Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Kids playing with sustainably made foosball table. Photo supplied: St Catherines
St Catherine’s Year 6 students got creative with scraps, turning discarded materials into products to sell at their school’s sustainable market stalls.
The term-long project gave students the chance to repurpose unused items from home, school or scraps found on the beach, creating everything from dog toys made with old towels to miniature foosball tables built from boxes and pegs.
The project also gave students hands-on experience in running a business, from developing and advertising their products to calculating costs, setting prices and forecasting profits.
“It wasn’t just buying something cheaply and selling it to make a profit, it was actually looking at sustainability,” said assistant principal of curriculum, Kelly Bennett.
With everything priced at $5 or less, the stalls proved popular among fellow students, with some selling out and taking further orders.
“They sold them to other students within the school and basically sold out, to the extent where some of the stalls even had to take further orders and make more of their product,” Ms Bennett said.
All proceeds from the project went towards the Year 6 graduation excursion, giving students an extra incentive to turn their creative ideas into successful products. Following its success, Ms Bennett anticipates the return of this next year.
“It was a huge success, and I think they’ll definitely want to run it again next year,” Ms Bennett said.
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