Estancia High School students stand beside a rebuilt Snoopy doghouse they helped construct as part of a project supporting Costa Mesa’s annual Snoopy House display. (Photo courtesy of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District) 
Estancia High School students secure wooden Christmas tree cutouts as they prepare finished pieces for the City of Costa Mesa’s Snoopy House display. (Photo courtesy of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District) 
Estancia High School students paint and assemble redesigned holiday present cutouts as part of their work restoring Costa Mesa’s Snoopy House display. (Photo courtesy of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District)
Quick look: Students in Estancia High’s Building Industry Technology Academy redesigned and rebuilt aging Snoopy House decorations as part of a real-world learning project. Their work will be featured when the display lights up at Costa Mesa City Hall on Dec. 12.
When the Snoopy House display returns to Costa Mesa City Hall on Dec. 12, Estancia High School students will see their work featured among the updated decorations.
Seniors in the campus’ Building Industry Technology Academy spent the fall rebuilding pieces of the long-standing holiday tradition through a partnership between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the City of Costa Mesa.
The collaboration began after the city invited students to tour the storage yard where the handcrafted “Peanuts”-themed decorations were kept. From there, the project grew into a large-scale restoration effort. Many of the longtime display pieces had begun to fade, crack or warp after years of seasonal use, prompting the city to seek help revitalizing them.
Working in teams, Estancia seniors analyzed the aging structures, studied how they were built and sketched redesigns for items such as Snoopy’s doghouse, Santa’s sleigh, stacked presents and Christmas tree cutouts. Teacher Ed Jasperson of Coastline ROP, who leads the academy, encouraged the 12th-graders to elevate the details while respecting the original designs.
“It gave the students the opportunity to use their problem-solving and critical thinking skills,” Jasperson said. “They had to design new pieces using what they’ve already learned about building, but they also could be creative and add to what had existed before.”
Once designs were approved by Jasperson and the city, student teams created detailed materials lists. The city supplied the wood, paint and other materials, while the seniors contributed hours of hands-on work during class, lunch, homeroom and after school. Their commitment continued for weeks as they refinished, rebuilt and reimagined the selected pieces.
For Estancia senior Javier, who helped rebuild Snoopy’s red doghouse, the improvements were as much about durability as they were about appearance.
“The hardest part was the roof,” he said. “We added the trim and made it sturdier. It’s better than the original. Anyone could climb on it.”
The city described the partnership as an opportunity to involve local youth in meaningful civic projects. The display, first created by former Costa Mesa Mayor Willard Jordan and his family in 1966, has been a fixture in front of the city hall building since 2011 and continues to draw families each winter.
Javier said he plans to attend opening night so he can point out the finished doghouse to his family.
“I might take my mom,” he said. “I could point to Snoopy’s doghouse and tell her, ‘I made that!’”
For more information about Newport-Mesa Unified’s Career Technical Education program, visit the district’s website.