Charleroi Area HS celebrates Bring Your Kid to Work Day
By Sarah Pellis
spellis@yourmvi.com
Charleroi Area High School students welcomed their younger peers to campus Tuesday for the district’s annual Bring Your Kid to Work Day.
First brought to the district by former Cougar Katelynn Valla, the event has grown each year since starting with 10 children in 2016. This year saw 35 students, ages 4-12, of Charleroi Area middle and high school faculty, along with 20 high school helpers.
“I have a lot of parents that tell me their kid looks forward to this day more than Christmas,” high school history teacher Mary Ann Schaefer said. “I want to make it not just for the little kids, but I want to make it for big kids, too, so they can see how hard kids can be and how rewarding they can be.”
Children in different age groups were guided through engaging activities on campus by older students, including drawing comics, rock art, a self defense class, activities in science/STEM, chemistry demonstrations, biology activities, a pizza party, parachute games and playing soccer with the high school’s boys and girls teams.
Schaefer, who oversees the program each year, said this is one of the best years for the event Charleroi has ever had.
“I enjoy it because I enjoy that my student helpers love doing it,” Schaefer said. “I love how engaged they are and how they get so tired. And I love that my co-workers have an opportunity to bring their kids in and have something planned and the kids look forward to it.”
The work, which is handled by Schaefer’s 20 selected students, takes months of planning and coordination. She hopes her students will learn time management skills as well.
“This year they were probably the most amazing helpers I’ve had,” Schaefer said. “I had a bunch of new ones because I have a bunch of seniors that are graduating. Everybody did a fantastic job. My kids are so good with them. They play with them and they teach them.”
Schaefer takes her freshman high school helpers to show them the ropes and selects students who are able to get out of class and have good grades.
Sophomore Regan Brown was appointed as Schaefer’s “admin” to take over when senior students graduate.
The leaders this year included senior Taylor Ramsdell, who was Schaefer’s “point person” and was in charge of overseeing the event. Senior Jake Chambers was in charge of the older group of kids and Ella Sypolt the younger kids.
Sypolt, who has been involved with Bring Your Kid to Work Day for four years, said she observes what the underclassmen helpers do with the younger kids and makes sure everyone is on task.
She wanted to get involved because when she was an underclassmen, she saw the upperclassmen get involved with the kids, and ever since, she has had a “really good time doing it.”
“This year stood out to me just because of how well the helpers were,” Sypolt said. “The helpers were just very good. They made sure everything was organized, and made sure the kids were well behaved. They are very good kids.”
Sypolt said the event was very well organized this year with no problems. She loves being around the kids to see what they do and what they create.
“The people I work with, Taylor and Jake, they honestly do a really great job every year,” Sypolt said. “I give huge props to Ms. Schaefer because she works really hard for this program every year she does it. She takes time out of her day to make sure things are organized and the kids are happy.
“I am going to miss this event. I have a great time doing it every year. It puts a smile on my face just to see the kids interacting with the other teachers and what they do for the kids. It’s a great time every single year.”
Schaefer said high school teachers were also walking around saying that this year’s Bring Your Kid to Work Day “might be the best event ever.”
High school principal Patricia Mason plays a “critical” role in helping the day run smoothly, according to Schaefer, by getting pizzas for the pizza party and access to areas of the high school.
“I was getting text messages from teachers who weren’t with us saying how much fun the kids looked like they were having and how great my helpers were,” Schaefer said. “That makes me so proud of everyone involved.”
