SOUTHWICK- Eighth-graders at Powder Mill Middle School hosted a job fair on Wednesday for their peers in grades five through eight.
This is the third consecutive year the job fair was held. Eighth-grade teacher Jessica Kennedy created the fair, and helped plan it with teacher Eileen Sullivan and the other eighth-grade English teacher at the time.
Students spent approximately a month working on their job fair projects, which was its own separate unit in the curriculum. It included a lesson where guidance counselor Kelly Kiltonic, high school Career Counselor Kathryn Chandler, and Tom Mischiewicz from MassCIS (the database which the students used for research), taught the students about the MassCIS program to help them find a career that fit them. Jobs ranged from a aerospace engineer to a fashion buyer
The middle-schoolers were also able to learn about different jobs when Chandler brought her Direct Learning Experience interns from the high school down for a day to talk about the jobs that they shadow. After that, students had to write a career research paper that required them to do additional research on their career and answer a variety of questions. The were also required to rewrite resumes, business letters, and create career portfolios.
With the help of other faculty throughout the building, students were able to go on mock interviews for their chosen career on the day of the job fair, and were able to showcase their findings with the other students with posters set up throughout the cafeteria and the gymnasium.
With the help of the sixth-grade teachers, sixth-graders were able to interview the eighth-graders about their careers, as well.
Eighth-grader Sarah Spagnolo did her project on becoming a lawyer. Knowing she wanted to become some kind of business woman in her future, she looked into the field of law and decided to do her project on it. Spagnolo said one of the best things about doing this project was realizing what she wanted to do when she grew up and the preparation and qualities that were needed to succeed in her profession.
Amanda Lynch also chose her project based on her interests. After watching TV shows like NCIS, Lynch said she was interested in the job of a coroner and decided to do some research. Even after realizing that it is a harder job, Lynch said she is still interested and hopes to one day study it.
“This unit truly engages all students”, said Kennedy. “Students who never show an interest in language arts come alive to write their papers, resumes, business letters, prepare for interviews, and ultimately in the creation of their poster and interactive activity for the job fair”.
Kennedy also mentioned that the fifth-grade teachers commented on how their students were talking about the jobs they saw and were inspired about their future.
Principal Ron Peloquin said that the fair is a great experience for the participating students and that it is never too early for the younger students to start thinking about their futures.
