As the school year begins to near its end, many fun traditions start to roll in. Among these celebrations includes the iconic Bring Your Child To Work Day. Lakeland Regional High School took part in the national holiday on April 27, 2023 for the first time since the pandemic, with many of the school’s teachers bringing their children to their beloved workspace.

Back in March of 2023, special education and science teacher Ms. Heather Visser took the initiative to set up the day for the LRHS community. With many staff and student volunteers, the day included activities throughout the day and a luncheon for those participating.

So, what were some of the activities LRHS’ teachers planned to occupy these young children during a long, high school day? Science teachers Ms. Alyssa Pevny and Ms. Visser hosted a body project where the children could outline the body and then color, cut, and glue organ printouts onto their trace. English teacher Ms. Jamie Cawley also followed the arts and crafts theme, having children create handprint lilies and paper chain pythons. Some teachers tapped into the competition side of games, like gym teachers Ms. Nicole DeCarlo and Erin Zarubnicky, who held a kickball game outside, and technology education teacher Mr. Randy Coren who had the children compete with a robot to try and win a prize.

But of course the day is all about the children, and the experiences they got while at work. So which teachers at Lakeland brought their children to work, and how did their days go? The Lancer Ledger spoke with some of the visiting children to hear their thoughts on their day out at LRHS:

Special education aide Ms. Cindy Van Allen technically brings two of her children, sophomore Maggie Van Allen and freshman Ryan Van Allen, to work everyday, but this holiday gave her a reason to bring her whole entourage to Lakeland. She brought her sons Sean and Brody, who both had an awesome day following their mom. Brody told The Ledger that his favorite part of his mom’s job has to be the fact that she is in different rooms every hour of the day, always keeping things entertaining. Special education aide Colleen Torre also brought her son Anthony to school, and he had a fun time hanging out with the Van Allen family, especially Sean, who he will be attending Lakeland with in just two years.

Some of the younger children who were brought to Lakeland had a blast putting on their “big kid” pants and stepping into the shoes of their parents. Speech therapist Ms. Amanda Costagliola brought her children Lia, age ten, and Emma, age seven, to work and they both agreed the best of the day was getting to watch their mom in action, taking “care of kids [and helping] them speak better.” English teacher Ms. Melissa Roush brought her seven year old Victoria to Lakeland, and she had a wonderful time watching her mom teach, something Victoria says her mom is “great” at.

Administrative assistant Ms. Amy Pagan and her daughter Emme both attended LRHS, and Emme had a wonderful experience shadowing her mom at her future high school. She enjoyed getting to see her mom in action, and also gave a shout out to the good food she got to eat.

Maintenance staff member Scott Volpe brought in his children Jess and Xander, each having a fun day in a new environment. Jess particularly enjoyed being at Lakeland because she felt like she “got a tour” of the high school that she will be attending one day.

Business teacher Ms. Jessica Geyer brought in her daughter Reaghan who had lots of fun following her mom at school and doing lots of arts and crafts. But her favorite part of the day was Mr. Coren’s robot activity! Similarly, Victoria Roush had no hesitation in choosing the robot as the best part of her day.

It’s safe to say that this year’s Bring Your Child To Work Day was memorable and quite the success. On behalf of the Lakeland community, we thank our teachers who participated in this holiday to keep this heartwarming tradition alive in our schools, and we hope all the children had quite the day!

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The Lancer Ledger

Ms. Roush brought her amazing daughter, Victoria, to work.