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Strictly business for Grade 7 and 8 students at Paul W. Kaeser High School

The next time you see some students from Fort Smith selling something, remember this: they’ve probably been taught how to do it well.
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It was a bustling gymnasium at Paul W. Kaeser High School on March 23 as students in grades 7 and 8 were offering up their wares at the PWK Entrepreneurial Showcase. Photo courtesy of Diane Seals

The next time you see some students from Fort Smith selling something, remember this: they’ve probably been taught how to do it well.

Students in grades 7 and 8 at Paul W. Kaeser (PWK) High School have wrapped up a course on entrepreneurship with the final part it happening on March 23 at the school’s gymnasium with the PWK Entrepreneur Showcase.

Diane Seals, the economic development officer for the Town of Fort Smith, said the showcase was a huge success with several of the students selling out of what they had to offer.

“All of the students participated and successfully sold their products and most of them sold out,” she said. “It was also successful with over 200 community members coming out to support the students on the day of the showcase.”

The products for sale included such items as skin drums, wooden signs, hand-sewn plushies, crocheted animals, magnets, stickers, handmade candles, keychains, duct-tape wallets, bags made from reused materials, lip balm and handmade art pieces, she added.

But before the students could go out into the world and sell, they needed to learn how to make a successful transaction. That’s where PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs comes in.

PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs is a B.C.-based charitable organization that works with students between grades 4 and 8 to develop entrepreneurial skillsets.

Seals said the course began on Feb. 6 with Owen Davenport from PowerPlay appearing via Zoom to introduce everything and show the students how to create and sell a product. Mayor Fred Daniels also dropped by each classroom to provide some encouragement.

From there, the students were given eight weeks to develop their ideas and come up with a business plan, all while following the PowerPlay program. The program had different lessons each week, including market research, branding and launching the finished product.

Seals said one part of the program involved the students taking out a “business loan” from their parents that was required to be paid back before they could start counting profits, which helped them understand the value of both money and work.

Local business owners in town also came by to talk to the students, she added, and that helped to build up their confidence.

“I think the students learned that entrepreneurship has its challenges but also many rewards,” she said. “They learned how to problem solve, especially in regards to developing a product, gathering the materials, figuring out the cost of each product and how easy or hard it is to make. They had to think creatively in developing a product but also in advertising it.”

On the day of the showcase, Seals said she could tell some of the students were feeling apprehensive.

“There were many nervous students during the set up as they worked hard to get their tables set up, and organized their floats for cash flow,” she said. “There was also a lot of excitement as students got to see what some of the students in other classes had been working on and went around to buy items from each other.”

In addition to learning about how to run a business, the students were also taught about the value of giving back to the community.

Seals said as part of the program, students gave 10 per cent of their profits to charity. From that, the Fort Smith Animal Shelter and Fort Smith Food Bank each received $400.

“Some students opted to give a higher percentage, and it is so amazing to see the different ways students are motivated,” she said.

According to Seals, Fort Smith was the first community in the NWT to take part in the PowerPlay program, and she said the plan is to make this a permanent addition to the curriculum at the school for those in Grade 7.