Fort Caroline Middle School hosted its first annual International Career Day Carnival on April 24 for all of its eighth-grade students, as well as visiting fifth-graders from Justina Road Elementary.
During the first half of the day, community members visited classrooms to share the details of their careers with students. In keeping with the school's role of being an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, teachers and students decorated their classrooms for their guests with international themes.
Teachers and staff from Fort Caroline were instrumental in finding people to visit the school to discuss their career, and careers represented included those in the medical field, cosmetology, restaurant ownership, financial services, law enforcement and branches of the military.
Florida Army National Guard Second Lieutenant Locklear visited a few classrooms to discuss employment in the military. Throughout his presentation, he encouraged students to finish their education.
"Education is the foundation for everything you do," he said.
Many students completed an evaluation form for each speaker, writing down interesting facts they learned about the career, salary ranges and the training/education that was required.
After the individual classroom presentations, students gathered in the media center to visit booths from each career field. Here they had the opportunity to speak with individuals from the various careers, and receive literature with more detailed information.
Local colleges, as well as high schools, including Sandalwood, Terry Parker and Raines, also had tables for students to visit to ask questions about high school and post-secondary education.
"Our Career Day is a wonderful opportunity to expose our students to a wide-variety of careers, many of which they don’t know exist," said teacher Amanda Rathman, who helped organize the event. “Learning and getting excited about various careers helps students set goals, and gives them something to work toward.”
Staff members at the school hope to make International Career Day a yearly event, and plan to allow the younger middle-school students to attend, getting them thinking early about their career aspirations.
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