Staff and students build bee shed to study apiary science

Mr. Dan Giger is offering an Apiary Science personalized learning time (PLT) session for all TJHS students interested in the science of beekeeping. He enlisted the help of several staff members and students to create a bee shed for his Apiary Science PLT.

The bee shed will be used to house the various equipment needed to successfully manage bee hives. The interior space of the shed will house bee suits, a honey extractor, various hive tools, extra hive boxes, and additional materials as necessary. The shed will also be a focal/meeting point of future Apiary Science PLT sessions. These sessions will cover, but will not be limited to, topics such as bee types/anatomy, colonies systematics, environmental importance, and threats to bees.

In addition, the shed will be used as a hands-on learning tool for students who are enrolled in the Construction Technology classes. These students will be the ones building the shed during class and PLT sessions and learn about the proper use of tools, project layout and building specs, as well as constructing the specific parts of the shed such as the walls, roof tresses, roof shingling, and doors.

The bee shed project is well underway, and the concrete slab has been poured. Mr. Giger and his crew would like to extend a special thanks to Macuga Construction for the donation of their machinery, time, and expertise, Mon River Supply for helping to defray concrete costs, and district administrators and school board members for their continued support.

Kudos to Mr. Giger and his team of staff members including Ken Gruntz, Matt Betler and Laurie Woodward as well as the talented students: Blaze Henrikson, Lydia Shaw, Logan Danielson, Tanner Patrick and Shaun Egan.