Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Members of the Hancock School Board were presented gifts at Monday’s regular monthly meeting Monday, in honor of National School Board Recognition Month. Left to right are: Emilie Lancour, Michael Lancour, Becky Ylitalo, Charlie Klein, Rod Paavala, and Catherine Jordon.

HANCOCK – Hancock Middle School Industrial Arts students expressed their appreciation to the School Board at the Board’s regular monthly meeting Monday.

Each of the Board members received a personalized cutting board constructed by the students themselves. The cutting boards are made of end grain Walnut, which makes them a premium wooden board in which wood fibers face up, making it exceptionally gentle on knives, self-healing as fibers close after cuts, more sanitary by trapping bacteria inside, and very durable.

Middle/High School Principal Mollie Trewartha said the specially-constructed cutting boards were made in Middle School shop classes under the guidance of Industrial Arts teacher Fred Jaehnig.

Each of the boards was then laser engraved under the instruction of Peggy Meyers, who leads the Middle School STEM labs, said Trewartha. In addition to an engraving of the Bulldog logo, each board includes the Board Member’s last name.

“They’re student-built,” Trewartha said. “It’s to celebrate School Board Appreciation Month, which is the month of January.”

National School Board Month is a time across the U.S. to honor volunteer school board members for their dedication to local public education, setting policy, overseeing budgets, and ensuring student success, a tradition championed by organizations like the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB).