ART AND SCIENCE AND TECH, OH MY!

Who do you see when you think about entrepreneurs and philanthropists? Here at Balmoral Hall School, we see nine- and 10-year-old girls striving to make a difference however they can. Junior School students are eager to experience the Centre for Arts & Design to their fullest potential.; in fact, a few of them are so eager that they gave away their profits from a recent commercial marketplace, all to support the wish list.

From January to March, faculty members Kera Borodkin and Emily (Quinton) Mitchell ’11 encouraged students in grades 4 and 5 to participate in Entrepreneurship Club as a co-curricular activity. Twenty enthusiastic innovators spent their weekly club meetings exploring business models and creating products in the Junior School STEAM lab. To help them understand the principles of commerce, Ms Borodkin and Mrs. Mitchell challenged students to stay on budget, limiting their expenses, so as to earn profits

For example, a team of three Grade 5 students, Stefanie, Emily, and Ayla N., started S.E.A. Bath Products, making bath bombs, salts, and bar soap.

In mid-March, Ms Borodkin and Mrs. Mitchell coordinated a marketplace in the atrium. Afterwards, students took a vote to determine which of three local organizations they would direct a donation to, and a majority chose the Centre for Arts & Design.

“I saw the banner around the school of things that they still need, and so I thought, if they still need some more stuff, maybe we could help contribute to it,” remembers Ayla.

“We are anxious to get in, to see it, and to use all of the cool equipment,” Stefanie adds.

By donating their earnings ‒ $348.75 ‒ to items from the Centre for Arts & Design wish list, including a stool (for one of the drawing tables) and a ukulele, their peers will benefit from their generosity. To them, their education matters.

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