Departments at Cayuga Secondary School

Students at C.S.S. can take a variety of construction and woodworking classes beginning in grade ten. Classes are project driven with an emphasis on hand skills, machine skills, imperial measurement, blueprint reading and drafting.

Students who are pursuing a career in the mechanical trades can take grade eleven (intermediate) and grade twelve (advanced) electrical, plumbing and sheet metal. Sheet metal is new to our department and a significant investment has gone into tools and machines used in the sheet metal industry.

Grade twelve construction students designed and constructed this shed in two weeks of class time. It features a cantileverred roof over the front doors and class designed trusses. The shed was designed to be taken apart and transported to its destination.

As part of their final evaluation, the Grade Eleven Woodworking class was given two weeks to complete this toy truck from a blueprint. Time management, machine knowledge, and a little creativity is a big part of project completion.

• Unit 1
  Basic Math for Woodworking/Drafting Basics

• Unit 2
  Layout Techniques/Handtool Safety

• Unit 3
  Machine Skills Safety/Blueprint Reading/and Joinery

• Unit 4
  Basic Box Construction

• Unit 5
  Practical Woodworking

• Unit 6
  Final Culminating Activity

The skilled trades have remained one of the most reliable forms of employment in Ontario since the mid 1990's. Amongst the skilled trades, plumbing, electrical and sheet metal (HVAC) rank amongst the highest paid of all the trades. All three are regulated trades requiring workers to complete a Government approved apprenticeship, a specified amount of wage earning experience, and the successful completion of a competency exam (CFQ) in order to obtain the title of "journeymen".

Our focus at C.S.S. is to expose students to some of the standards, codes, and skills required to be successful in the above trades. Co-ops are available to give students a chance to experience a potential career choice before graduation. Students can enrol in the Specialists High Skills Major program. See SHSM for more information.

For more information on apprenticeships see:

• Employment Ontario Training

Students in the woodworking classes receive first hand experience with the process of making lumber. Trees are gathered from several sources and brought to our school. We use our forklift to load logs onto the lumber mill safely. Then the lumber mill is operated by students who have been trained in the safe use of the machine.

Lumber is stacked and spaced with stickers to allow air to circulate and water to evaporate. The moisture content needs to be brought down to around 9% before we use it in the shop for projects. A moisture meter is used to gain an accurate reading.

Logs are generously donated by community partners. Students are learning to use the portable saw mill. One student pushes the saw through the log while others watch for any problems the operator might not see.

Boards are stacked and stickered. Stickers are the spacers between the board, which allow air to circulate and evaporate water trapped in the wood.

We use a moisture meter to measure the percentage amount of moisture in the wood. This board measures around twelve percent. Twelve percent of the weight of this board is water. We need to get it down to 9% before we can use it for projects.

Students use international standards to identify tree species and estimate the value of a standing tree.

• By Appointment only:
  Thursday & Friday 9:00am-11:30am
  Cayuga Secondary High School, Room 284
  70 Hwy 54 Cayuga
  Ontario N0A1E0

• Phone: 905 772-3301
  Ext. 729223

Keep checking for more updates!

Keep checking for more updates!