By Danielle Kutchel
Walking the halls of Devon Meadows Primary School in the first week of June, it wasn’t unusual to come across miniature police officers, footy players and even an Ikea worker.
It was a sign that students were taking the day very seriously by dressing up as their future dream job, as the school commemorated the theme of Education Week 2019 – ‘celebrating careers’.
Senior school teacher Beck Burson said the school had hoped to get kids thinking about what skills they needed to pursue their dream.
Parents were invited out to the school to talk about their own jobs and field questions from their eager young audience.
Ms Burson said the school was grateful for the support of their parent community.
“We were lucky that we got so many different things – from a mental health nurse to a vet nurse and a mechanic.”
There was also a detective, a police officer and a sign language educator, among others.
“One spoke about how she didn’t finish high school … and another one did something different before she went on to become a vet nurse, so just showing the kids there are different options available and the skills needed to get that career was valuable,” she said.
Fellow teacher Ash O’Brien said they worked hard to ensure there was a good mix of careers on display from parents.
“We wanted to get different trades, especially for the guys, which was hard because of the time of day, a lot of them are working.”
Students had the opportunity to showcase their passions through their clothes.
“There were some very creative ones – one wanted to be an Ikea worker! There were lots of teachers too. It was more of a chance to showcase who they want to be – it’s empowering them to be more like themselves than coming in their uniform,” Ms Burson said.
Ms O’Brien said that even for the younger year levels, it was a valuable day.
“I reckon they really enjoyed listening and hearing what happened. When they were packing their bags they were talking about it, so I think they’ve taken away different things.”
