What's Wrong with Being Process Oriented?

May 2012

Create Your OWN Opportunity!

How can we help prepare kids?

Dear Friends,

This week I am on Jury Duty. In the jury assembly room, I happened to be sitting next to a businessman and we struck up a conversation. Quickly it evolved into how business is changing and how those being trained to work in the system need to be trained differently too. In his words, business used to be process oriented and now it's not. It isn't enough to be a person who can learn a process and execute it well. We need a workforce of thinkers who can analyze situations, consider what needs to happen, and problem solve their way to solutions.

This is yet another clear sign that "21st Century Skills" are really being sought after by US Companies- and that our students need to develop them to be successful.

Lucky for our students, they have TREP$!

Click here to see how TREP$ teaches 21st Century Skills.

Thanks to all of your hard work I have some fantastic young entrepreneurs to spotlight this issue, and for many more. Keep those submissions coming- people just love to read them!

When Traditional Goes Creative!

My name is Sydney, and I'm an eleven year old sixth-grade student from Schuyler-Colfax Middle School. It was hard coming up with an idea for TREP$, and it took me longer than I thought it would to have an idea. I wanted an idea that no one else had. One night I was having some s 'mores, and my sister thought it would be a good idea to put it on a stick. The way she did it didn't work out too well, but I came up with a way to put s 'mores on a stick, and make it look and taste good.

First, I put a marshmallow on a stick. Then I dipped it in melted chocolate and roll the marshmallow in graham cracker crumbs. I priced my S 'mores on a Stick at $1.00 each. There was also a Family Pack where you can buy 5 S 'mores on a Stick for $4.00. At the end of the night, I put my S 'mores on sale so people would buy them because they are less expensive. By the end of the night, I only had three left!

The most fun part of my business venture was selling my Sydney's

S'mores-on-a-Stick at the TREP$ Marketplace. It felt great to have my friends and other people come and compliment me on my idea.

One of the biggest struggles for me was the display and advertising. My display wasn't really that big or extravagant, so I needed something else to draw attention. My mother works at a gym, and they were using a prize wheel to promote a new program. I asked my mother if I could borrow the wheel for just one night, and she said yes. When somebody bought a S 'more on a Stick, they would get to spin the wheel. Some of the prizes were 25% off your next S 'more on a Stick, a free S 'more on a Stick, Spin Again, or you could land on a blank space and win nothing. It was a great idea because as soon as they walked in, costumers would want to see what the giant wheel was, and the wheel also made loud sounds. People would hear it then wonder what it was and come over to check it out. Sydney's S' mores on a Stick were a huge hit and I would love to do it again next year.

Art and Expression with Cecily

Hi, I'm Cecily. I am 11 years old, live in Sparta, NJ and I go to the Alpine Elementary School. I made a business called Paper Sensations, One of Kind Mobile Creations.

At first, I wasn't sure what I should do, so I spent a few days thinking of different ideas. I thought of making dog treats, but I didn't know much about dogs, or what they ate, so I decided not to do that. Then, I thought of growing flowers and selling them in pots, but then I realized how difficult it would be to find a good place to grow them, and keep them all watered and alive, so I decided not to do that either. Since I was very young, I've loved painting, drawing and creatively making paper crafts. So my mom suggested that we make hanging mobiles. I was all for the idea.

We weren't sure how to begin, so after thinking about it, we decided the best way to get started would be to make sure we had all of our materials. We needed a few things, (such as stencils, glittery paint and markers, string, ribbon, pipe cleaners, and designed paper.) So, we went shopping. When we came back home, we got started right away experimenting with paper and paints.

Our mobile is made with unique paper designs which are suspended with various strings, ribbons and pipe cleaners from a branch which is chosen from your back yard. After settling in on our favorite techniques, we spent the next several weeks making an assortment of paper pieces. Then we assembled them into packages. Each package includes a variety of paper pieces which have been worked on by hand. Some are painted, and some are combined with different patterns and designs. We also recycled by using the scraps from the mobiles to make laminated bookmarks.

The only thing was that my parents were worried that people would say "I'm not going to pay $4.99 for pieces of paper in a bag" or "This is just a waste of my money", but my parents were wrong, because by the end of that day, I made a total of $100.50. I am very proud of myself and hope to sell my mobiles again soon.

Great Example of Upcycling!

My name is Abby Marcone. I am in the 6^th grade at Schuyler Colfax Middle School. My friend Monica Borsella told me about an awesome idea that she learned from her Grandmother. She and I gathered corks and her father used his tools to cut them for us to make coasters. It was fun to create them and sell them at the TREP$ Marketplace. We made $40 altogether and we sold all but 1!

I think if we could find a way to make them in some sort of assembly line, we could make them faster and make more than 40 at a time. I even thought that we could put felt backing on them to make them a little nicer. It was a fun experience and I am glad that Monica and I did this project.

My name is Monica Borsella. I am 12 years old and a 6th grader at Schuyler-Colfax Middle School. I was so excited to attend middle school as it offers so many more exciting programs during and after school. When I heard about the TREP$ program I was as excited as I thought designing my own product would be so much fun.

My grandma, who is very crafty and creative, loves to make a lot of different things. One day I helped her make this hot plate and coaster out of wine corks. My grandpa, who likes to drink wine, saves all his corks so I gathered quite a few over time. So when TREP$ came along I thought it would be a great seller. I have been saving corks for months now and I told my friends and family to save their corks too.

