by Cori Hilsgen
All Saints Academy fifth- and sixth-grade students recently learned what it takes to make it in a global world when they attended Junior Achievement BizTown Oct. 10 in Maplewood.
Students prepared for the visit for several weeks in their classrooms before attending and applying facts and information they had learned about running their own businesses.
Fifth-grade teacher Tess Koltes and sixth-grade teacher Susan Huls taught the students pre-visit information which included financial literacy, job skills and business preparation.
Students became town leaders, chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other workers needed to run businesses.
Students also wrote letters, editorials and thank-you letters to contributors.
Junior Achievement BizTown is a 10,000 square-foot kid-sized city within Junior Achievement headquarters in Maplewood. After several weeks of classroom learning, students spent a day visiting the fully-interactive simulated free-market lab where they become adults for a day.
While they work in one of 15 Junior Achievement BizTown shops, students learn what it takes to run a successful business, manage a checking account, work as a team and more.
From their experience with daily lessons, hands-on activities and active participation in the simulated BizTown, students develop a good understanding of the relationship between what they learn in school and their success in real-world experiences.