7th Graders Learn What It Means To Be Entrepreneurs In The 21st Century During the last days of December 2016, 7th graders taking the Entrepreneurship elective at North Shore Middle School under the direction of Mr. Kevin Dahill had the opportunity to pitch their original business plans to real life local entrepreneurs in the North Shore community. Principal Dr. Ferris said, “This was a great authentic learning experience demonstrating all of the principles of the district’s Shared Valued Learning Outcomes (SVOs) as the students used their entrepreneurial skills to create original business plans while becoming better collaborators, communicators, thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers. Attaining these attributes will help our students become successful in school, college, work, and life.” Mr. Dahill said, “The goals of the course were to have my students understand the entrepreneurial mindset and what it means to be an entrepreneur in the 21st century. For this project, I created an authentic learning experience where students produced their own business plan, final pitch, and presentations for an original product and/or service.” The 7th graders were able to form groups or work individually. The students and their respective business ideas included: August Angulo(Slip-n-Slide), Milo Scarpone (Slip-n-Slide), Diego Scarpone (Slip-n-Slide), Christina Dade (CD Lunch Delivery), Dinknesh Heffernan (CD Lunch Delivery), Joe Cruz (Cruz Clothing), Alex Thill (GB Box) Kyle Inelli (Hot Hands), Mark Russo (Hot Hands) and Matty Papiro (EZ Ear). Mr. Dahill continued, “Final presentations were made in class in front of local community members who all have experience in running their own businesses. The North Shore School District community members included Mr. Dan Grinberg, Mr. Noah Blumenthal, and Ms. Laurie Petroske. These entrepreneurs each came in once throughout the eight week cycle to talk to my students about their experience as an entrepreneur. Each visit had a specific focus depending on the experiences of the volunteer. For example, Dan Grinberg focused on Corporate Social Responsibility and the importance of companies focusing on the double bottom line, not just worrying about making money but also giving back to society and their communities.” Students in the class were able to reflect and comment on their entrepreneurial experience. 7thgrader, Kyle Inelli, said "We learned what it takes to be an entrepreneur. We got experience presenting in front of local business owners and making a business plan. Additionally, we also got experience working together as a team.”
Matty Papiro added, “The most important thing that I took away from this class was an entrepreneur’s mindset. I now know what it takes to be an entrepreneur and most importantly, be a successful entrepreneur.” Many thanks to Mr. Dan Grinberg, Mr. Noah Blumenthal, and Ms. Laurie Petroske for participating in this important Entrepreneurship elective. Your time, expertise, and personal experiences are all invaluable to the middle school students taking this course. Your words of wisdom and life lessons will help them further pursue their own interests in business and be successful in their individual careers in the future.
Photo Caption: Article and photos by Shelly Newman with assistance from Mr. Kevin Dahill North Shore Middle School students in the Entrepreneurship elective under the direction of Mr. Kevin Dahill had the opportunity to pitch their original business plans to local entrepreneurs in the North Shore community including Mr. Dan Grinberg, Mr. Noah Blumenthal, and Ms. Laurie Petroske.