Page 3 - News On 7 May 2022 Edition

IN THE NEWS

SWEET TWEETS GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS TO FEED THE HUNGRY,
THE INTELLIGENCER (BELLEVILLE)
A classroom full of budding entrepreneurs at Madoc Township Public School is teaching the tax man how to operate a
business with a social conscience.
Teacher Angela Burr's Grade 4/5 split class took a class conversation on the different kinds of taxes to the next level by
creating their own not-for-profit company — Sweet Tweets — to help feed the hungry in their community.
This week the 27 students and an small army of (parent) volunteers held a bake sale and raised almost $3,100 for the Madoc
Food Bank.
Burr said she was impressed with the direction her students took after the tax discussion.
“We are an inquiry-based classroom and everything is a authentic learning task geared from the student's perspective and
they guide our learning,” she explained. “We were talking about the different kinds of taxes and about the government
wanting to tax every item and it turned to non-profit businesses and they wanted to know if they could start one. That was
the beginning and it just took off from there.”
Students were soon busy formulating a business plan along with a marketing strategy and Sweet Tweets was born.
Letters were written, urging family members and friends to donate baked goods to the sale, to volunteer for various tasks
such as deliveries and most importantly, identifying local businesses as potential customers.
“They learned that writing a letter to a business was different than writing one to their Mom and we goy those sent out,”
Burr explained. “I think we had 15 businesses that bought trays and had made almost $1,300 before we opened the store this
morning.”
In an effort to control business expenses, the young business people designed a logo, planned an Easter egg sale in March
and used the profits to purchase company tee shirts with Sweet Tweets emblazoned across their chests.
Grade 4 student, Mackenzie said it was a fun project and her classmates are thrilled to be able to help the less fortunate.
“We were trying to figure out a business we wouldn't have to pay taxes for so we decided on Sweet Tweets,” she said. “A
there are families that can't afford very much food and I think if we give the money to the food bank then they can help feed
those families and we feel very good about that.”
Burr said at the end of the day, she hopes her students have learned valuable lessons.
“This started by talking about sales taxes and why eight per cent goes here and why five per cent goes there and then
income taxes and property taxes and why it's important for us to pay those,” she explained. “They take this information
home and they're talking about it. This has helped them make connections.
“We had a lot of charities to pick from and we had conversations about food prices, we talked about COVID, gas prices and
we thought the food bank would be a good way to give back. It was a class decision and I am so proud of them. They are
doing an amazing job.”

Pictured is the Grade 4/5 class at Madoc
Township Public School wearing their
Sweet Tweets tee shirts. The class formed
their own not-for-profit company and
raised almost $3,100 to the Madoc Food
Bank from a Bake Sale this week.