April Saturday Session was an opportunity for the BTC community to finally engage with our annual career fair for students after we were forced to postpone it in January. Students got the chance to interact with career representatives from a variety of fields at our Saturday Career Fair. The representatives this year included BTC alumni, donors, and family members, representing careers in finance, medicine, robotics, music, technology, law, politics, and more. Talk to your student about what careers they learned about and how their thinking has or has not shifted around what career fields they might be interested in pursuing in the future.

BTC parents and guardians can plug into Saturday session by:

-asking their students about something specific they learned about any of the careers
-asking their students if they crossed any careers off their list of possible future jobs after learning more about them, and why

The November Saturday Session provided students with the opportunity to build community, learn about other cultures, and think deeply about why it’s important to build connections across diverse backgrounds and cultures. 7th-10th grade students participated in a sequence of activities that invited them to engage with each other and share their experiences. Many great conversations were held, ask your student what they learned about themselves and our community at this Saturday Session! Saint Paul 11th and 12th graders received a college application presentation from Luther College, ECC 11th and 12th graders got a presentation covering financial aid, the ACT, and accessing scholarship opportunities.

Parents and guardians can plug into Saturday session by:

– asking 7th -10th grade students what they learned about other cultures, the BTC community, and themselves through the conversations they had in class.

– asking 11th and 12th graders about the college presentation or financial aid, and prompting them to think through any additional questions that might have come from these sessions to ask their college counselors during their next check-in

We kicked off the school year with some exciting changes at our September Saturday Session. Students held Town Hall elections to select their classroom representative. This year in addition to attending Town Hall meetings with Breakthrough staff, those representatives will have a greater leadership role in sessions by leading Community Circle and facilitating deeper feedback discussions among students. We also welcomed keynote speakers Dr. Salma Hussein at our Chaska site, and author Bao Phi at Mounds Park Academy.  Many of our students had read Bao’s work in school and were excited by the chance to speak with him in person! 11th and 12th graders held a beginning-of-school check in and prepped for the Twin Cities Parternship (TCP) college fair in October. 

Parents and guardians can plug into Saturday session by:

– asking 7th -10th grade students what messages or ideas they took away from the keynote speaker

– asking 11th and 12th graders if they plan to attend the TCP fair with a Breakthrough advisor