Battlefords Chamber to teach kids about financial literacy

Apr 17, 2018 | 3:00 PM

Local seventh graders will be educated on financial literacy tomorrow as a nationwide event comes to the Battlefords. 

Talk with our Kids About Money is put on by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education with the support of Scotia Bank.

The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce will host two presentations in North Battleford. One will be at Notre Dame Elementary where students from St. Mary’s will also be in attendance. The other presentation will be at Holy Family School joined by students from École Monseigneur Blaise Morand.

Executive Director of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce, Linda Machniak, said this will be the fourth year financial literacy will be an approved piece in the Saskatchewan curriculum.

“What that means is the program has been integrated into classroom materials for all the Grade 7 classes,” Machniak said. “If a health teacher wanted to access this programming, they could have a financial literacy component of their health class. In all the programs the students take, there is the capacity to include a financial component.”

 Machniak said teaching students now about how to take care of their finances is important because they are the next generation of workers, entrepreneurs and business owners.

The executive director added Scotia Bank will provide specialists to make presentations to the students. She said previously presenters spoke about savings, but this year there will be a bigger focus on online banking.

“There will be more on financial security and literacy on electronic data, particularly when it comes to phones. Young people certainly have phones and they all want to know about e-transfers and different things they can do with banking on their devices,” she said.

Machniak said both presentations will take place over the lunch hour in the gymnasium of both schools. She added lunch will be provided for the students and each one will not only leave with a goody bag, which includes a piggy bank, but one student at each presentation has a chance to win an iPad.

According to Machniak, students will also receive an information sheet for parents, which includes a web portal where they can find games to help teach their kids about financial literacy at home.

 

greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins