20 Saturday, May 15 2010
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THE NEW PAPER
News
BATIK MAKEOVER: (From left) Students Christina Shantini, Nurul Syazwani, Nur Hidyah and Rajeleetha Rajanthiran with frames and notebooks made with batik cloth. TNP PICTURE: LUKE YAN
Students go ethnic for flea market REPORT: KENNETH GOH kengohsz@sph.com.sg
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VER two weeks, first-year Millenia Institute (MI) student Dylan Ang, 16, and his classmates cleaned the toilets, mopped the floor and ironed clothes at his friends’ homes – all for a good cause. They were raising funds to pur-
chase products to sell at their stall at Millenia Mart (MI Mart). With the $200 earned from cleaning homes, they went around Chinatown to source for products to sell, such as hand-held Chinese fans and chopsticks with Chinese zodiac signs. These products are some of the ethnic goods on sale at 20 stalls in MI Mart, which will be held at Jurong Point today. This one-day, ethnic-themed flea market will be opened from 11am to 10pm and entry is free. In its fifth year, MI Mart is an annual flea market run by first-year Business and Arts students. The projects allows students to apply their knowledge from their A-level subjects such as Economics and Management of Business. Students will have to buy the raw materials, set up the store and market their products. “This event is designed to give students an experiential learning experience of the subjects taught in classrooms,” said Mr Lee Kok Kiang, 29, teacher and organiser of MI Mart. Students have to attend lectures on marketing their products, buying raw materials and negotiating skills prior to setting up the stalls. But they will not be graded for the project.
Prizes There are prizes like Best Decorated Store, Best Accounting Practice and Most Innovative products. One team came up with the idea of wrapping photo frames and notebooks with batik cloth. Rajeleetha Rajanthiran, 17, said that her team chose batik as it is “synonymous with Malay culture and the colourful material come in unique designs.” “On some days, I stayed up as late as 2am to wrap the photo frames, while doing my homework,” she said. Students can keep their earnings, after contributing a fixed sum of $50 to the school’s fund for needy students. For Dylan, the experience has given him first-hand exposure to managing people and finances. Being his team’s leader, he had to juggle the challenges of sourcing for products, getting the stock on time and ensuring that everybody in the team contributed. “I have to ensure that my team members move around to actively promote our products and not sit and wait for customers on that day,” he said.