In Passaic County, a team of educators from the West Milford Township High School were awarded a $9,995 continuation grant from the Hipp Foundation to expand their original multi-disciplinary project. Coleen Weiss-Magasic, Stephen Beattie, Kathy Mendes, Leonard VanWingerden and Robert Wiedmann will work with students to create products that aim to raise school spirit by creating personalized items that reflect the school logo.
CAD, graphic arts, and woodworking teachers will set up and learn how to use the new laser cutter and coordinate tasks for this project. In September, teams of students will learn to use the laser cutter on different materials (plastic, wood, glass), along with safety requirements.
Teams will then be formed between graphic arts students and CAD, and Graphic Arts and Woodworking. Student teams will perform research to determine what items their classmates would like personalized and create sample products. The goal is to have products ready for sale in the school store by early December, in time for holiday orders.
Design teams will meet with school store representatives to share the sample products. The school store is run by the special education students who will work with the design teams once product decisions are made to determine price points and create order forms. Graphic arts students will design and print order forms. Student teams will create displays using sample products that will be priced and marketed for a holiday debut at the school store. Over the next few months, students will continue to take orders and create products.
At the conclusion of sales, student teams will hold a business meeting to determine where there was profit versus loss. Based on this evaluation, students will draft a sales plan for the following school year. This real-world application of concepts that all students are required to learn is part of financial literacy.
For more information, contact:
Coleen Weiss-Magasic
(973) 697-1701 (West Milford Twp. H.S.)