The students of Building Futures celebrated the start of their unique school year last week with an equally one-of-a-kind “ribbon cutting” — slicing through pieces of wood with a pair of circular saws.
Twenty-eight youth from Bow Valley and Cochrane high schools hosted division officials, friends, teachers and builders for an outdoor celebration in the Willows that included speeches, a tour of their classroom (inside an oversized garage) and a walkthrough of a framed-up house they have so far built from the ground up.
“So far, I find construction work to be riveting,” joked 15-year-old participant Andrea Cardoso during her speech to the crowd. “We don’t have a concrete schedule.”
Cardoso is one of five females in the Building Futures program – a partnership between Rocky View Schools and Kingsmith Homes that is currently in its fourth year. Students connect with experts in the home construction industry for a hands-on, off-campus learning experience over the course of one year.
By the time June rolls around, Craig Wiens of Kingsmith Homes said the youth will have built and designed two homes – one at 1,350 square feet and another, right next door, at 1,600 square feet – from the ground up.
“I had never, prior to this, done anything handiwork-related or construction … I wanted to learn something foreign to me. My parents were like, ‘Go for it. You should try something new,’” said Cardoso, adding the program opens up career options for her as well. “This will give me a bright idea of what I want to do.”
“We just look at the blueprint and see where to put the walls,” added classmate Anastasia Turner, who learned about the program from her brother’s friend. “I like framing a lot.”
Wiens said the kids will be exposed to as many as 70 different trades over the course of the 10-month program.
“It makes me pretty proud actually. It’s an accomplishment,” said participant Jacob Kerr, while standing in the kitchen area of the house he is helping to build. “It’s something I would definitely love to do for a job.”
Students will continue to work on the construction projects throughout the winter and the homes will go on the market in the spring.
