First Fall Bazaar a Success for GCHS Students
The family and consumers pathway had a wide variety of products for sale at the bazaar ranging from embroidered linens to snacks.
November 16, 2021
Great Crossing High School has been open for three years and during that time teachers and staff have been planning an abundance of opportunities to demonstrate real world skills that have been taught in class. This year, that opportunity came in the form of the fall bazaar. The idea is that this will become an annual event where the students can show off their skills to the Georgetown community and raise funds for their programs.
On October 23rd, 2021, GCHS held the fall bazaar in the Great Hall. The community was invited to come and see the variety of products that students had created for the event. Students in the career pathways at GCHS all participated in the bazaar. These pathways were business entrepreneur, information technology, culinary, and agriculture.
Marissa Hancock, a business and entrepreneur teacher, at Great Crossing High School, helped to organize the bazaar and was excited to see it come to life. She stated, “I feel that this would be a great opportunity for students. It brings in real world project planning, product development and partnerships with businesses.”
The bazaar required many hours of preparation before it became a reality. Hancock described some of her process in planning the event. “I prepared for the bazaar in many different ways. I had to go through approval processes to produce products, and I was in communication with local businesses who assisted with the event. I also worked with many students to help them produce their products,” Hancock explained.
Sonya Currens, the family and consumer science teacher at Great Crossing High, prepared in different ways. Her students prepared a variety of snack and dessert items that were sold at the bazaar. “First, I had students research recipes and pick which one they wanted to prepare. Then they had to research the ingredients and prices, and then we had to design our logos for all our products.” An original label with the logo of The Warhawk Diner was designed and used to label all products prepared for the bazaar.
Unlike some other pathways, students in the culinary pathway were limited in how much preparation that they could do in advance of the event. Currens explained, “Some decisions could be made a few weeks in advance, but actual making of the food couldn’t begin until a few days before the event so the food wouldn’t go bad. We were definitely in a time crunch. But my students and I made it happen. ”
The fall event provided students the opportunity to see the process of product design with business. One of the groups partnered with Buff City Soap to create two original scents and enjoyed the process. Great Crossing junior Benjamin Ferrell said, “I feel that this experience will greatly impact my future. It gave me the opportunity to work with an outside business and build connections with them. I’m grateful for the opportunity this gave me and my group. I hope to do things like this in the future and further build my career in business.”
Katherine Hurt, a sophomore student from GCHS, also partnered with Buff City Soap. She said, “This definitely was an experience for the books. I loved working with the people in my group to make the product and see our designs come to life. I feel that this opened an abundance of doors for my future and what I could pursue with it.”
Principal Lusby was very pleased with the work that was done by her students and staff. She stated “I was fascinated with the quality of products presented by students at the fall bazaar. The creativity, craftsmanship, and overall sales presentations were impressive–I literally wrote seven checks while I was there to pay for everything I purchased!”
