The grade 10 business class from Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School has had a few amazing experiences this past December to help them develop various skills.
The two exciting experiences that brought their learning to life: a creative trip to Crock A Doodle and hosting a festive Christmas Market at school.
As part of their course, students visited Crock a Doodle, where they were able to showcase their artistic talents by designing and painting ceramic pieces. Many of these creations will become thoughtful Christmas gifts, adding a personal touch to the holiday season. This hands-on activity allowed students to see how a business provides a service while enabling customers to complete the final product – an excellent example of the production process discussed in class. The students loved seeing how a simple clay product came alive after the artwork and the finishing of the product. Students also had the opportunity to hear from franchise owner of this Stoney Creek location, Alyssa Ciccarelli, who spoke about being an entrepreneur and what it is like to be part of a franchise, connecting course curriculum on entrepreneurship and franchise type of ownership to this experience.
This advent season, the class also put their skills to the test by organizing and running a pop-up business. The class organized a Christmas Market for the school community. They developed products, set pricing strategies, advertised and managed sales – all while working towards a meaningful goal: fundraising for the school’s charity initiative, the BR Christmas Miracle Campaign. This experience gave students a real-world understanding of business planning including business risk, marketing, and customer service. The net proceeds this venture experience raised and donated were $150. In addition, they were able to donate left over inventory to the school’s Chaplaincy to sell at their bake sale.
This fundraising experience also helped students make the connection to corporate social responsibility, which also relates to the course curriculum. Earlier this year, grade 10 classes also ran venture projects resulting in a $100 donation to Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation and $370 to the Canadian Cancer Society through other venture related projects.
Experiential learning opportunities in the grade 10 business and computer studies classes give students the opportunity to add to their resume, giving them real life experiences that they can refer to in interviews. In total, the grade 10 business students at Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School donated over $550 to the various charities mentioned for the calendar year of 2025. Through experiential learning opportunities, students strengthened essential skills such as creativity, teamwork, financial literacy, and communication. They also learned the importance of innovation, customer engagement, and social responsibility.
For this December venture, by combining festive spirit with entrepreneurial thinking, our Grade 10 Business class demonstrated that learning can be both practical and impactful.
