Project Based Learning Electives provided by the Berrien Springs Virtual Academy
Junior Achievement: Biz Town                                Fall 2019

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JA BizTown: learn banking, business, and economy basics with a fun hands on simulation community!

JA Biztown is a great learning experience for those in 4th through 8th grade. We spend 8 weeks learning about money, business basics, and how economies work! We have many hands on activities during our class time together and then after our 8 weeks of classroom learning, we head to Fort Wayne for the JA BizTown simulation community. This is such a cool experience where students get to put into practice what they have been learning. Students are assigned a job for the day, where they will open a checking and savings account at the community bank. They work at their jobs, earn a paycheck, pay for their own lunch, and can shop at the different community stores for take home trinkets. The kids absolutely love their time at the JA BizTown simulation community! 

For more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfUiSEOV1-M


Class Starts: Friday, September 6th at 1:00pm-2:00pm
Class Meets: UltraCamp, 123 East Main Street, Niles, MI 49120
Instructor: Jennifer Cook -- I have an MBA from Notre Dame, a background in banking and finance, and currently working as a financial controller.
Contact: jenn@thosecooks.com ; call/text 269-845-5585

Class Schedule
September 6:Financial Literacy 
September 13: Financial Institutions
September 20: Circular Flow of an Economy
September 27: Community & Economy
October 4: Public Goods & Services
October 11: Work Readiness/Interests & Skills S
October 18: Applying for a Job
October 25: BizTown Prep
Fort Wayne Simulation Day:  November 15th 9-1:30pm

Please note: Simulation Day is required/mandatory attendance, as this is our final project for the class. Only registered students and their teachers/volunteers are allowed in simulation facility.

*We need to have a minimum of 3 students registered to have this class.
​Syllabus


*Please note: it is important to make as informed a decision as possible when choosing your student's Community Resource classes. Most locations will allow a student to drop a class after one meeting, at no charge if it wasn't a good fit for the student, but not all. Some classes plan ahead based on the number that have signed up and have purchased materials, hired teachers, etc. and there might be a fee for class time or materials given to the student if the student drops after one or two meetings. The school cannot pay for classes that students do not complete, so choose wisely; if you do not take the class off of your student's schedule by the deadline, you may be asked to pay for the class time incurred prior to dropping the class.
Teacher of Record: Lynne Wieferich K-8 and Mark Ring 9-12