By Michelle Sklar

Matt’s Eagle Scout project takes shape in March. The St. Nicholas alumnus gave 75 hours of his time to planning and building the shed to replace the deteriorating outbuilding on the campus.

Many local students and their families spent spring break on vacation, but 14-year-old Matt Giebler of Los Altos and his family spent the break at Giebler’s alma mater, St. Nicholas School. When students returned in April, a brand-new, hand-constructed wooden shed stood in place of the one that had been slowly rotting away.

“Matthew Giebler is an example of someone who takes pride in giving back. At St. Nicholas, we try and emphasize service to the broader community. The building of the shed is a wonderful, and very visible, example of giving back, not just for the benefit of oneself, but for others,” said Father Gary Thomas, pastor of St. Nicholas.

Giebler attended St. Nicholas 1995-2004 and now attends Bellarmine College Preparatory School. He has a simple explanation for choosing to build the shed as his Eagle Scout project.

“During my nine years at St. Nicholas, I was able to slowly but surely see the deterioration of the shed. When it came time for me to choose an Eagle Scout project, I focused on finding something that would benefit my school, because St. Nicholas School and Parish have given so much to my family and me that I decided I needed to give something back. Also, Father Gary has been a great role model,” Matt said.

Matt spent more than a month planning, building and painting a large wooden storage shed that will house emergency supplies and tools. He put 75 hours of his own time into the project, and family members and troop members added another 175.5 hours.

Matt and his team of assistants began construction in early March. He kept a journal as part of his Eagle Scout project, and it provides a candid view of the challenges he faced.

March 5: “In about seven hours we were able to finish the floor frame and nail it to the skids. I faced a dilemma when I realized we had to pick up the whole floor to slide the cement pavers underneath - but after some quick thinking, we broke out our car jacks and - voila - problem solved.”

March 12: “The weather was nice for building - not too hot, and not too cold. Hand-sawing 14 pieces of wood takes a lot of energy, and I have the blisters to prove it.”

March 26: “I have been sick with a cold all week, so I do not have much energy. Still, we were able to cut the siding down to shape.”

March 30: “Today was our first sunny day in a long time. We were actually able to get some good work done today. Our shed is starting to look like a shed - it has four walls and a roof.”

April 1: “I think the construction is officially over, the shed is up, the doors are in, and the shingles are all nailed on. We spent most of today just trying to get our door to hang straight.”

Matt noted, “Our goal was to build a shed involving quality materials and construction. The most important lesson I think I passed on to the younger Scouts was that you can’t cut corners if you want to do a really good job.”

Matt started Scouts in Pack 35 as a St. Nicholas first-grader. In fifth grade he decided to make the leap from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and joined Troop 33, based at Los Altos United Methodist Church. He has been active in Scouting ever since.