Fort Liard (Jun 16/06) - Students in the Practical Arts Liard program have come a long way from creating simple cutouts of wooden keys to be used as key hangers.

The Echo Dene school students who took part in the first year of this program now have the skills to make wooden items as complex as an entertainment centre.

Launched in November, the program was designed for students who have difficulty in academic studies, program instructor Pat Marche said.

During the year, students spent the morning working in the shop and the afternoon in academic classes.

The program has made a difference, Marche said.

"I've seen an attitude change," Marche said about the participants.

At the beginning of the program, some students wondered why they were placed in it, but by the end, there was a clamour of other students trying to get in.

Overall, between 10-12 students were either involved in the program full time or participated for extra credits.

Students progressed from working on simple projects like Christmas candle holders through to spice cabinets, coffee tables and finally the entertainment centre, which is on wheels.

"They feel they are accomplishing something," Marche said.

In between the projects, the students have also being working on the construction of a multipurpose building beside the school. The program was made possible by support from Skills Canada, Duke Energy Gas Transmission, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Beaver Enterprises.

The program taught the students a number of different skill sets.

"We learned lots of stuff," Mathew Gauthier said.

Safety was the first lesson, Gauthier said.

Marche admits that he was originally nervous about the students using power tools.

"Very quickly, I became confident in them that they could use the tools," he said.

Everyone had their favourite project. For Danny Edda, it was the coffee tables because of the way they looked.

Leroy Sassie also liked building the tables. Putting the pieces together was the hardest part, he said.

"It was a learning experience," Sassie said.

For Cheryl Bertrand, the best project was making the spice cabinets. She said she liked coating them with polyurethane.

Jonathon McLeod said although he was told in advance the types of projects they would be working on, he never expected them to look so good. McLeod said he would definitely recommend the program to other students.

The program is slated to run again next year.

Residents in the community will have a chance to admire the work of the students first hand.

The projects will be sold to make back the cost of the materials for the next class, Marche said.

Word is spreading and people are already coming in and voicing interest in the pieces, she added.