While many regular math students will be sitting in their classrooms, Geometry in Construction students will actually build a house for a low-income family.

“We’re doing math right now, but next week or the week after, we’re start- ing the house,” commented Jake Rubin, freshman.

The Geometry in Construction program officially began at ETHS last year, and is co-taught by math teacher Maryjoy Heineman and CTE teacher Matthew Kaiser. Last year, ETHS students built a 1,300 square foot, three- bedroom one-story house, now located at 1941 Jackson Ave.

This year, students are stepping it up.

“This year it’s going to be a two- story house, so we’re going to build the floors side-by-side and then put them together,” explained Joey Eovaldi, freshman.

Students of the class seem undaunted by the difficulty of building. “I don’t know how to build or anything, but

I still think that it’s going to be fun,” added Eovaldi.

According to CTE Department Chair Shelley Gates, the learning curve for kids is pretty steep at the beginning. Gates added, “Most of the kids have not done construction work in the past.”

Starting the program last year wasn’t easy. “We kind of had to learn as we were going along,” explained Gates.

Last year’s house wasn’t fully completed in time for the summer. “We didn’t do the electrical and the drywall,” commented Gates. Contractors are cur- rently working on the house, and should finish by late September.

“This year, I think, will be a much smoother experience for us,” added Gates.

The house will eventually be sold in coordination with Evanston’s Commu- nity Partnerships for Affordable Hous- ing, to a low-income family, and the goal is that the family works at ETHS or within the city.

Ultimately, Geometry in Construc- tion is about and learning new things and helping others.