Students run 'market,' donate proceeds to Northport Promise.

Students in the fourth and fifth grade classes at Northport Elementary School donated $135 to the Northport Promise from funds raised during a class project.

According to information provided by Northport Public School and the Northport Promise steering committee, the students raised the money during a market day held prior to the end of school. As part of their class’ economics curriculum, students created a business structure, developed products and sold them. Proceeds from the market were divided 50-50, with half going to the class fund and the other given back to the community.

According to Sue Boss, who teaches the fourth and fifth grade classes at Northport, the students decided on their business plan, and then asked their parents to support the initiative and help produce the products. This year’s market involved 23 students running 15 “businesses,” both partnerships and sole proprietorships. Products the students sold included cheesecake, gelatin dessert, chili, beef jerky, cookies, brownies, Rice Krispie treats, kruschiki (a powdered energy drink mix sold in individual draw string bags), nature necklaces and various forms of homemade jewelry.

“The most popular item was Slime, it sold out,” Boss said. Another popular item was duct tape wallets, with special orders created on site.

Boss said $55 of the proceeds paid for 25 trees the class planted earlier this year. In deciding where to send the remaining $135, the students had several suggestions. “One boy said St. Jude’s Hospital for Children. They also thought about donating the rest for playground equipment,” she said. When they voted, though, the winner by a landslide was the Northport Promise, a scholarship program for Northport graduates.

“They were all very excited about giving the Promise the rest of the funds,” Boss said.

The fourth and fifth grade classes have been combined due to small class sizes. Boss said she alternates each year between teaching economics and social studies. This fall, the Northport fourth and fifth graders will learn about the cultural heritage of the state. “They will learn about where their ancestors and relatives came from and put together displays on their families. It’s a lot of fun,” Boss said.

In other Northport Promise news, a new local business has begun donating a part of its sales to the scholarship program. The owners of the Quiet Dove Gallery, located at 14691 E. Woolsey Lake Rd., will earmark 10 percent of all sales from the gallery to the Northport Promise.

Cindy Franseen and John Kristiansen opened the doors to the seasonal art gallery on June 20. Both Franseen and Kristiansen are artists who work in many different media. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer and color seasons.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to the Northport Promise may call 386-5529 or 386-5674.