Limestone’s Board of Trustees had the honour of having the Skills Ontario Competition Awards at the Education, Policy, and Operations Committee meeting on June 5, 2024. The Expanded Opportunities Team lead by Melissa Baker-Cox, Geoff Petznick, Paul Allinson, and Courtney Soucy, presented banners to the students involved in the Skills Ontario Competition, as well as Skills Canada.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and entire Limestone District School Board, congratulations to all the students on their participation and amazing success!  

Grade 7/8 Construction

Individual teams were asked to construct a scale model of a modest and affordable house for a well deserving family based on the design they arrived with. Team construction projects will be judged on several criteria including creativity, quality, teamwork, and demonstration of basic practical and theoretical knowledge of Residential House Design and Construction.

3^rd Place at Skills Ontario: A.J. Farley, Aiden Lollar, Baurer Desveaux, and Keegan Gardiner

Auto Paint – Secondary

Competitors had the opportunity to demonstrate, through practical and theoretical application, their skills and task knowledge in the industry relevant to:

• Basic skills relevant to surface preparation, colour matching, painting, and polishing.
• Knowledge of an application of applicable health and safety regulations.
• Adjusting and checking of safety/operating equipment.
• Problem solving in relation to painting.

1^st Place at Skills Ontario: Alisha Haaksman

3^rd Place at Skills Ontario: Joe Yeomans

Outdoor Power Equipment – Secondary

Tested the skills and knowledge of each student in the air and liquid cooled engine field and to prepare each student for employment in the Marine, Powersports, and Small Engine industries. Criteria included: two-stroke engine mechanical operation, all-terrain vehicle braking systems, fuel system and carburetor repair, electrical wiring and troubleshooting, four-cycle engine shooting, and theory.

                1^st Place at Skills Ontario: Jeremy Gardiner

Auto Collison – Post Secondary

Competitions were judged on their general knowledge of auto body repair process with particular attention paid to:

• Knowledge of safe working practices through the body repair process.
• Proper application of I-Car procedures for the structural sectioning project.
• Performance of an aluminum welding task.
• Accurate use of Tram-bar and Unibody measurement charges for measuring a Unibody.

1^st Place at Skills Ontario and 2^nd Place at Skills Canada: Liam Alford

Arborist – Post Secondary

Competitors were judged on:

• Tailboard Safety 
  • Assessment of the hazards for the tasks being performed below. 
• Knot Tying 
  • Performing and completing knots as described in the Arborist Industry Safe Work Practices book by WSPS – Spar Pole Rescue 
  • While maintaining 100% tie off work positioning, ascend the tree (powerline pole for use of competition), assess patient, secure patient, and lower ground. 
• Limbing Challenge 
  • Assemble a chain saw (will be disassembled), properly start reassembled chainsaw. 
  • Using the same chainsaw, remove identified limbs (obstacle) of a downed tree (powerline pole with large dowels) using proper cutting and safe chainsaw techniques. 
• Throw Ball Challenge 
  • With in the allotted time, utilize provided throw ball lines, to make as many attempts as possible to hit targets to score points. This is an accuracy challenge. 
• Mechanical Advantage Challenge 
  • All competitors were provided with the same set equipment (pulleys, trusses, etc.), where they will develop the most efficient mechanical advantage system within the time allotted.

2^nd Place at Skills Ontario: Owen Chapman

Congratulations to all the Limestone District School Board Skills Ontario Competitors:

Limestone would like to thank all the Skills Competition Coaches and Chairs, the entire Expanded Opportunities team members, St. Lawrence College, Skills Ontario, and Skills Canada.