By Traci Newell
 Photos By Joe Hu/Town Crier Kimberly Fletcher, Camille De La Vega, Anya Schultz and Nika Verweij pose for student photographer Rohan Weigel during the Blach Holiday Faire. |
It wasn’t exactly Santa’s well-oiled workshop, but middle-school students in the Los Altos School District learned some practical lessons in business management when they participated in their schools’ annual holiday faires.
Blach Intermediate and Egan Junior High schools opened their doors to the public earlier this month, with students showcasing their creations, promoting the sale of their wares and tracking the profits or losses.
Student-made cookies, jewelry, ornaments, cards and other gifts and edibles filled the gyms of Blach and Egan. Some students ran a holiday photo table, others made kabobs or cotton candy. There were also tie-dye boxer shorts, scarves and cell-phone charms.
“It gives them an opportunity to see what starting a business is like,” said Lara Daetz, co-chairwoman of Blach’s sale. “They have gone through creating a product, promoting their product and experiencing market success or failure.”
The sales were open to fellow students and community members. At Egan, enterprising students provided free gift-wrapping so that customers could finish their shopping in one location.
Students began planning for the sales in October, and participants were required to attend two meetings, one of which featured a parent who was a marketing consultant speak on business marketing.
Students tracked the amount of money spent to make their products and calculated their profits or losses. Students had to pay $4 for a table.
Daetz said some students put $20-$40 into their businesses, while others contributed as much as $100.
The products were geared toward community members and the students’ peers. One student made collages out of magazine clippings for binder covers. Another made handcrafted cutting boards out of various woods.
“Last year, some kids didn’t make money,” Daetz said. “But it’s all about that learning experience. The kids are trying to balance the number of products they make and what price-point they need to hit to make a profit.”
