Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood?

Who are the people in your neighborhood? Students in JFK’s Dual Language Kindergarten classes learned about some of the people in their own classroom neighborhood–a police detective, firefighters, a nurse practitioner, an assistant principal, Zumba instructor and plumbers–parents who spoke to students in celebration of National Career Week or La Semana de las Profesiones.

“I planned the week to increase parent involvement while helping young students learn about the many important roles people play in our community. They had the opportunity to meet real professionals, ask questions, and begin to understand how different careers help others every day,” said Victoria DeJesus.

Parents brought their expertise and props.

Kimberly Gaube, Brody’s mom, is an orthopedic nurse practitioner. She brought with her a bag of splints, boots and casts and a giant skeleton to talk about bones.

“What do bones help us with?” asked Kimberly.

“Bones protect us,” said Danny Donovan.

“If we didn’t have bones, we’d fall to the floor,” said Sam Miller.
Students also learned about how police officers work to keep us safe and received their very own 911 badge; got to pass around firefighter tools like a thermal imaging camera, a fire hose nozzle, and flashlight; learned how assistant principals help lead a school and received their own Assistant Principal Of The Day certificate; danced Zumba; and got a close up look at actual pipes and foam insulation that plumbers work with everyday.

“I want to be an assistant principal,” said Cayleigh Gomez, “because you can tell everyone to follow the rules.”

Career Week was a big success. Students were excited, curious, and eager to learn more about the world around them. At the end of each session all hands were raised in favor of that job as a future profession. A special thank you to the parents and families who volunteered their time to make this week so meaningful for students.