Teams of eighth graders from New York’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy will create ice cream businesses as part of Catholic Schools Week. The students will gain and practice valuable life skills including budgeting, opening and marketing for their business as part of activities taking place during this year’s Catholic Schools Week.
About the Event
Teams will present their business plans to students in grades 5-7 and a panel of judges including a VIP guest who will conduct a taste test and vote on the best business plan on Thursday, January 29 at 10 a.m. The event will take place at the school, which is located at 28-46 44th St. in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.
“The Ice Cream Project brings learning to life by giving students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, economics, marketing, budgeting, and teamwork,” says Lucy Alaimo, principal. “This creative, project-based learning opportunity allows students to learn from one another while sharing their unique talents, and I am so excited to see the businesses they bring to life.”
About the Process
Following the model used by millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners. the students are creating business plans for their ice cream stands, providing a roadmap that each team will use to achieve their goal of operating a successful business. The students have been self-selecting teams and determining who will be the facilitators, negotiators, accountants and creative people. They are learning about budgets, creating a product, marketing skills and design, customer service and more.
In order to create new flavors, students will use store-bought ice cream flavors and items to create their own ice cream creations, similar to how some ice cream shops mix items and flavors to create something new and unique.
Teacher John Barry adds “I believe that students learn when they have an interest in the outcome. The Ice Cream Project provides an economics lesson that is both challenging and exciting.”
One of the teams, the “Sun Set Scoop team,” said “The team is very anxious and excited. We feel pressured to sell a good ice cream product and get a good grade at the same time. As a facilitator, keeping track of what to do and giving some ideas involves a lot of dedication and hard work. My team is very hard working, so we have lots of ideas to rely on. Overall, this is an exciting project and we are ready to win.”
For more information on this inspiring program in Queens, visit here.
