Firepit Project Gives Back to Home Schools

FROM THE VANTAGE POINT…

One great idea + skilled students = $$ for home school clubs.

​When Student Services supervisor Mike Knott was thinking of ways to demonstrate the skills and talents of Vantage students to people throughout the district, he began by thinking of something most everyone in northwest Ohio loves – high school basketball. Each associate school that sends students to Vantage has a basketball team. “Many of those who attend buy programs and 50/50 tickets. Maybe our students could create something we could raffle off at our home school basketball games.”
​Industrial Mechanics instructor Kevin Van Oss and his students decided to tackle the “firepit project” – not just an ordinary firepit, but one with the name and mascot of each home school cut out of the metal ring. To make it even more useful, a grilling grate was added after it was painted by Auto Body students.
​Throughout the fall, students worked together to design and customize 13 different firepits. Ottoville’s Nick Grote, a senior in the program said he was really happy to be a part of the project. “I thought it was a great idea, and I got to learn how to roll metal doing the project.” Ty Warnement and Levi Hiltner, both juniors in the program from Continental teamed up to create Continental’s firepit. “We each did part of the project. It was the first time we programmed the Torchmate to cut out the school name. It was a cool way to learn the things we needed to learn to make the piece. We helped sell the raffle tickets at the Continental game and it felt great to explain to people how we made the firepit.”
​(By the way, Levi’s grandma bought some raffle tickets and was the lucky winner of the Continental firepit!)
​All of the money raised from the sale of the raffle tickets went right back to the school where they were sold. In all, a total of $3,281 was raised through this project. Proceeds were donated to several different clubs at the home schools – Athletic Booster Clubs, FCCLA & FFA groups, Students Councils, National Honor Societies, and Junior/Senior proms.
​Everyone agreed it was a terrific project – a way for students to gain some new skills and for Vantage to give back to the participating district schools.