St. Mary’s College Partners with Ontario Parks on Cabin Build for Pancake Bay Provincial Park

A year-long partnership and project was celebrated on May 23, 2019 at St.Mary’s College (SMC), with a beautifully crafted cabin as the focal point of a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The cabin, measuring close to 1000 square feet, will be transported and utilized by Ontario Parks at Pancake Bay Provincial Park. The structure was built over the period of one school year by gifted students in the St. Mary’s College Specialist High Skills Major Construction Program, along with the SMC Cabin Building Club and students in various construction classes. Most impressive was the number of committed students who were so enthusiastic to work on the project that they volunteered their time during off-school hours and March break. .

“I am so proud of the diligence and commitment of our students. They worked responsibly and were eager to put in time after school hours to see their work become a reality,” said construction teacher and project lead, Eugene Pagliaro.

“They were very willing and very capable of learning about the entire process and mastered skills that they can use in the future,” added Pagliaro.

The project originated near the end of the 2018 school year between SMC construction teacher Craig Pierman, the board’s Experiential Learning Lead Adriano Carota, and Ontario Parks local representatives Kendra Gibson and Jace Dominey. A partnership and agreement was created and the work began in September of 2018 thanks for the commitment of so many staff and students, and funding provided by the Specialist High Skills Major Construction Program, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and Ontario Parks.