Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. INVOLVE me, and I learn.” This involvement can happen in more than one way to both effectively teach and engage students, and one of the best ways to make a meaningful learning experience that sticks for students is when what a student is learning can give back to the community in a special way!
This was such that case for Belle Fourche High School’s Laser Cam class last year in the fall semester when the city of Belle Fourche requested Belle Fourche High School teacher Jim Hartwell to work with his students to put their laser cutting skills to the test in creating a sign to be placed between Belle Fourche and Spearfish at the local water tank!
Hartwell’s students were hard at work throughout the school year last year collaborating to create a product together of true pride for the Bronc Nation of Belle Fourche, practicing their skills in design and collaboration a way that would leave a lasting impression in their own lives while impacting and representing in their local community what it means to truly be a Belle Fourche Bronc: Hard work, teamwork, and dedication!
The process of creating a sign for the city of Belle Fourche started last fall of 2022 as students in Hartwell’s Laser Cam Class were broken into three groups, to each create a sketch of their own signage design in a month-long process and competition to determine what the consensus of the design for the Belle Fourche city sign would be! After a community vote from local contributors, such as BFSD superintendent Dr. Willard, Belle Fourche Police Department, Chamber of Commerce, Belle Fourche Rec Center, Belle Fourche Public Library, New Generation Supplements, Belle Package Liquor, and Belle Fourche Purple Pride, it was decided that Group 2’s design was the winner!
BFHS Laser Cam students that participated in this fantastic opportunity last fall included: Anthony Budmayr, Evan Daniels, Taiten Eaton, Sawyer Franke, Sarah Horst, Toarin Humble, Riley Hunt, Garet Huston, Riggin Lutter, Markus Overstreet, Roenn Ruzicka, and Zachary Tonsager.
After the design was chosen, a partnership was formed with EZ Fabrication & Welding to work over time on the sign’s framework using donations of steel from the city of Belle Fourche. The next stage of the process then occurred with the collaboration of Hartwell’s Summer Laser Cam Class students, who assisted in the first opportunity to use the school’s new laser cutter to cut out the sign. Working with his summer laser cam students that came solely on a volunteer basis, Hartwell and three high school broncs used the ultimate teamwork to lift the ten-foot sheet onto the laser for the cutting process – an amazing feat for a 5x10 sheet weighing over 300 pounds! Once that process was complete, the sign was then sent to the city of Belle Fourche to later be placed at the four lanes between Spearfish and Belle Fourche’s water tank this fall on September 21, 2023!
In Belle Fourche School District, we pride ourselves on providing an excellent education program that results in learners who are responsible and accountable, who value lifelong learning and know how to learn; and who are capable of succeeding in a changing society – and these hands-on opportunities our Belle Fourche community provides for our students in these real-application requests really helps our students practice those lifelong, meaningful skills that lead to enduring learning, passions, habits and successes that bring students closer to themselves and closer to the local community that nurtures them in their learning, growth and dreams.
We thank Jim Hartwell and his proficient team of participating high school laser cam students from last fall and the summer for working with such great heart and dedication in making what is now seen as of September 21, 2023 at the four lanes between Spearfish and Belle Fourche’s water tank: A symbol of a meaningful connection between the vision of the city of Belle Fourche and the hard-working actions of Belle Fourche’s Broncs, working together to give back to the community one project at a time!
If anyone is looking for a small project to collaborate with Hartwell’s Laser Cam or Welding classes through Belle Fourche High School, Hartwell and his dedicated students are eager and ready for the collaborative community task! It is an essential part of Hartwell’s classes to have students connect their skills to the local community in meaningful ways to help positively nurture students’ growing skills, as students are expected in his classes to go out into the community to find projects that can contribute to and create meaningful connections with the local groups & businesses. If you have any questions about potential community collaborations with Hartwell’s laser cam or welding classes, please contact Jim Hartwell at 605-723-3350 or jim.hartwell@k12.sd.us.
We thank the city of Belle Fourche for providing this fantastic opportunity for our high school students to practice and share their ever-growing talents in personably momentous ways, and we look forward to the next community involvement opportunity that comes our way!