2013 Annual Take Our Children to Work Day

On May 2, 2013, the Office of Court Administration held its annual Take Our Children to Work Day Program. Twenty children participated, along with Office of Workforce Diversity staff Doretha Jackson and Michael Moore. OCA employee chaperones included: Christine Cleavest and Melissa Thomas of the Human Resources Division, Jessica Marrero of the Continuing Legal Education Unit, Elaine Wright of Counsel’s Office and Helen Zhu of the Division of Technology.

group shot
Twenty (20) children and OCA employee chaperones pose for the
2013 Take our Children To Work Day Program at 25 Beaver Street.

 

speaker explaining to students
Thomas Cannava, Deputy Director, Human Resources Division, explains the functions of OCA and the
courts to the children at 25 Beaver St.

The day began with breakfast and welcoming remarks from Tony Walters, Director of the Office of Workforce Diversity. He spoke of the value of diversity in a working environment as well as one’s personal life. He likened the Court family to a sports team, emphasizing how different kinds of people play many different positions with different skill sets, talents, perspectives and ideas all working toward a common goal.

Next, Thom Cannava, Deputy Director of Human Resources, spoke to the children and explained how the mission of the OCA is to provide the trial courts with the necessary tools to function. He was quick to point out to the children how, without the assistance provided to the Courts by their OCA employee parents and family members, essential court functions could not operate smoothly. This made the children beam with pride in knowing that their family members played such an important role in the operation of the court system.

judge with students Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling, Supreme Court, Civil Branch, NY County, takes a group
photo with the children, at 60 Centre Street after telling them about the law and the judge’s
role in the courtroom.

The children then visited OCA’s Department of Public Safety, where Georgina Walker and Sgt. Gideon Rabinovicz provided each child with an honorary employee photo ID card.

The children were then transported by their chaperones and NYS Uniformed Court Officers to the New York County Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street. At the courthouse they visited the courtroom of Supreme Court Justice, Milton Tingling. Justice Tingling discussed some of his experiences on the bench, and the children were given a chance to participate in a very lively question and answer session with the judge. Before they left for the next stop, the children posed for a group photo with Judge Tingling.

The children then headed to the Court Officers Academy at 123 William Street. The group enjoyed a pizza lunch and Captain Andrew Werner and Lt. Vinetta Anderton welcomed the children and explained the role that Uniformed Court Officers play in providing safety and security for all users of court facilities. The children then participated in a variety of activities including CPR, defense tactics, and physical exercise. Finally, the children were given a brief overview of weapon safety. They were told to “always” alert an adult if they ever encounter weapons. As always, the entire staff of the Court Officers Academy provided a very exciting portion of the program!

court officers and children pose
The children pose at the Court Officer Academy at 123 William Street with court officers
Lt. Vinetta Anderton, Lt. Kevin Duckfield, Sgt. David Salazar and Cpt. Andrew Wender.

 

children with certificates with their parents and court employee
Tony Walters, Director of the Office of Workforce Diversity poses with two of the children and their OCA parents, Yao Chen and Helen Zhu after presenting the children with Certificates of Appreciation.

The day concluded at 25 Beaver Street, where Tony Walters once again met with the children. Each child recounted their favorite part of the program and spoke about many of the interesting facts they had learned. Mr. Walters presented the children with certificates to commemorate their participation in the day’s activities. Finally, after an informative and fun-filled day, the children were picked up by their parents.