7 minute read
CURIOUS MINDS
Aaiyana Ayoub with the Toodie Hoodie
Firing up their inner entrepreneur
They might be the next Sir Richard Branson, Elon Musk or Janine Allis. Who knows how many of Haileybury’s students today are the entrepreneurs of the future?
Helping those students discover their business flair and build their future empires is the aim of the Haileybury Incubator Project (HIP)—a popular part of the Year 9 curriculum that is led by Damien Meunier, Head of Entrepreneurship and Learning Partnerships.
“The skills developed through the HIP program are varied,” he says.
“There is a large focus on developing creative and critical thinking, collaboration, enhancing digital skills and creating solution-focused students. These future-ready skills will help our students to become our next leaders and change-makers.”
This year’s HIP saw students work on diverse projects—from creating a digital mural to promoting positive mental health and awareness to building a customisable device that converts any desk into a standing desk!
One group of students developed a program for younger children, delivered by teens, to teach them about consent. Another group developed a podcast supporting positive relationships towards the Asian community.
Aaiyana Ayoub won the Best Individual Project for Haileybury Girls College. She launched a fashion startup with a marquee product called the Toodie Hoodie—a beach towel with pockets.
“I love going to the beach and I needed something that I could use to dry myself but that could also hold belongings. I like hooded towels but they have no storage space where you can put your phone, keys and wallet,” says Aaiyana.
Through HIP, Aaiyana has been introduced to a mentor who is helping her shape a plan to start production of the Toodie Hoodie.
“The mentor has been amazing and given me great advice on what to focus on and what to not worry about at this stage. The advice has given me a good understanding of how to go forward. I’d like to start production by early 2022 and the plan is to produce three different types of the Toodie Hoodie. The first age group I’ll be selling to are ‘tweens’ and teenagers,” she says.
“This project has taught me that you should give everything a try. I now have confidence and belief in myself that I can start this business and do well.”
Creating a buzz
There’s a certain buzz around Haileybury—and it’s growing louder.
Since 2019, the Curious Minds program has seen Junior and Middle School students exploring the art of beekeeping. The Haileybury Hive initiative began at Newlands and it has proved so successful that it has now reached Edrington where some new residents have moved into freshly painted hives.
“Students understand more about the biology and ecology of bees, develop beekeeping skills, build and decorate a hive, harvest and bottle honey and learn how to use the products from the bees in cooking and candle making,” says Jacqueline Gough, Head of Curious Minds. “They also learn about teamwork, collaboration, problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking from marketing the honey products.”
Jacqueline says students and staff have enjoyed learning how to assemble the hives, manage and care for the bees and how to extract the honey. Staff who supervise the Haileybury Hive all volunteered to complete an introduction to beekeeping course to ensure the success of the project.
Homeroom Teacher Nicole Turner has helped to establish the Haileybury Hive Program at Edrington where a new apiary has been built to accommodate two hives. The bees arrived in early October 2021 and teachers from the ELC, Junior and Middle Schools and the IT department have all been involved in building the hives and helping the new additions to the campus to settle in.
“The students are incredibly excited. I often find students walking past the apiary to look through the viewing windows. They are now also more aware of the bees around the campus, whether that’s our own bees or the wild hives that we have near the creek,” says Nicole.
“It’s helping the students learn more about sustainability and responsibility and, of course, learning the art of beekeeping.”
It seems the Haileybury Hive Program is certainly creating a hive of activity.
The start of something
Bright ideas, clever thinking, drive, teamwork and creativity. These skills and qualities are key in Haileybury’s StartUp Program that gives entrepreneurial Middle School students the chance to transform a startup business idea from a dream into a reality.
Each year, 10 teams from the Program are selected from Haileybury’s Melbourne campuses and from Haileybury Rendall School in Darwin to compete in the Haileybury StartUp Pitch Showcase.
This year, the winner of the Boys Middle School Best StartUp Idea was VIPT which came up with a rideshare service for the visually impaired. The winner of the Girls Middle School Best StartUp Idea was Coco Cosmetics — an organic skincare company with a tinted acne product.
Each team receives $1,000 in seed funding and mentoring to help progress their creative business ideas. Damien Meunier, Head of Entrepreneurship, says the StartUp Program helps students develop a mindset where they see opportunities, rather than problems.
“Instead of sitting back and complaining, we want students to turn a problem into an opportunity and to be able to change and improve a situation. We want to create problem solvers, risk takers and also for students to see failure as a ‘first attempt in learning’. They may have to try, try and try again with their startup and learn that it won’t immediately take off,” says Damien.
“Along the way, the StartUp Program teaches students about teamwork, project management, how to share responsibility and build accountability. They learn digital literacy and resilience. We want students to have a mindset that they can take on any situation and thrive.”
This year’s teams that stepped up to pitch their business ideas were:
VIPT (Boys StartUp winners)
Anthony Ruiu, Lachlan Luong, Liam Buktenica and Nethum Perera
VIPT’s tagline is ‘getting the visually impaired from here to there’ which neatly sums up this StartUp idea. It’s a rideshare service specifically designed to cater for visually impaired people. Vision Australia research found 82 per cent of people who are blind or have low vision don’t feel safe walking on footpaths, highlighting the importance of services like VIPT. It relies on an app with voice prompts and voice recognition.
Coco Cosmetics (Girls StartUp winners)
Ellie Gianakis, Ruby Molnar, Brooke Lew and Zoe Berends
Coco Cosmetics is an organic skincare company. The feature product targets age 13-plus users and is an organic, veganfriendly tinted acne cream that also protects against sun damage as it is rated SPF30+. The product taps into the multibillion-dollar skincare market but is reasonably priced to suit its younger target market.
Track It
Monty Wright, Matt Gianellis, Aydin Ilhan, Jimmy Shen and Lewis Caust
Track It is a personalised boutique bag packing, tracking and delivery service.
Easy Clip
Olivia Cook, Daniella Petris, Sophie Bystrzycki and Larissa de Courten
Easy Clip is described as an all-in-one ‘smart’ leash and collar for dog owners.
Vitails
Catherine Le, Eva Lekgabe and Nuha Sameer
The Vitails team designed a smart collar and app to help pet owners monitor their pet’s health.
Scanetic
Ethan Christrup and Felix Bender
The Scanetic device scans blood vessels in the eye to detect blood glucose levels of people with diabetes.
Eco-Ink
Amber Sharp, Kiara Ikonomou and Arabella Renwick
Eco-Ink can be removed once printed words are no longer needed so paper can be re-used and recycled.
Custo Chair
Charlie West, Alex Meyzis, Kye Smith, James Wilkie and Ethan Xu
Custo Chair is a customisable chair with add-ins such as head rest, cup holders and massage features.
Clothes.ly
Tracy Chen, Riva Joshi and Nicole Lin
Clothes.ly is a clothing rental service that helps reduce the amount of textiles that are produced and discarded.
Bol
Ethan Ly, Harrison Green, Harry Doyle and Suriya Rajarajan
BOL is a pet feeder device and app that allows dog owners to care for their pet from anywhere in the world.
