Daylon checks out the high-tech projector.

Last week, St. Joseph’s students participated in Career Day. Older students spent the afternoon visiting local businesses in Chamberlain for a hands-on look at a variety of careers. Their stops included:

• Affinity Salon
• Core Engineering, which provides soil samples and structure inspection for construction projects.
• State Movie Theatre
• Regency Retirement Assisted Living facility
• Anchor Grille Restaurant

“My students enjoyed the theatre and Core Engineering the most,” said Sarah, an eighth-grade instructor. “Seeing what goes on behind the scenes as far as putting the movies onto reels for the projector and how fast the film moves per second was really interesting. Also, they enjoyed the soil samples and machinery at Core Engineering. This opened their eyes to a whole new career opportunity!”

At the movie theatre, students learned about ordering candy and popcorn, as well as seeing the projector room.

Younger students stayed at school and the careers came to them. Officer Mousseau and his dog Joker with the Bureau of Indian Affairs shared their experiences in law enforcement.

Dr. Rodriguez visited from Indian Health Services (IHS) in Fort Thompson, South Dakota. Dr. Rodriguez’ two daughters performed a skit for the students about visiting the doctor.

“My students loved both visitors,” said Peggy, one of St. Joseph’s fourth-grade instructors. “Of course, they loved seeing Joker, an actual drug dog.

They also asked Dr. Rodriguez a lot of questions, like how she became a doctor and if she treats people with cancer. Both were perfect for the younger age group!”

The students loved listening to Officer Mousseau.

In addition to the visitors, students will go through American Careers for Kids (ACK) workbooks, which help connect real jobs to the subjects students are studying, like math, science and language arts.

“The workbooks are really helpful in making careers an ongoing discussion,” said Peggy. “Especially in the sciences, students will be able to make connections between what they are learning and future jobs they could have.”