Food, music and products spawned from the young minds of Grade 6 students at Oak Bay’s middle school mark the ever-growing Monterey Market.
Now in its second year open to the public, third for the school, the March 15 market features more than 100 student vendors.
Every Wednesday in February, students developed products for the Young Entrepreneurs Project.
“The Young Entrepreneurs Project gives every Grade 6 student at Monterey Middle School the exciting opportunity to engage in a real-world project, integrating diverse areas of study, from English and math to art and woodwork, as part of their entrepreneurial experience – from developing a concept for a product, to conducting market research, to developing a budget, to writing a business plan, to creating and marketing their product, to researching worthwhile charities to which to donate a portion of their proceeds,” said principal Ken Andrews. “When students are able to embed their learning into a such real-life project like this one, the learning comes alive.”
Inspired by a gnome door by a Grade 6 student last year, Lily Thompson crafted “snazzy and sparkly” fairy doors for her product this year.
“I was walking in Oak Bay and I saw a bunch of plain trees that needed my doors,” Lily said.
She takes a piece of driftwood, sands, cuts and paints to craft a tiny door to adorn a tree and inspire magical thoughts.
Zac Arnold takes the wizardry of modern technology to craft any situation a customer may wish. Zac’s Zany Photoshop is a green screen concept.
“In editing software I replace the background,” he said.
He takes a photo with any backdrop and emails a digital print. During early surveys, a part of the program, a pirate ship background and kitten on the shoulder were top picks.
“Some people wanted to have a dinosaur come up behind them and bite them or something,” he said.
The two are among the more than 100 student vendors that will set up during the the Monterey Market on March 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the school, 851 Monterey Ave. Parents and community members are invited to check out the products and enjoy the live music of Monterey student-musicians while eating dinner from on-site food vendors co-ordinated by the parent advisory council.