Mr. Dura, Mr. Launius, Mr. Jahnke,  and the majority of HMSA´s seniors visited the Junior Achievement Finance Park on Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

The JA Finance Park is a place where students can learn about the economy and financing world. Each student is temporarily given an iPad in order to complete the simulation.

Upon arrival, all of the students were introduced to the park with a slideshow presentation about the basics of economy. The students were then randomly broken up into groups. Each group corresponded to one of the businesses (booths) in the park. One volunteer was assigned to each group as well. The volunteers shared their job experiences.

After the students had time to get to know the volunteers, they logged onto their iPads. Each student got a random profile, which included a relationship status, number of children, income, etc. The groups proceeded with learning about and “unlocking” each booth on their iPads.

Each student created a budget and then went on to making all of their purchases and payments by using the three-digit codes on each of the booths. Some purchases required the use of a “debit card,” so students had to physically interact with those booths. The purchases and payments involved items like groceries, clothing, insurance, and student loans.

Students became aware of the multitude of payments adults have to make. Senior Alfredo Q. believed the simulation was very beneficial:

“It made me realize how hard it really is to manage money and how having kids is really tough when it comes to spending things for them.”

Money isn’t as unlimited as it seems. Once parents aren’t available to pay bills anymore, money flies away faster than ever.