Teams of eighth graders St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens created ice cream businesses including budgeting, opening and marketing for their business as part of activities taking place during Catholic Schools Week.

Teams presented their business plans to students in grades 5 to 7 and a panel of judges on Jan. 29 at the school. 

 “The Ice Cream Project brings learning to life by giving students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, economics, marketing, budgeting, and teamwork,” said Lucy Alaimo, principal. “This creative, project-based learning opportunity allows students to learn from one another while sharing their unique talents, and I am so excited to see the businesses they bring to life.”

Students have been self-selecting teams and determining who will be the facilitators, negotiators, accountants and creative people. They are learning about budgets, creating a product, marketing skills and design, customer service and more. In addition, the students are creating business plans for their ice cream stands, providing a roadmap that each team will use to achieve their goal of operating a successful business. 

In order to create new flavors, students will use store-bought ice cream flavors and items to create their own ice cream creations, similar to how some ice cream shops mix items and flavors to create something unique. 

One of the teams, the “Sun Set Scoop team,” said “The team is very anxious and excited. We feel pressured to sell a good ice cream product and get a good grade at the same time. As a facilitator, keeping track of what to do and giving some ideas involves a lot of dedication and hard work. My team is very hard working, so we have lots of ideas to rely on. Overall, this is an exciting project, and we are ready to win.”

Teacher John Barry adds: “I believe that students learn when they have an interest in the outcome. The Ice Cream Project provides an economics lesson that is both challenging and exciting.”