St. Albert high school students learning ins and outs of building a house while earning credit
A group of high school students in St. Albert is spending the school year building a house from the ground up while keeping up with their studies.
The Grade 10 students from Paul Kane High School and Bellerose Composite High School have signed on to the Building Futures program, a project immersing students in skilled-labour trades by building a home with the help of professionals and teachers.
Half of the 24 students in the program spend their morning in the classroom while the other dozen help build the house. They switch roles at around 11 a.m.
The newly built garage at the construction site also serves as the classroom.
Ken Bishop, one of the teachers with Building Futures, told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday the students are "having a hard time grasping the fact that they're still in school."
"When you're teaching and the group is outside working, you can see it in their eyes that they want to be out there doing the same thing," Bishop said.
"Here, we get to see the kids enjoying it and see the pride in the fact that there was nothing there at the beginning of the day, and there's something there at the end of the day," he added.
Kevin Read of Encore Master Builder – a program partner – said there's "such a joy" to see young people excited by the trades.
"Our sub trades nowadays are getting older in age, and we don't see the enthusiasm, the vigor, as much," Read said. "They love their craft. They're great at what they do … seeing young people interested in it is truly the benefit that I see when I pull up."
As for the students, they are excited to be part of a unique program and working with professionals.
"There's a lot of people in my class who really want to go into the trades, but mostly it's an opportunity to get to just try different things," said Noah Buckley, a Grade 10 student from Bellerose.
"I just wanted to try something that's unexpected … just getting the chance to try new things and try to be in a program where there's careers involved, where I could actually take this and make a whole life out of it."
Building Futures lasts the entire school year. Students will earn high school credit for their participation in the program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Who should lead the Liberals? 'None of the above,' poll finds
As questions loom over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership, a new Nanos Research poll commissioned for CTV News says a quarter of Canadians say none of the potential candidates appeal to them.
Canada's response to Trump deportation plan a key focus of revived cabinet committee
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's promise to launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people has the Canadian government looking at its own border.
New technology solves mystery of late First World War soldier's flower sent home to Canada
In 1916, Harold Wrong plucked a flower from the fields of Somme, France and tucked it into a letter he mailed home to Toronto. For decades, the type of flower sent remained a mystery.
U.S. election maps: How did 2024 compare to 2020 and 2016?
Though two states have yet to be officially called, the U.S. election map has mostly been settled. How does it compare with the previous two elections?
Canada rent report: What landlords are asking tenants to pay
Average asking rents declined nationally on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than three years in October, said a report out Thursday.
N.S. school 'deeply sorry' for asking service members not to wear uniforms at Remembrance Day ceremony
An elementary school in the Halifax area has backed away from a request that service members not wear uniforms to the school's Remembrance Day ceremony.
Remembrance Day: What's open and closed in Canada?
While banks and post offices will be closed nationwide on Remembrance Day, shops and businesses could be open depending on where you live in Canada.
BREAKING Judicial recount for Surrey-Guildford confirms B.C. NDP's majority
The B.C. New Democrats have a majority government of 47 seats after a judicial recount in the riding of Surrey-Guildford gave the party's candidate 22 more votes than the provincial Conservatives.
48,584 space heaters recalled in Canada after burn injury in U.S.
Health Canada has announced a recall for electric space heaters over potential fire and burn risks, a notice published Thursday reads.