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High School South student SPEAR photo 1
Above, one High School South SPEAR student uses the saw while another holds up the beginnings of a customized holiday decoration they'll use to fundraise. Right, a new mailbox structure for the front office is nearly complete, the vision and work of the CTE program.

High School South student SPEAR photo 2

Across town, NorthStar students busy fixing irrigation issues

Oct. 21, 2024-- Students enrolled in the United Way-funded Project SPEAR classes at High School South have a reputation for utilizing their new skills to improve their school and community. Since the program's inception in 2018, SPEAR students have refurbished benches for High School South's softball team, built lifeguard stands for Ortley Beach, and helped build a new ticket booth for Indian game days, among other successful ventures. This year, they're delivering something special for teachers and school staff.

Students enrolled in SPEAR 2-- the more advanced class of the pre-apprenticeship CTE-based construction course-- "are working on a very skilled project of building custom mailboxes for the front office," said teacher Tim O'Leary.

When complete, the new mailbox structure is going to measure almost 15-feet wide and about seven-feet tall.

One of the most popular times of the year to receive mail is during the holiday season, and SPEAR students are also preparing for that, embarking on a fun project they're going to use for a fundraiser.

"Our students are going to make and sell Christmas trees with a customizable sign on them," said O'Leary.

And, of course, being the teacher he is, O'Leary first had to model how these custom trees might look:

High School South student SPEAR photo 3

(Polar Express Santa voice:) "The first ... gift ... of CHRISTMAS!"

Meanwhile, students in Spear 1 have been working with tape measures and have just begun cutting with some of the equipment-- particularly the scroll and band saws. They are learning how to carve initials and, from there, will start to explore more advanced levels of carving. 
High School South SPEAR students photo 4

It's not the North Pole, but this workshop is buzzing with holiday-centric activity.

At High School North, students in SPEAR's sister program, NorthStar, began the year learning how to use a ruler to measure correctly, and putting those skills to the test during their introduction to hand tools.

NorthStar 2 students have embarked on a special project to help the school's Gardening Club revamp the existing broken sprinkler system in the main courtyard.

"This has included gluing PVC together, mending broken sprinkler heads, and adjusting all six zones so there was even coverage throughout," said NorthStar teacher Brian Ainley. "Students were also tasked with hanging artwork in our skywalk. They had to measure and plan out on paper, using scale, how it was to be laid out, then put their plans into practice."

The school year is young, but students within the vocational pathway provided by SPEAR and NorthStar are not only receiving hands-on lessons, but also making life better for those around them by applying those newfound skills.

This will ring even truer once High School South staff begin taking their letters out of brand-new mailboxes. SPEAR students might not deliver that mail themselves, but they're definitely putting their stamp on the school.