By Judith Roberts
Eleven first- and second-grade students at Glen View Elementary are ready for Shark Tank.
Students presented their business plans to local community leaders and business leaders in an entrepreneurial challenge and included ideas of a keychain and lemonade store, a softball camp, a place for pet birds to play, and more.
“The students committed to do this in August,” said Alisa Greene, computer lab proctor who helped the students with their projects. “They’ve done an amazing job. They have learned beyond what was taught. I believe every child here, if they had to conduct a business meeting, could easily walk up here and do it without hesitation.”
Jordan Blachier, Glen View’s principal, said this was the second time this event had been held at the school.
“This gives the students an opportunity to get up and present in front of a group of people and build confidence,” he said. “They’ve all done a great job.”
Students created their presentations on PowerPoint and included their business name, idea, marketing strategy, logo and start-up costs. Even in business collaborations, the students were judged individually on their presentations.
Julianne McGaha, a second grader, won first place for her business idea of Pet Portraits, where pet owners could get a watercolor portrait of their pet – and a cookie, too.
“My parents helped me decide, because I wanted to do something like a pet store,” McGaha said. “This makes portraits of pets. That’s what makes my idea special.”
Second grader Eleanor Foster won second place for her idea of Artastic Singing, a place that merged arts and music, and Ngoc Nguyen, who collaborated with Foster on Artastic Singing, received third place.
The winners all received a tablet donated by Junior League of Monroe. All participants received a goody bag though with donations from friends and supporters.
Other participants and their business proposals were:
- Lillian Davidson with Davidson’s Pet Store
- Callie Hoefler and Lydia Robertson collaborating with Callie and Lydia’s Keychains and Lemonade
- Annalee Hilton with Annalee’s Softball Camp
- Dominique Gipson with Birds Play
- Qash Ali with Art Factory
- Van Funderburg with Funderburg Zoo
- Emberlynn Bowen with Better Pets
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