Newtown Middle School hosted its annual Career Day on Friday, December 2, to offer eighth grade students an opportunity to learn about possible fields of interest.

Counselors Tina Broccolo and Leanne Fuccillo organized the day, which included 30 community members visiting the school to speak about their careers.

Students signed up to participate in presentations in advance and rotated between three presentations for the day.

Presenters this year included an architect, automotive technologists, a Newtown Police Department canine handler demonstration, a chef, an emergency room doctor, a dog trainer, a representative from The Taunton Press, an electrical engineer, an e-mail marketer, an equine veterinarian, a financial advisor, a financial trader, a general contractor and business owner, an interior designer, a landscaper, an optometrist, a paramedic, a pilot, a social worker, a statistician, and a steelworker.

Inside one room, Abby Hill of The Exceptional Pet, a dog training firm, and The Exceptional Partner Service Dogs (TEPSD), a nonprofit service dog program, introduced herself and her dog Blue to students. Blue, she said, is training to be a service dog. Each student received a backpack with M&Ms, a "clicker," and more, courtesy of The Exceptional Pet.

After speaking about the process of training dogs with "clicks" and conditioning, Ms Hill told the students, "We are going to train each other to do a trick." Clicker training, she said, works on all animals, including humans.

Across the hallway, Newtown High School culinary teacher Lori Hoagland and three volunteers were showing eighth grade students how to make salsa, using proper techniques for chopping the ingredients. NHS students Kayla Ward and Emily Toby and former student Victoria Teixeiera assisted the presentation.

After speaking about her job, Ms Hoagland said, "How do you get started? Well, you take my class when you get to the high school. That's the first thing you do."

She also spoke to the students about attending a culinary school.