In Term 1, the Year 9 Commerce students participate in a “market day” experience where all Year 9 commerce classes imagined and develop a product, made in class or at home, which would be sold at a Market Day held in the Quad.
This is where imagination and ingenuity run wild. The Quad became a bustling epicentre of creativity and excitement as these new products are unveiled and released to the student body. There are no rules except one; they must add value to an existing product or create a new product which must sit within St. Peter’s guidelines and be approved by the Head of Faculty.
Through this assignment, students cover all areas of product development ranging from Health and Safety requirements and guideline implementation, planning, financing, and marketing as a business enterprise (including an introduction to the Tax system).
Market Day is always a student highlight and provides an opportunity for students to not only to switch on their business minds, but it also embraces teamwork, collaborative focus, and problem solving while encouraging input and appreciating the effort and talents of all involved.
Of each product developed and sold, a percentage of the profits are paid to the ‘in-house tax collector’ who then makes a donation to the chapel’s fundraising fund. This year saw a group of young men embrace the joy of giving and elected to donate all their sales to a charity of their choice.
When asked about their innovative Sea Salt Spray product and their decision to donate all their earnings to charity the boys had this to say.
“You may be wondering how we came up with a product such as sea salt spray. Well, it came down to not what we liked, but more so what our fellow peers would want. So, we got to thinking and we had many ideas before we came up with our finished product, sea salt spray. As we nearly sold out, we made a total estimate of around $150
Another question you may be thinking is why would we want to donate our earnings and not put it towards something we want? But the answer to that question is very simple. It was because we wanted other kids to have warmth and even the daily nutrition that we have.”
This week the developers of the Sea Salt Spray product; Solomon Haines, Jock Scott, Aston Webb, Braxton Popplewell, and Harlan Vadnjal donated all of their profits to the incredible KidsCan charity. Well done to this next generation of business minds for their thoughtful application of the St. Peter’s values.