GUIDANCE

STUDENTS

STUDENT PROJECTS

Reading Muhlenberg CTC provides many opportunities to work on student projects. Our Career and Technical Student Organizations enable students to work on community service projects, participate in leadership activities, and present projects at CTSO competitions. Individual shop areas also participate in activities which relate to the program of study. Student participation in these projects will allow you to make a difference in the community while learning a trade and adding to your portfolio.

RMCTC Students Help Restore a National Landmark,
Hopewell Furnace, Elverson PA.

Students from the Horticulture and Bricklaying classes of Reading Muhlenberg CTC participated in a project to restore a stone wall at the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Elverson, Pennsylvania for the past two years. The students helped to reconstruct the wall that was built by Mark Byrd and his people over a hundred years ago. The wall held back earth and allowed for a waterway to be built providing water for the water-wheel at the furnace. The project has been coordinated by members of the Dry Stone Conservancy, a non-profit agency in Kentucky.

The wall has been rebuilt using the same mortar-less system used when it was first constructed over one hundred years ago. The dry stone building trade has been referred to as a “dying art” because of the expense of the stone and labor, and lack of skilled workers in the field.

Our students are gaining valuable experience through working with Masters of the Stone-Masonry trade.

In order to participate, students had to attend a day long course on safety and basic dry stone building techniques. Once on site, the students were guided through a series of steps which included the selection and layout of the stones for the foundation. They had to select the faces of the stone, use different size hammers to trim and cut the stone, set the stone in the wall, and pack the stone’s to keep them in place. Students watching backhoe place stones.

backhoe placing stones	instuctor explaining principles of wall construction

Students had a great learning experience. Not only did they learn an old masonry technique, they learned a little about the heritage of Berks County and had fun doing so. Teams of eight students worked on the project in three day intervals beginning in October 2008, during the Spring of 2009 and again in November, 2009.

The Bernville Fire Company recently sold their rescue and squad vehicle to RMCTC to be converted back into use as an ambulance. Students in the Public Safety and Security and Auto Body Repair programs are working in partnership to restore the ambulance. The vehicle is a 1990 Ford Econoline Ambulance with a Road Rescue Inc. cabin that was previously converted to haul gear for the fire company.

The Public Safety and Security program will use the ambulance to properly expose students to the real life experiences they will encounter in the various fields of public safety and security. The school is restoring the ambulance and painting it white, yellow, and black to match the school’s colors. It will also be entered into local parades and used as a public relations tool for the school.
Having an outfitted ambulance will enable students to practice their skills and gain the confidence they need to be contributing members of society upon graduation. It is our hope that someday many of our students may be able to use the skills learned at RMCTC to save a life!

Reading Muhlenberg
CTC Landscaping Project

With the renovation project at RMCTC almost complete, the Horticulture students have a lot of work ahead of them. Throughout the 2007-2008 year, the students will be working outside the school to finalize the grounds.

This project will give the students excellent hands-on training in the field of horticulture. Planting flowers, bushes, and shrubs will help the students learn the importance of the knowledge they gained in the classroom.

In a few months, visitors will not recognize the front of the school. The students have already completed the patio area outside the restaurant at the school. Mulch was put down, and numerous bushes and shrubs were planted. Teachers at school have offered numerous compliments about how nice the area looks and that the students did an excellent job. Check back soon for pictures and updates as the project moves forward.