I would like to thank the many community members, businesses and groups who have helped out in support of the applied physics high school programs this year. Orcas Island Community Foundation provided us with our Tiny House Grant almost two years ago, and we will be selling our project at the end of this school year. We have had 40 high school students and three instructors work on various parts of the project from the design phase to the construction process of working on the solar electric system. Many different community members have contributed time and expertise to this project – from welding hold downs, sawing local lumber, giving construction advice and tips, donations of materials and providing electrical supplies and advice. The Economic Development Council also provided funds for materials – through a construction class and an electrical wiring class. Fifteen diverse community members worked on the tiny house in these classes. Rainshadow Solar, Solar Nexus and Streamside Renewables provided creative solutions to as well as components for our electrical system. This has been a true community effort. My thanks and appreciation go out to all those who helped out – you know who you are! The time has come to recoup our grant through the sale of this mobile structure, allowing the school to continue to fund these types of projects in the future. Come by the high school applied physics courtyard and check out the tiny house with its curved roof, metal and locally sawn siding and stand-alone solar electric system.
The Applied Physics Bike Mechanix class would also like to thank WildLife Cycles for supplying us with new and used parts, and bikes to rebuild, as well as introducing the class to some of the latest electric bike technology.
As if that is not enough, I also want to give a shout out to the Orcas Island Education Foundation for two grants. One grant is helping fund some applied physics for the fourth- and fifth-grade classes. They have been using the high school space to study pressure and buoyancy while building hot air balloons. The other grant has been used to purchase pulleys, ropes and climbing gear to assist in the high school applied physics and advanced placement physics classes. OIEF has been a longtime supporter of all programs in our schools – Thanx OIEF!
Brett McFarland
Orcas High School Physics Instructor
