GFS SCHOOL NEWS

In early March, Garrison Forest 4th and 5th grade girls teamed up with Boys' Latin for a trip to JA BizTown, the simulated town experience sponsored by Junior Achievement of Central Maryland. GFS students have taken part in the Biztown experience for 15 years as part of the Lower School Financial Literacy program in conjunction with the school's James Center. This is the first year that the two schools have come together for the program.

 

BizTown provides opportunities to experience real-life economic, workplace and personal finance challenges and benefit from the learning those challenges provide, as well as gaining an understanding of civic life, complete with a mayor, taxes, etc. The 10,000 square-foot, life-like city reflects the importance of workplace performance and financial decisions in an authentic economy, and the program's lessons in personal finance -- earning a salary, managing money, applying for loans and getting a taste of corporate finance -- stick.

Prior to the event, students completed job applications and interviewed with Lower School administrators and teachers for various positions. In February, the boys and girls also came together for a day of icebreakers so that they could get to know one another before the trip.