Service Learning in Year 9 Commerce

The HSIE Faculty has adopted a service learning framework to link classroom learning with community service to foster civic responsibility. Through the Year 9 Commerce Christmas Market students experienced authentic learning as they implemented the classroom theory of running a business into the reality of running a Christmas Market store with the aim of social awareness. The Year 9 Christmas Market is a HSIE service learning initiative and it was well supported by the College community and very successful. Year 9 Commerce students donated the total profit of $4461.15 to the Dominican Sisters’ social justice project of Kopanang.

Inspired by this service learning experience a group of students have stepped forward to help Sister Sheila at Fra Angelico on the Kopanang Stall, and created a pop up stall at lunch for the Senior School and at Del Monte. Thank you to Susan Lombardo, Shriely Chan, Vanessa Lam, Vikki Cummins and Richard Crittenden who led this initiative.

Brigida Zagora
Head of HSIE (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Student Reflections

The Year 9 Commerce Christmas Market Day was more than just a fun event, it was an opportunity to put classroom learning into practical context. By integrating entrepreneurial skills, teamwork, effective communication skills and marketing strategies, we were able to not only create a small business plan but also raise funds to support the Kopanang Humanity Trust and contribute to the education of vulnerable communities.
Xylah Bamji
Year 9

The Commerce Christmas Market was a successful day for all. It taught us many business skills and provided us with a valuable experience for students to understand how to run a business. We learnt about creating a product aimed at our target market, how to ensure we were going to make a profit within the business so we could donate this to Kopanang, how to advertise our product, ensuring we were going to have customers and how to run our stall on the market day.
Christiane Nikolaou
Year 9

The overall experience of the Commerce Christmas Market was really fun while also inspiring. We were able to apply the skills we learned during class to real-life situations, including effective ways of promoting financial literacy and data analysis. I have learnt a lot of life skills and also gained much valuable experience during this market.
Angela Yu
Year 9

The Commerce Christmas Market stall helped me connect to a bigger cause, supporting women in South Africa through the Community Trust. It helped me experience the fulfilment of contributing to something larger than myself. It also impacted me through giving back to the community, which I think is very important in the Christmas season.
Zara Prichard
Year 9

I really enjoyed the Commerce Christmas Market Day and felt it helped me further develop my teamwork, organisation and creative thinking skills. Being able to choose our own stall idea made the task more challenging, but also more engaging. It was rewarding knowing that the profit we made was going towards Kopanang, and we were excited to hear the total amount raised by all the stalls. Overall, the day was a fun and valuable learning experience.
Sophie Hickey
Year 9

I was able to take part in the Commerce Christmas market and I really enjoyed this experience as I was able to work collaboratively with my group members to create a successful store that sold lolly bags and candied fruit called Tanghulu. Overall, the market was an exciting and rewarding experience as I was able to make and sell a product and also able to contribute to a much larger cause of supporting the Kopanang community.
Hayley Wong
Year 9