The Building and Carpentry Academies at Massey High August 2020. By Ranaa Roshan & Jayden Alesich our Gold Badge Academy Prefects.

Massey High School is very fortunate to have a Building/Carpentry Academy where students from years 12 to 13 (seniors) are given the opportunity to gain tradie experience. Students participate in building houses, decks, retaining walls, etc. Not only do they gain knowledge with physical work but they also find it very important for the students to learn about safety and the tools that needs to be used with caution. The students describe the building academy as “fun”, “cool” and “a good choice for those that don’t think classes is their best suit.” Our school is blessed to have teachers like Cam Fergus, Luke Kanuta and Paul Simpson to help guide the students to their future career goals in the building industry and “enjoy working with the boys and girls!”

Our building academy helps renovate features around the school as well. For example, the students have rebuilt benches that are still in great condition and used daily by the students. A few of the building students help our school’s production with prop construction. They are making small props for our production crew to use for their performances. The year 13 students are building a retaining wall in our school as it will contribute to making a carpark for teachers to use.

The houses that are made are sold to places all over NZ, whether that be in Gisborne or South Auckland and are under contract to Kainga ora, formerly Housing New Zealand, so are built for families. This gives the students a lot of experience that they will need in the future. During the process of building a house, the students discuss the safety that needs to take place and the gear that needs to be worn at all times. This is a very important topic that our students learn about. This is so they use safe practices on site.

If you are interested in construction come to the Future’s Evening Monday 17th August 5.30pm to 7pm or make an appointment to see Cam Fergus our site manager.