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Hanover Trustees engage in hands-on learning with SRSS students
At this month’s public meeting of the Hanover School Board, trustees were surprised with an interactive demonstration presented by the Steinbach Regional Secondary School. Teacher Kyle Von Riesen brought students from the hair styling class to help trustees learn a basic braid that is used for more complex braids. “What I actually brought in was one of our mannequins from one of our students that won gold in our provincial competition, one of my Grade 12’s (who is) heading out to nationals in a couple weeks. And so, I showed them the braid that she did, and then we did a very beginner level of that braid just to get their hands in there and to see what it feels like to be a little bit uncomfortable (when learning something new).” Did the trustees score big for their braids? “I have to say, they all tried,” Von Riesen says with a smile. “And that's what it's about, right? Just like with everything, some people come with previous knowledge, so they obviously manage a little bit better. But at the end of the day, I feel like they all gave it a good try and even my students were impressed with how hard they worked for that 20 minutes to get that braid down.” He notes this was a good experience for students who took on the support role during this demonstration. “They were very nervous going in and the trustees were so kind and so generous to them, but they walked out feeling a little bit more confident, a little bit more like ‘we did it!’” Von Riesen says it can be intimidating as a student to be working with adults. “We had Grade 10s, 11s and 12s. So, we had a variety of our students that that joined in, and they all walked away with a little pep in their step.” @steinbach_online #HSD trustees learn some hair styling tricks from #cosmetology teacher Kyle Von Riesen #steinbach #SRSS #steinbachonline ♬ original sound - SteinbachOnline The SRSS offers a full complement of 10 technical vocational programs. Von Riesen believes it is important to expose students to as many opportunities as possible, allowing them to try their hand at a variety of trades. “Some of them take these trades as lifelong careers and some of them just do it to try something new.” He says whether students find a trade they shine at or find one they are not good at; every experience has value. “It's okay if you're not good at it. It's okay. You can enjoy it and you can have fun with it,” he says. “Just taking that risk and trying something new, you'll never know what you're good at until you know what you're bad at.”