Geo Monley plans to make the woodshop available to all and dreams to see it one day “open like a library.” His vision has begun to take form since the first semester when the large “Inspiration Board” was installed in Keyser Landing.  “What I wrote on the [the inspiration board] was I want to have a maker academy, a design academy,” he said.

Monley, who also teaches math, says that he plans on using the woodshop next year with his geometry class. Though he says geometry is a “hands-on class,” he also endorses use of the space for many subjects.  

Many other classes already utilize the woodshop. Science teacher, Mary Wuerth, printed out things from the 3D printer in her class, while many other teachers simply commission woodshop students to make hall passes, study corrals, or displays for cards sold by fine art classes.  One administrator even made her own extension for her desk, and new Spanish teacher Kelli McGiven is making a table. However, teachers and students are not the only people taking advantage of this space.

“People come from all over the place.  From Point Reyes, the East Bay, [and] from Sonoma, to [visit] this woodshop.  Adults [too], because it’s so well set up,” Monley said. This is not surprising, as the woodshop is home to some impressive equipment including a computer lab containing 22 computers, two 3D printers, a sodium hydroxide bath, a soldering set up, a CNC router, a wood turner, band and table saws, a vinyl cutter, and a laser cutter. The laser cutter was most recently used to create a plaque for the Draw The Line sculpture, which portrays the consequences involved in drunk driving, now located in the BPL. The laser cutter is frequently used by the robotics club which meets in the woodshop. Some students also utilize the space on a smaller scale, such as at lunch or during a free period.

“I think it’s a really great program, I think it should be continued,” sophomore Henry Soicher said. “I think what he’s doing is a really valuable skill today because in these days things aren’t built to last, and being able to fix something yourself is one of the most valuable skills that you can have. I find it useful everyday. I try to fix as many things as I can, instead of throwing them away.”  He’s not the only student. Senior Cole Haegland, who took Monley’s class years ago, said, “I’ve used the woodshop for a lot of projects for other classes and for non-school related stuff. So if Monley were to open the shop up to more students, I’m sure it would benefit a lot of people…teachers would be able to create new projects and lessons that work around the woodshop, which could make their classes more interesting.”

Monley’s first experience in this field was when he co-founded the Kumara pre-school in Tam Valley, where he would teach the children some woodworking skills. “I had a dream 20 years ago, at night, and I dreamed of being in a place [and] building bridges, model bridges and stuff, and there was a big shop space attached to it. I started teaching after that,” he said. After his experience at Tam Valley he moved on to teach woodworking in Tam Valley schools’ after school programs.

“I love building things, showing people how to build things, setting places up where people can build things, it’s what I do,” Monley said, “I love it.”

There will be a “free community welcome and meetup” on Wednesday June 8 at 6 PM in the woodshop room. Freshman Jeremiah Grith will be there with the auger-powered vehicle he has been working on at lunch time. Soicher will present a drone he has created from pieces from the 3D printer. There will also be wood turning and laser cutting demonstrations, which will be followed by slides, pictures, discussion, and networking.

Monley hopes that he can get this program off the ground by the beginning of  next school year. “My dream is to have it open like the library [so that] kids can come in here after school, [during] tutorial, [and] classes can come in,” he said. “Now, they have some classes in here already, but [if] the teachers could bring a class in to do a project, that’s my dream, [but] it’s gonna take some funding to do that.”