Recently, the Building and Construction program at NHIS put up handmade picnic tables around the campus to give students and staff more areas to hang out.

Tyler Okamura, the Building and Construction teacher at NHIS, came up with this project. Okamura chose the project because he listened to the students’ concerns. “They said that there was not really a good place to sit down or hang out, and then even adults on campus kind of said the same thing,” said Okamura.

Students in the construction program were given the chance to put skills that they developed in class to use during this project.

“Well, first we had to look at the measurements making sure we are making them exact, then we also learned about where to put the screws to make sure the whole thing actually stays,” said Jamin Kawai Villanueva, a senior at NHIS.

Students find the picnic tables to be a great upgrade to the campus.

“Honestly, I think the tables are very convenient,” said Ishen Kaialua-Isala, a sophomore at NHIS. “I like how we can easily just chill on them when we can.”

According to students in the Building and Construction program, the next project will be handmade rocks with a chess/checkers board drilled into the top of it, and then after that, they will be given the chance to make a project of their choice to show off skills they’ve developed in class.