BizTown Buzz

This coming week will be our final push in class to prepare for JA Day at BizTown and I'm feeling a fun-filled pressure.

JA stands for Junior Achievement. It's a national, not-for-profit organization designed to teach school kids how real-world business works. Students learn in class for several weeks all about economy, writing checks and deposits and other bank transactions, how to fill out a job app, choose items to sell on JA Day, write radio ads for their products, and other things. BizTown is a
mock "city" set up in a large facility in Balto County. There are lots of businesses to choose from, and each is sponsored by a well-known company. There's a bank, a gym, a radio station, city hall, pizzeria, jewelry store, insurance company, and others. We will be setting up our food in the area sponsored by Papa John's. (You don't sell Papa's pizza, you bring your own appealing food wares--either homemade or storebought--to sell.)

Citizens, as the students are called, get paid twice on JA Day, with fake paychecks that they get from their company and cash/deposit at the "bank." With their money, they have to open a savings account with $1.50, pay off buisness loans, debts, and choose what else.

Tomorrow is interview time. I have appointed the CFO since there is only one in my "six-pack" who has the attention to math details as well as the personality for the job. The other jobs up for grabs are CEO, food manager, and beverage manager.

Since we have to supply our own delectables, I was wondering if you might suggest some things. I will not be asking for homemade food because I personally would not feel comfortable buying food made by kids I hadn't been in the kitchen with at this age. (If you've ever seen middle schoolers in action, you wouldn't either.) Besides, we've already asked for a lot of food to be made or handled as fundraisers to offset the costs of our students' visit.

We will be selling candy. We are supposed to have one cheap kind (1.00) and one more appealing/expensive (about 2.00 per item).

Suggestions, anyone? They should be things that fifth and sixth graders would be willing to spend their own hard-earned money on.