Haile students build playhouses, character

EAST COUNTY — What took six Carlos E. Haile Middle School students 52 hours, seven days, more than 40 cans of soda and energy drinks and five Publix sub sandwiches to build?

The answer is four blue-and-yellow playhouses made of hardy board, shingles, primer, paint and wood.
This week, Jimmy Ansley, Michael Kisida, Griffin Hudson, Jason Berger, Devon Summerville and Jordan Brown, members of the school’s Technology Student Association (TSA), auctioned off two of those playhouses to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The other two, they donated to the nonprofit Foundation for Dreams, which provides camps for children with special needs or chronic/terminal illnesses. Students and their adviser, Haile Middle teacher Maureen Hudson, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 22, at the campgrounds, located at 16110 Dream Oaks Place, Bradenton.

Tasked with building something that fulfilled a community need, the team of 11- to 13-year-olds built the structures as part of the TSA Construction Challenge and Community Service Video Challenge. Four other TSA students also helped by making a video and aiding with the auction.

At the Feb. 25 Florida TSA Conference in Orlando, the students will present a 16-page binder full of details on the playhouses and why the group chose to build the structures.

They will also show video of the time they spent building the playhouses.

Students started planning the project in September, and at first, their ideas exceeded their capabilities and their resources.

They brainstormed ideas for pirate ships, two-story tree houses and other types of structures that Hudson, a TSA adviser, knew weren’t feasible.

“These kids like to think big,” Hudson said, laughing. “But I told them to take a deep breath and think about whether those ideas were doable. They needed to think about the cost, energy and commitment that goes into this.”

The group decided on versatile playhouses that can be used as a lemonade stand or a pet store or a diner for a quick meal — all in one building.

Students crafted wooden signs for each type of business housed within the playhouse and the user’s imagination.

The playhouses at Foundation for Dreams have one wall so the structures are easily accessible for wheelchairs. The houses that were auctioned have three walls.

The group met on weekends at Berger’s house and used his parents’ driveway as a workshop.

Local businesses, such as Cole Contracting Corp. and Whetstone Engineering and Testing, donated services and materials for the playhouses. The children built the playhouses themselves, but field professionals gave students lessons on building best practices and safety tips.

“We learned a lot about building, but we also learned about working as a team,” Griffin said.

So far, students’ favorite part of the project was delivering the playhouses to the foundation two weeks ago.

“Seeing the faces of the people at the foundation when the playhouses hit the ground was amazing,” 12-year-old Jordan said. “It was an extraordinary feeling.”

Griffin added: “So often, people see middle schoolers as the age group they don’t want to deal with,” Griffin said. “Their skills are underestimated. We don’t see 11- to 14-year-olds as capable of doing these things. But this project isn’t just for them; it’s for the community, too.”