Six years ago, I started teaching at CVCEC, I was a substitute teacher. Although I had many years of work experience in the construction field, the complexity of teaching was a new task for me. At the end of the module, I was offered and accepted to teach another module and once again my practical experience...Read More

The Carpentry and Health Care programs at the Chateauguay Valley Career Centre (CVCEC) are traditionally male and female dominated programs. Every school year we have a few female students registered for the Carpentry program and a couple of male students registered in the Health Care programs. While speaking to our current students, it was nice...Read More

Welcome back to our CVCEC team from the mountains of the Dominican Republic. This year the team consisted of students and teachers from our Health Care programs and a Carpentry teacher. Everyone had an amazing experience volunteering at clinics, shadowing in hospitals, visiting a women’s shelter and a diabetic clinic and finally visiting construction and greenhouse...Read More

Do you know how to install vinyl siding on your home or shed? In this “HOW TO” segment, John Hodges from our carpentry department, will go over step-by-step the best way to make this home renovation project a success. Cost effective and durable, installing vinyl siding has some best practices to be aware of when tackling...Read More

Our homes, for the most part, are taken for granted. We walk into the front door of our homes never thinking about what is underneath the gyprock and paint. We need to look behind the finished goods to see the skeleton of our homes. Our students are taught the fundamentals of footings and walls in...Read More

“Every multilevel home needs safe and comfortable stairs. The right measurements for landings, treads, risers and railing heights are an exact science…” – Mike Holmes Who is the professional responsible for most of the stairs built? – the carpenter. Students in CVCEC’s Carpentry Program spend over one hundred and thirty hours studying and practicing the...Read More

Soup to Warm your Hearts The cold, the wind, the temperature, what a winter….. Even though there is no wind-chill of -32 today, we are still in the mercy of winter, but I ask you, who doesn’t like to keep warm, no matter what the temperature is outside. To help warm the cockles of our...Read More

For the student, the typical day in the Construction Carpentry program at CVCEC means attending class either in the classroom or in the shop or field, depending on the topic or the tasks to be accomplished.  Sometimes, students who have finished their assigned work or who are ahead of the rest of the group can...Read More

“Tools and skills, in the dawn of the world were a man’s first, best friends. They remain his best friends still in a world grown old and infinitely complex. By means of them he can unlock the doors to a life of creative activity that is full of interest. Without them he is mere shadow...Read More

Have you ever wanted some help as to the best way to adjust your cabinet doors? In this “HOW TO” segment, John Hodges from our carpentry department, will walk you through the best way to get those cabinet doors just the way you want by adjusting the hinges.  Previous – How to videos: – to change...Read More