By Anne Larsen
Near the end of the first semester of the 2017-2018 school year and Byron Clemsen’s 45th year teaching, John Handley High School principal Michael Dufrene asked Clemsen if there were any teachers in the Trades Department who would hold a class for late-enrolling Spanish speaking students. It would be one night a week for five weeks. Clemsen accepted the challenge and enlisted the help of Maggie Gavello, the head of the school’s ESOL department. Gavello immediately found ten interested students.
Over the next five weeks, Clemsen decided he and the students would attempt to construct Delta Darts, a type of paper airplane made of various materials, such as glue, rubber bands, paper, wood, and pins. The ultimate goal of the class was to build an airplane fit for flying on the last day of the program.
Clemsen did not speak much Spanish and his students did not speak much English, so the first night was a bit of a struggle. However, Clemsen had some of his former students help translate for him; he also used visual aids and hand gestures to communicate his ideas. While it wasn’t easy, Clemsen and his students were able to break the boundaries of language and create Delta Darts.
The final night of the program, launch day, came, and Clemsen and his students were prepared to test their airplanes. Brian Brehm, a reporter at The Winchester Star, witnessed the plane-flying scene while on his way to cover the District Tennis match. He took pictures of the group and asked a few questions, then went to cover his story. Unbeknownst to Clemsen, he and his class of engineers would appear in The Winchester Star the following day, on the front page, no less.
This program was a hit with the students involved; not only did all ten of them join Clemsen’s Materials and Processes class the next year, but the five-week class has been held ever since. Through engineering and creativity, Clemsen helped introduce new students to classes in the trades at Handley.
