WILLOWMAVIN Primary School students ran a retail goods and services market for its students, teachers and school community to make purchases from all in the name of early learning last Wednesday.
Locum Principal Stuart McLean and first-time teacher Brenda Edwards said they facilitated the market as part of their social humanities ‘inquires’ curriculum and students began planning in early March.
Planning consisted of researching what its community might like to buy and at what price. Next, they created pricing schedules, advertising, and finally arranged stock and petty cash for the event.
Mr McLean said: “This gives the students a little taste of earning money and being a small school, we have been able to include Grades 3 and 4 students [into the Grades 5-6 curriculum].”
The market day featured a milkshake bar, portrait-drawing station, indoor archery range side show ally style, face painting, sweet foods, a car wash, and a cinema.
Along the way the students running the cinema demonstrated resilience for plans that go awry as they applied critical thinking and determination to continue to support their fellow students in raising money for school ground equipment.
Student Ryder Morgan said: “At first, we were going to hold a kids vs parents basketball game, but the court was being used for the market. We tried to make it smaller, a half-court game. But it got too hard, so we chose a cinema.”
The show featured two very popular programs complete with a snack bar and bean bags for seating at multiple screenings across the event, and tickets were a steal at $1.50 each.
The cinema crew said they chose Little Lunch because there are a lot of funny jokes in it made by kids, and Bluey because it’s popular, it’s also funny and a lot of adults like it too, they said.
Teachers were kept busy throughout the market trouble shooting, shopping, and meeting students’ parents and guardians, aka beneficiaries.
Meantime, students were in their element setting up their customer counters, for greeting and serving customers with good old-fashioned currency and selling their wares.
The jewellery shop, Golden Aura, sold bargain-priced bracelets and earrings embellished with beads and shells and also make-your-own bracelet kits.
Mrs Edwards said the project is not complete: “At the end of the day, we’ll sit down as a group, and students will vote on where they want the money spent.”