For the second year in a row Halton Region held its annual “Be a Hero” student design contest. The contest aims to raise awareness and get students involved with the issue of affordable and accessible housing in Halton.

This year Acton District High School challenged the boundaries of the contest by taking a more technological approach. Acton teacher Mr. Norbert Axtmann and Mr. Wheeler, a design student teacher from Brock University, led Acton’s team, in creating actual designs for buildings with the competition criteria in mind. Individual students in a combined Grade 10 and Grade 12 class were required to each design their own building that was accessible, affordable and environmentally “green”. These individual designs were then examined and combined into one final team entry.

The students decided to focus their efforts on a scenario provided by the contest that revolved around a fictional seventeen-year old girl who was once active and athletic but becomes confined to a wheelchair after an accident. This theme was especially poignant when related to the story of Matthew Fleet, an Acton High School athlete and Tech Design student who had a similar accident.

The team’s efforts were recognized when they were awarded the grand prize of $1,000 dollars. In the spirit of the competition and the season, the students then chose to donate a portion of the prize money to the Halton Hills United Way. Congratulations to these students who created what judges called a “well executed project” with “lots of detail, imagination and heart”. These students are truly community heroes.

By Jeremy Lin, Nelson High School student