given one or two small projects to test their skills in the area of their choosing and then encouraged to come up with a project of their own. Volunteer instructors walk them through what needs to be done and how to do it safely, but the students do all the work themselves.
In woodworking, students have created pinball tables, boxes, bowls and utensils, while in metal work they’ve tackled everything from trinkets to full trailer extensions. The automotives component has seen dozens of vehicles fixed up, tuned up or brought back to life.
Right now about 20 students are taking advantage of Cool School, some dropping in for an hour or two and some staying from beginning to end to get as much help and experience as possible.
Vincent Hadjioannou is in Grade 8 at Elphinstone and he’s currently welding some final pieces on his trailer extension so he can haul in the two dune buggies he hopes to fix up during future classes.
Vincent started with Cool School in Grade 7.
“I love working with my hands so I thought it would be fun and it is. It’s lots of fun,” he said.
Everyone who comes to Cool School leaves with a smile on their face, according to former student Travis Hogson.
“There’s a great vibe as soon as you walk in. Everybody’s laughing, having fun, enjoying what they’re doing. Nobody’s complaining. Everybody helps out with everything they can,” he said.
Cool School has been a labour of love for two decades for 72-year-old Roy Boutilier, who founded the program in 1996 at Chatelech High School.
Having worked as a machinist at Howe Sound Pulp and Paper for 35 years, Boutilier saw a need for a course that would encourage more students to take up the trades.
“I don’t want to see kids graduate from high school without some kind of experience, and right now all of North America is screaming for tradesmen, but where are they coming from? There’s no program like this,” Boutilier said.
He felt so passionately about the program that he kept it going for several years with money from his pension cheque. Before that he funded the course with money he earned by making parts for Howe Sound Pulp and Paper.
Thankfully the Gibsons and area community school now funds the program with a budget of $3,000 per year.
Boutilier calls the community school support “a godsend” because he was having a hard time paying for the liability insurance to keep Cool School operating, never mind the materials.
“I do as much scrounging as I can. Howe Sound Pulp and Paper are very good. They supply us scrap material and welding gases,” Boutilier said.
He also gives much of the credit for Cool School to his fellow volunteers who show up weekly to help teach, support and inspire the students. “They’re the real stars. We couldn’t do it without them,” he said.
The support of volunteer teachers at Cool School has resulted in some students moving on to careers in the trades. The program has been around long enough that now Boutilier is starting to see some of his students come back as trades people to give of their time in the program.
“That’s a really great feeling,” he said.
Boutilier has seen over 1,000 students come through Cool School over the years.
Jake Christmas is a 21-year-old heavy-duty mechanic who obtained his red seal ticket late last year – he first became interested in the trade as a young man in Grade 7 in Cool School. “This got me started on all that,” he said.
Boutilier knows many successful trades people that got their start in Cool School and that’s why he keeps plugging away at his labour of love.
“It’s definitely worth it,” he said.
Cool School is a completely volunteer-run program and Boutilier is always looking for more volunteers, supplies and tools for the class. If you can help out contact him at 604-885-8451.
If you’re a student who wants to join Cool School it’s not too late. Just come to one of the Tuesday night drop-ins and show your interest. Boutilier has never turned anyone away.
