On Wednesday evening (May 29), the community at large is invited to see how twenty-nine students are building their own future in a unique way.
The Building Futures program is wrapping up its fifth year where students representing both Cochrane High and Bow Valley High have learned the skills and steps to construct two new homes from the blueprint stage to welcoming their first home owner.
Matt Chomistek and Darryl Korody have once again led the charge for the twenty-seven grade 10s and two grade 11s (pilot program) through a unique curriculum thanks to a partnership between Rocky View Schools and Kingsmith Homes. Chomistek shares although once again there was more male representation than female, the program is seeing a steady increase of females applying and being accepted into the popular program.
Striking up more community partnerships, Chomistek is happy at how the program has been evolving when it comes to being an accessible resource. "We had a really great year this year. We have always wanted the program to give back to the community, and we feel like this year it has been the best we have ever done. What is also neat is the community is now starting to come to us asking us if we can help in this way or that, as opposed to us going to the community with ideas. In that way, I feel we have become a resource for the community to offer a greater good."
As the program expands and grows, so do the 'teaching' experiences that come along with it, says Chomistek. "We sometimes have this misconception that the only teachers in the community are the ones in schools, but that couldn't be more wrong. This year, Craig (from Kingsmith) was able to set something up where our students worked closely with the realtor who is selling the homes to actually learn what that looks like after all the work of building the house is done...how do you sell the home and make it more appealing for a family to move into? Thanks to Kingsmith Homes it has gone far beyond just building a house; it makes the students think about other career opportunities that are out there, and even what is important or valued in a home."
Janelle Wiens lent her expertise and helped the students with interior decorating, staging and why people may choose the home they do, while Realtor John Doerksen opened up his office to the students. "He walked them through the process of listing a home, what information you have, and the different things he has found when selling to buyers. Which for our students, it goes beyond real estate and they start to understand marketing in general."
With all the support received from Rocky View Schools, Kingsmith Homes, and the overall community, Chomistek says this year he really feels they are turning 29 young people out into the big wide world who will look to make their community a better place to live. "I think we are sending out a group of students who don't just see this program as getting extra credits but rather building up Cochrane."
The public at large is invited to attend this upcoming Wednesday's Celebration of Learning for Building Futures from 4 to 7 p.m. at 88 Willow Street.
Students, teachers, and Kingsmith Homes representatives will be on hand to tour you around the finished houses and answer any questions you have. Adding to the celebration this year, a couple of extra events are being added to the evening showcase. Cochrane and Area Humane Society will be on site with adoption ready-dogs from 4:00-5:45 p.m. in a custom-made doghouse built by the students. The one of a kind doghouse will be auctioned off at the Humane Society Gala in November 2019 and to support the work they do, burgers and hot dogs in exchange for a donation to the Cochrane Humane Society will be available as well. The other addition to the evening will be a locked room experience, which will be available in 20-minute intervals for teams to test their skills from 5:00-7:00.
Make a point to drop by and learn more about this incredible learning opportunity that Cochrane is lucky to offer.
READ MORE:
Tue, May 7, 1:00 PM
Full-time, Part-time, Retail