Tech Students give tots a happy holiday

By M. English
Correspondent

The grown-ups in the crowd were discussing Christmas gifts — specifically, whether little Sophie would rather wake up on Dec. 25 to expensive backyard swing set number one (with fancy revolving see-saw) or number two (with intricate curved sliding board).

“What do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas, Sophie: Swings with a see-saw or swings with a sliding board?” one adult asked the exuberant 2-year-old.

“Sparkly socks,” the toddler shouted. “I just want sparkly socks.”

So much for the best laid plans — not to mention a good reminder that Christmas is frequently a lot simpler when considered from a kid’s perspective.

The students at Central Montco Technical High School in Plymouth Meeting get that. Every year, the area teens join forces to make the holiday extra special for the tots who attend Norristown-based Central Montgomery MH/MR Center’s Preschool Intervention Program and nearby Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America nursery classes.

The Central Montco students collect wish lists from the two schools, divvy them up and, then, do their collective best to lighten Santa’s local load.

They haven’t failed yet, and this year’s assemblage of books, games, stuffed animals and action figures — scheduled for delivery Dec. 22 — is no exception.

The annual collection is a schoolwide effort coordinated by Central Montco’s health occupations students.

“The students in health occupations belong to HOSA [Health Occupations Students of America], and everybody else is involved with Skills USA, but community service is a big part of both groups all year long,” health occupations teacher Connie Price explains. “With this project, any student from the entire school can choose an item from the children’s Christmas gift list. They’re not required to do it, but because community service is such an important part of all of the programs here, it’s always very well supported.

“In fact, we usually end up with toys left over. Nothing goes to waste, though. Once in a while, we might hold them for the following year. But usually we just donate them somewhere else. Laurel House [a shelter for abused women and their children], for example. Or sometimes you have somebody who experiences an unexpected tragedy or setback — a house fire, maybe. There’s always somebody in need.”

Visual communications teacher Steve Bross, also lead advisor for Central Montco’s Skills USA chapter, says the holiday collection is an easy sell.

“Just about everyone signs up to contribute something,” Bross says. “[Central Montco’s] early childhood education program has a long history with PIP.”

The latter provides internship slots for Central Montco’s health occupations and early childhood education programs and shared its space with early childhood education students during renovations at Central Montco in 2006-07.

“Last spring, kids from the whole school helped renovate and paint PIP’s classrooms,” Bross continues, “and we’ll be doing some more improvements over there later this year.”

As digital media teacher Fred McCarthy distributes sign-up forms for 2009’s toy collection, he makes sure his students understand “just how important it is to follow through.”

“I want them to understand that this is a commitment, a big commitment,” McCarthy says. “I tell them that this could be the only toy this child receives for Christmas, so it’s important that they take that commitment very seriously. I want them to know that if they don’t follow through on their promise, there will be consequences, that some little kid is going to be very disappointed.”

Central Montco Technical high School is located at Plymouth Road and New Hope Street in Plymouth Meeting, and most of its students attend from home schools in the Colonial, Norristown Area and Upper Merion Area school districts. Additional information about any of Central Montco’s programs is available at 610-277-2301 or www.cmths.org.

Students alsocontribute to food drive

Central Montco Technical high School students recently contributed 1,712 pounds of nonperishable food to Preston & Steve’s Camp Out For Hunger, an annual event sponsored by 93.3 WMMR Radio.

Several students and teachers — accompanied by the school’s Hawk mascot — delivered their donation to Camp Out for Hunger’s temporary headquarters at the Metroplex on Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting.