While programming & community projects change each year, here are some of the more frequent, and fun, events that the department holds for students.

Spring

Our Spring Vendor Show attracts local vendors and community members each May. An opportunity for students to learn & practice their event planning & business skills, and to raise funds to help build & grow our new school store, The Bear Nook.

Students are involved in organizing & contacting vendors, marketing the event, setup & takedown, putting together the silent auction piece of the event, and tracking all financial aspects behind the scenes.

Junior Achievement is well integrated with GBDSS, to give students even more experience in the way of finances. JA holds annual, full day financial literacy workshops at the school

Ja Central Ontario

Our annual World of Choices Event has 20+ community mentors into the school, to speak with students and give them an idea of what jobs in their field look & feel like. Students choose which stations they want to visit during the day, and these local business owners and professionals volunteer their time to sit for enriching presentation, question & answer periods. Students at Desk
Group Group Study Metting
Group Study

The Entrepreneurial Adventure program has students grouped with local business owners to find a need in the community, and to go on and meet that need with a new product or service.

Our latest project saw Chris Gooding, owner of Pop Heart gourmet popsicles, helping students to develop, make & design packaging for a new chocolate bar called UpLift. It came in two flavours, made with ingredients that help promote mental wellness.

With his many connections in the area, Chris was able to secure design & printing services that saw the packaging of the bars come together very nicely!

Thank you to Joshua Crittenden, a then Gr11 student here at GBDSS, for using his woodworking skills to design & build display boxes for the countertops of various businesses around Midland. Bars were subsequently sold, with net proceeds donated to Huronia Transition Homes here in Midland.

While each project looks different in The Entrepreneurial Adventure program, students' experience with all facets of creating a brand, and running a small venture, is maximized.

Entrepreneurial Adventure

Girls Group Fun Activity
Summer Company

Students can always take their creative business ideas to an Ontario initiative called the Summer Company Program.

This Program offers students $3,000 to try out their business idea during any summer in which they are returning to school in the fall. Staff help students create a business plan for entry into the program.