My dad who is very handy had to manually cut each cork which was very time consuming but he did it because he loves me and wanted to help. My friend Abby and I were partners and we really enjoyed spending the time together making a total of 50 coasters which we sold them for $1.00 a piece.

The most difficult part was cutting out 25 round cork paper templates and 25 square cork paper templates for the base, it was very time consuming. We used a hot glue gun to glue the corks onto the base which was very messy and also time consuming but we had fun making them. We sold all but one coaster. Many people were saying what a great idea and so useful which made us feel good. We really enjoyed the evening and we made a $35 profit. We spent $15 in supplies. I would highly recommend the TREP$ program to all schools.

Upcycling with STYLE!

My name is Juliana Beltran. I am a 6th grade student at Schuyler Colfax Middle School. This was my first time participating in TREP$ and it will not be my last!

I love sewing and making my own creations. I started sewing this past summer at sewing camp and loved it right away. My grandma bought me a sewing machine and supplies for my birthday, I quickly started making all kinds of things. When the TREP$ program was announced, I knew what I wanted to sell. I love making Jean bags and eyeglass cases. I have made them for my family and friends using only recycled fabrics and belts. They all loved the designs I used and the decorations I put on them. My family and Palma, my sewing teacher, all thought it was a great idea. They thought kids and parents would love my designs.

beltram II

My mom and sister donated clothes and belts that they weren't going to wear. Making the bags takes time and patience to make sure everything is sewn correctly. I decided to use all kinds of fabrics to make my bags. My dad suggested I sew a logo into all my bags and cases to make it truly my design. I decided to sew 4 hearts into every bag and eyeglass case, 1 heart for everyone in my family. I named my business Juliana 's Originals.

I was so excited and nervous the day of the sale. I hoped everyone would love my bags and buy one. Many people were surprised to see that I hand made my bags and even the outfit that I wore that night. Many people were happy to know that I was a Green Company as well. All the fabric I use in my bags is recycled. I sold many bags and cases and made a profit too! The only things I bought for my business were the labels with my business name on them, that I ironed on each item, the 2 balloons at my table and the duct tape I used to make my flower pens and flowers, that I also sold that night.

I had a great time at TREP$. I learned a lot about running a business, time management, working to meet a deadline and making a profit. It is a good feeling knowing that my bags are being used and that my name and logo are out in the world. I am glad that my school has this program for kids to participate in. I can't wait for next year, I am already thinking about what new creation I can add to my collection.

In This Issue

When Traditional Goes Creative

Art and Expression

What Can You Do with Cork?

Upcycling with Style!

Cavallini Middle School

Upper Saddle River, NJ
Apshawa School
West Milford, NJ

Alpine School
Sparta, NJ
Hasbrouck Hts Middle School

Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Macopin MiddleSchool

West Milford, NJ
Memorial Middle School
Cedar Grove, NJ

Maugham Elementary

Tenafly, NJ

Smith Elementary

Tenafly, NJ

Stillman Elementary

Tenafly, NJ

Ryerson School

Wayne, NJ

St Elizabeth Ann Seton Academy

Wayne, NJ
Youth Express

St Paul, MN
Cedar Hill School

Towaco, NJ
Califon School

Califon, NJ
Oxford Central School

Oxford, NJ
Schuyler Colfax School

Wayne, NJ
Frankford Twp School

Frankford, NJ
Sussex Avenue School

Morristown, NJ
Clarke County School District

Atlanta, GA
Golden Hill Elementary

Florida, NY
Jawahir Al Riyadh Int'l School

Riyadh, SA
Future Window Int'l School

Riyadh, SA
Al Ghad School

Riyadh, SA
Wilson School

Mountain Lakes, NJ
Edgemont School

Montclair, NJ
Ridgewood Ave School

Glen Ridge, NJ
Richard Butler Middle School

Butler NJ
West Hall Middle School

Oakwood, GA
Gilmour Academy Lower School

Gates Mills, OH
Kingdom School

Riyadh, SA
Najd School

Riyadh, SA
King Khaled Int'l School,

Riyadh, SA
The Star School,

Flagstaff, Arizona
Lecole Soleil Levant,

New Brunswick, Canada
Mackay Elementary,

Tenafly, NJ
Tumeh Family Home School

Bluff, UT
Cooperstown MS,

Cooperstown, NY
JFK Elementary,

Wayne, NJ
Lounsberry Hollow,

Vernon, NJ
UGL School,

Hewitt, NJ
Al Yasmin Int'l,

Riyadh, SA
Yara Int'l School,

Riyadh, SA
Cobb Cnty District,

Cobb Cty, GA
New MiddleEast Int'l,

Riyadh, SA
Fredon School,

Fredon, NJ
Reverend Brown,

Sparta, NJ
White Rock School,

Jefferson, NJ
Lafayette School,

Lafayette, NJ
Stillwater School,

Stillwater, NJ
Marshall Hill,

West Milford, NJ
Green Hills School,

Green, NJ
Maple Road School,

West Milford, NJ
Westbrook School,

West Milford, NJ
Haledon School,

Haledon, NJ
Birchwood School,

West Nyack, NY
Euclid School,

Hasbrouck Hts, NJ
Holy Spirit,

Pequannock, NJ
McKeown School,

Hampton, NJ
Walter T Bergen MS,

Bloomingdale, NJ
Paradise Knoll,

Oak Ridge, NJ

Pamela deWaal Hayley Romano
TREP$ ED LLC