Greetings Students and Families!
Congratulations on completing our first month of the school year! September has been an exciting month at DCTS Carpentry, and we want to take a moment to recognize some outstanding achievements by our students across grade levels.
10th Grade Spotlight: Mateo Dones
Mateo has excelled in his first major project of the year—completing a building floor plan for a simulated building permit and inspection. His work began with finding a zone in Lower Paxton Township that would allow him to build his house. After navigating a few bumps in the permit process, Mateo got the green light to begin his build.
His teacher gave him a challenge: to bring an 8×8 section of his plan to life. Mateo not only met the challenge but beat all competition, completing the project in just 6 class days! Along the way, he also learned some basic electrical skills, thanks to ECM’s Paul Kariuki, and requested to both paint and install trim for his wall section. After passing his framing inspection, he continued with the electrical and drywall work. Mateo has shown incredible promise with his eager-to-learn attitude, and we are proud to have him at DCTS!
11th Grade Spotlight: Kayliana McNeal
Leading the charge in her Bathroom Renovation Project in HVAC, Kayliana has shown remarkable leadership and initiative. She has been responsible for preparing the project, creating a materials list, presenting her plan to the customer, and scheduling the work.
Her team, which includes Zion and HVAC techs, is making great progress under her guidance. The project is about halfway through, with framing and rough electrical complete, and they’re now beginning to install drywall. Kayliana’s next goal is to finish the standing shower with tile. Her customer, Mr. Beitman, has been thoroughly impressed with her foresight and presentation before starting the project. Kayliana is always eager to push herself beyond expectations, and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next!
Senior Spotlight: Kayana Waller
Our Senior Spotlight goes to Kayana Waller, who has taken on a major building project based on a set of plans that she helped design as a junior. Now, she’s putting those plans into action! So far, Kayana has completed the plot layout, batter boards, and leveled the ledger, and is overseeing the excavation depth and project schedule. The masonry work is just one day away from being finished!
Kayana has shown substantial growth since her 9th grade year, becoming more focused and determined with each project. She hopes to become a general contractor and possibly pursue a business degree. We are excited to see her continue on her path toward success!
Upcoming Events
Looking ahead, we are just one month away from the Fireplace Competition, where students from both Carpentry and Masonry will team up to construct fireplaces from scratch. This exciting event will include everything from ordering materials and forming crews to drawing plans and subcontracting HVAC techs to create a fully functional fireplace. The picture below is of the 2023 winners.
We’re proud of all our students for their hard work this September and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds!
Sincerely,
The DCTS Carpentry Team
“Building Skills, Building Futures”
