Grades 7 & 8 Students Experience Construction Technology at LCH
On a winter morning this past February, a bus of Grade 7 and 8 students pulled into the parking lot at London Christian High ready to try something new. Inside the construction technology shop, Justin Dimoff, an LCH teacher, had prepared an experience they won’t soon forget.
For many students, it was their first time stepping into a high school construction technology classroom.
By the end of the day, they had learned shop safety, practiced using professional tools, and built real projects with their own hands.
The day marked one of the first workshops in LCH’s Collaborative Construction Technology Learning Initiative, a program created in partnership with Christian elementary schools across the region and made possible with funding from the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC).
Responding to Student Interest
Over the past several years, London Christian High has seen growing interest from elementary schools whose students want opportunities to explore skilled trades and technological learning.
At LCH, students are introduced to technology courses beginning in Grade 9. Yet many students have shared that they wished they had discovered hands-on learning experiences such as a shop class earlier in their education.
That feedback sparked a conversation.
In collaboration with several partner Christian elementary schools, and a local homeschooling community, LCH began developing a learning experience specifically designed for Grades 7 and 8 students.
The goal was simple: Give younger students early exposure to skilled trades in a safe, supportive, and Christ-centered environment.
Grade 7 & 8 Students from Strathroy Community Christian School
Learning by Doing
Each workshop brings students to the LCH construction shop for a 4 hour learning experience led by LCH teaching staff.
The day begins with introductions and shop safety training before students learn how to properly handle tools and equipment. From there, learning quickly becomes hands-on.
Students move from observation to creation: measuring, cutting, assembling, and building projects from start to finish, crafting something that they get to take home and another bigger project to bring back to their school.
A Collaborative Vision
The initiative reflects LCH’s commitment to partnership within Christian education.
This first year, LCH is hosting either local Christian elementary schools along with a homeschooling group. Workshops are hosted as single-day sessions lasting four to six hours, allowing students to experience authentic shop learning without requiring long-term scheduling changes.
Funding partnerships, including sponsorship from CLAC, help make transportation and materials accessible so that schools can participate regardless of distance.
As the program grows, LCH hopes to expand both the number of participating schools and the range of technology experiences offered in future years.
Grade 7 & 8 Students from Strathroy Community Christian School with CLAC representative
Preparing Students for What Comes Next
At London Christian High, learning is about helping students discover their God-given gifts.
For some students, that discovery happens through books and discussion. For others, it happens through creativity, craftsmanship, and hands-on problem solving.
The Construction Technology workshops open doors earlier, helping young learners see that construction skills are meaningful, creative, and valuable and build learning skills and future pathways.
And as more buses arrive and more projects take shape in the shop, we hope that more elementary school students are able to broaden their possible future pathways, whether in skilled trades, technology, design, or engineering.
