Kingston McClelland turned to chemistry to fashion eye-catching book decor at his IDEA Summit booth.
The 91原创 Fundamental student soaked used books in a borax solution, and they came out looking like they were covered in glistening ice crystals. Each one was then decorated with a different them, such as dragons, Pokemon, or flowers.
"It's great for Mother's Day since since they're coming up. It's great great for birthdays," the 91原创 Fundamental student noted.
His handiwork and selling prowess earned him a trip to the IDEA Summit on Tuesday, May 8.
The summit is a hands-on initiative of the 91原创 School District that sees elementary students make goods for sale, doing every aspect of production and promotion. The students initially took part in mini-summits in their schools and the best projects from each of the schools earned their way to the district-wide summit.
That summit was Tuesday in the 91原创 Events Centre fieldhouse, where dozens of children each had booths to sell their wares. They not only have to make the products but also decorate their booths and create a promotions strategy, as well as be prepared with the answers to questions from many customers.
Local elementary schools bused their students in to check out the summit with many making purchases of the wares. The event was also open to the public with many family members also stopping by.
Celia Ngai created cupcakes and cake slices from cardboard, pipe cleaners and other decorations, taking inspiration from something she had seen elsewhere. But she improved the design so they also served a function, acting as trinket boxes.
"We thought it would be a very good idea to make a cupcake box that's actually useful to put things or anything inside the box," the Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary student said.
The 102 that she made sold like hot cakes, helping to calm her nervousness during her first IDEA Summit. In fact many of the students were able to display 'sold out' signs with the visiting students and public snapping up their items.
Agastaya Yerrum Shetty, who goes to 91原创 Meadows Community School, called his booth Mirror Magic. Tiny pieces of mirror were used to decorate colourful panels and other objects. A steady stream of students stopped to make purchases of the 104 pieces he made.
Hayden Turner, a Lynn Fripps Elementary student, found inspiration in his own backyard. He decorated smooth stones, making display panels for his Rockin' It Designs booth.
"It's been fun," he said of the summit.
He enjoyed talking to people and particularly enjoyed the sales. A requirement of the marketplace is donating to charity and he choose the 91原创 School District Foundation.
Many of the stones were from his yard, and when he needed more for his 75 pieces, he purchased some. The summit has rules about what the students can make for sale, including requirements for recycling or reusing items, and limits on how much they can spend on supplies.
Brooklyn Pasqua had to round up 89 tin cans for her products.
"You get a little seed packet and you get a tin of dirt and you get to grow a flower," she said. "All my seeds are wildflower seeds. So they'll turn into daisies, sunflowers, marigolds, that kind of stuff. And then they grow into nice beautiful flowers and you get the great for pollination, so butterflies, bees."
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive at the I.D.E.A. Summit which is happening now! Dozens of students are selling their wares to other students, staff, and community members at the 91原创 Events Centre鈥檚 Fieldhouse. What an exciting day!
鈥� 91原创 Schools (@91原创Schools)
The organizer is impressed with the diversity of the student products each year. The summit started in 2018 and Kendra Simonetto has overseen it for the past three years.
"We are very excited to welcome so many visitors today for IDEA Summit," said Simonetto, the district principal of instruction. "We have over 100 students involved in showcasing or sharing their ideas for IDEA X. We have 19 schools visiting and over 3,000 visitors from various schools over the course of three waves today."
This year several of the students had knit or crocheted items while there were also more decorative pieces, as well as the tradition mix of interactive games, plants, and candles.
"There's aspects that kids have to navigate like repurposed or recycled material and keeping to a certain cap on how much they spend for their products, but every year what the kids bring forward shifts a little bit and a little bit more creative, a little bit more innovative, so we kind of see new products every year that expands the students abilities and their brilliance," Simonetta said.
Chris Dyck was at the summit, clipboard in hand, as he visited with several students in his duties as a judge. He's with Avisar Chartered Professional Accountants and this was his second year of judging. The students picked by the judges get to pitch their products, and the student pitches are then judged with awards presented.
"It's overwhelming," Dyck said of the array of merchandise.
Wise enough to leave his cash at home, he's been impressed each year with the student efforts.
"I think I know a little bit of what to expect, but a lot of similar products鈥� but all of them are really creative, and these kids put so much effort into it," he said.
The winners from the summit were announced at the close of the event.
鈥� Outstanding Booth Design: Celeste Fivaz, Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary. Fivaz sold small terrariums..
鈥� Best Business Plan: Connor Valyear, Belmont Elementary. Valyear sold homemade candles.
鈥� Outstanding Engagement with Consumers: Weston Matterson, 91原创 Fundamental Elementary. Matterson sold 鈥渕agic ladder鈥� toys.
鈥� Innovative Product: Eliot Sykes, James Kennedy Elementary. He was also the winner of the Grade 6 to 8 Pitch Award. Sykes sold 鈥楳ystery Pet Rocks鈥�.
鈥� K-5 Pitch Award: Kingston McLelland from 91原创 Fundamental Elementary, who created crystallized art out of old books.
鈥� Kindergarten to Grade 5 Pitch Award runner up: Agasthya Yerrum Shetty, 91原创 Meadows Community School. He made decorative mirror art called 鈥榤agic mirrors.鈥�
鈥� Grade 6 to 8 Outstanding Idea Award: Jisha Agarwal, Yorkson Creek Middle School. Agarwal created a cane with a sensor on the end that senses obstacles, which could potentially help people who are sight impaired.
鈥� Grade 6 to 8 Pitch Award runner up: Hudson Dance, Belmont Elementary. The student created and sold a foosball game.
鈥� K-5 Outstanding Idea Award: Noah Chen, Lynn Fripps Elementary. Chen created motorized vehicles 鈥� Cybertrucks, tanks and boats 鈥� and sold them at the marketplace.
The summit is not just a learning opportunity for students.
"We often will send out a form to teachers and students who went through the process from beginning to end because we want to learn how we can refine it and make it better for the future years," Simonetta said.
Several teams taking part in the IDEA X challenge attended to showcase their ideas, this year built around how to reduce wildfires. The summit was a chance for the older students to explain their team projects to others as they work towards winning the IDEA X challenge later this spring.
