MULGRAVE students are taking care of business.
In an elective class, How to Run Your Own Business, middle school students are asked to create entrepreneurial ideas, write business plans and set up their own companies. Taking a cue from the television show, Dragon's Den, student groups pitch ideas to an authentic audience of local business leaders who decide whether or not to invest in each company.
Several serious deals are negotiated on the spot, while other groups head back to the drawing board to rethink sales and profit targets. The goal is to raise an end-of-year profit which is given to a charity of the company's choice.
The business plan of one group, which consists of Grade 7 partners Sparsh Jain, David Sui, Armon Shokravi, Arveen Shokravi, Matthew Zhang and David Sui, centres on importing and selling T-shirts. According to David, "T-shirts are popular items that can be worn by people of all ages, so we knew that we would have a large potential market." As the project progressed, the group realized they could increase their profit margin by importing T-shirts directly from a manufacturer. They contacted a T-shirt manufacturer in China and began the process. "Our shirts are printed in China with designs and words that we create ourselves," says David. "We will be donating all the money we earn to the Make a Wish Foundation."
How to Run Your Own Business is just one of many options available in the Mulgrave Learning Enrichment and Personalization (LEAP) elective program. Personalized learning is a cornerstone of the program, with the goal of providing an academic curriculum that responds to the uniqueness of every learner in terms of where, when and how learning takes place.
Students in grades 7 to 9 choose from a range of elective classes, while also undertaking the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Year's Program. A typical day includes IB core courses scheduled in the morning. In the afternoon, focus turns to a wide range of electives designed to provide real world learning experiences. Options vary from dance and sports, technology and business, to philosophy and languages.
According to Middle School principal, Martin Jones, "We started the LEAP elective program to ensure students have the opportunity to pursue a passion, be it a high performance sport or mathematical thinking. The LEAP program offers a range of options for students who might want to try something new, expose them to an entirely new set of skills they may never have ever thought of exploring on their own. Who knows what passions will be born?"
With the mission of inspiring excellence in education and life, Mulgrave students not only complete the rigorous academic IB core curriculum, but also engage in lifelong learning.
The How to Run Your Own Business is just one example of how students have the opportunity to learn new skills, perhaps develop a new passion and participate in an authentic learning experience.
