Welcome to Wednesday

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Good morning, it's Wednesday, June 19. Here what you need to know as you go through the week:

Learning the trade 

Fourth grade students at Seward Elementary got first-hand accounts and experiences of what it takes to run a successful business as part of the school’s first year of the Junior Achievement Program.

Throughout May, students in four fourth-grade classrooms received 45-minute lessons from local business owners and representatives from Cattle Bank, Awe Salon and Cafe on the Square.

Matt Dominy, director of curriculum and staff development for Seward Public Schools, said the idea to implement the program began during the 2017-18 school year, when he was working on the business curriculum at the high school level.

“One of the things we identified was the need for support at the elementary level,” Dominy said. “When it came to business, entrepreneurship and personal finance we wanted to get that started earlier.”

Dominy said the elementary school’s participation is a partnership with the Lincoln-based program.

“The goal of working with JA was to bring our business partners into our schools so they could provide lessons. And who better than our own business community,” Dominy said.

The program also received support from the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership, which reached out to chamber members to find potential volunteers.

For fourth-graders, Dominy said the main focus was entrepreneurship.

“They learn about the traits of an entrepreneur: hard working, dedicated, flexible and willing to problem solve,” he said.

Students followed the lessons with games, such as owning a hot dog stand, where they had to make decisions when faced with unexpected situations.

“Their supplier might have not shown up, equipment broke down and they had to deal with losses and expenses,” Dominy said.

“I learned that when working in a business you need to work as a team,” said student Emerson Rucker.

Alyssa Hendrix, owner of Awe Salon, was one of the volunteers for the program.

“The students were excellent and really absorbed the information,” she said. “As a business owner it was exciting to teach the next generation of business entrepreneurs what is all involved owning your own business.”

The scope of the lessons went from a local level and up to a global level, where students studied interdependency such as building a computer, where the parts may be made in different countries.

In the long run, Dominy said he hopes these experiences inspire students to learn more about the businesses and workforce in their community.

“We are hoping that students develop a stronger sense of financial literacy, which can then build up to what they’ll do at the middle school and high school level,” he said.

The next part is developing a volunteer base, Dominy said. He hopes to get more businesses involved.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our business community to be here in the schools and see what’s happening,” he said.

Happening today: 

The Kiwanis KiTones are performing at the Utica Senior Center beginning at 1 p.m. 

Seward High School students will be available for assistance at the Seward Senior Center for electronic help. Starting at 1 p.m., they will be able to answer questions regarding social media and electronic devices. 

Later this week: 

How's your trivia? Seward Memorial Library is partnering with Bottle Rocket Brewery for a fun trivia night tomorrow. The event starts at 8:30 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded. 

Need a ride to the next Saltdogs game? Seward County Area Public transit has got you covered. They will be heading to the June 21 game. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. with fireworks to follow. Admission price is $10. 

The Pleasant Dale American Legion will host a breakfast June 23 from 8 a.m. to noon. The menu includes eggs, sausage, pancakes, coffee and more. A fee will be charged.