Somerset Lifetimes 2019 Semester 2

Entrepreneurship CELEBRATION OF

For the first-time in the Festival’s history, students in Pre-Prep, Prep, Years 1 and 2 were actively engaged in entrepreneurial activities. This involved our youngest students engaging in play-based learning activities in cubby houses provided by our sponsor - Castle and Cubby.

From 5,000 tickets in its first year, an astounding 12,000 seats were reserved at this year’s Somerset Celebration of Entrepreneurship. The festival, held on 15 and 16 October is now in its third year after launching in 2017. Speakers included Leanne Kemp, the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Eden Shirley from Gold Coast based AutoGuru and Dr Baden U’Ren from Bond University.

The three cubby houses at the Festival this year included:

1. A market stall with a selection of play fruit and vegetables and cash register; 2. A general Store with cash register. This general store will be stocked with cereal, milk, bread and;

3. Post Office with cash register.

The aim of having our youngest students involved was to provide them with the opportunity to develop the entrepreneurial skills they will require for the future. At Somerset, the spirit of entrepreneurship fits perfectly with the IB Learner Profile attributes of Risk Taking, Collaboration, Inquiry and Open- Mindedness. Feedback on the Castle Cubby Precinct was excellent and is best summarised by Patricia Vizcay-Wilson, our Pre-Prep teacher of the Yellow Class: “I’d like to thank you for the wonderful opportunity the Pre-Preps had shopping at the cubbies. The whole experience was an age appropriate roaring success. It was beautifully and clearly set up and we did lots of hands on shopping. The experience enriched our numeracy, literacy, socialising and organisational skills. In the end I decided they could all have a pretend wallet and shop for as many things as their age and for items that had the same number as their age - a four or a five - on the price. The children were encouraged to work with a friend to identify the numerals. The experience was totally engaging, with no behavioural challenges and lots of opportunities for scaffolding and extension.” A huge thank you must go to our sponsors including Somerset College, Study Gold Coast, Bond University, Extreme Networks, Somerset Alumni Association, Travel Sim, Gold Coast City Council – Division 9, The Sowerby Family, XBC – Xerox. Without the financial support of these organisations, a festival the size of the Celebration of Entrepreneurship would not be possible. Dane Oman Chairperson of Celebration of Entrepreneurship

Guest Entrepreneur Saxon Phipps

8 Celebration of Entrepreneurship

Guest Entrepreneur Yasmin Grigaliunas