A record 250 people attended the annual Maritime Moto Show at Tantramar Regional High School on Sunday. The TRHS Essential Skills class fundraiser was organized by the students who participate in the program.
Nik Estabrooks and Dominick Wilson put the event together as part of their year end project. “I was definitely nervous for this, I will admit, but it’s turned out great. I’m happy, really happy about it,” said Estabrooks.
Estabrooks is working towards being a firefighter, and he’s also interested in cars. He’s one of 33 students at the high school involved in the program.
Essential skills teacher Matthew Wheaton said the Essential Skills Achievement Pathway (ESAP) Program started in New Brunswick six years ago. It helps students who have a clear sense of what they want to do work towards their career. TRHS was one of the first ten schools to participate.
“We basically have a program designed apart from the regular graduation pathway that traditional schools have,” he said. “Starting in grade 10, [students do] a foundation year where they work on skills that the federal government has said, we need our future labor force workers to be able to do these things, reading, writing, numeracy, digital oral communication, all that stuff,” said Wheaton.
After the foundation year, students then focus on the line of work they want to follow.
Estabrooks said the program is a perfect fit for him. “Going through the normal system, it didn’t feel like I was getting to where I want to be, doing what I want to do,” he said. “This seems to really help me be able to work towards the stuff that I like.”
