Student Council and Special Ed department team launch Pony Market
This year, student council and the special education department have teamed up to open a new school store called the Pony Market.
The Pony Market, located in the main rotunda, is open on Wed. and Thurs. from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is being run by both the student council and the special education department. The market carries a wide variety of products ranging from snacks to spirit gear. Revenue made by the Pony Market will be used to raise funds for the school and student council.
Recent changes have led to the student council losing their ability to sell treats as a fundraiser. As a result of this, they have been forced to find new ways to raise the funds necessary to organize and conduct school events. The Pony Market is the latest way for the student council to raise funds.
“We are trying to raise money because we can’t sell the food that we normally sell during blast week,” student co-president Eve Thompson said.
Along with student council the Pony Market is also being run by the special education department. Running the market provides job experience for students without requiring them to leave the school environment. The partnership also helps to prevent gaps in the operating hours of the market by providing two groups of students to help organize and run it.
It’s a great opportunity to sell some stuff for school spirit that doesn’t cost a million dollars.
— Dusty Dennis
“The special ed students work in the store and run it, while the student council oversees it,” special education teacher Dusty Dennis said. “We thought that it was a great opportunity to partner with the two groups in school.”
The absence of a school store has also made the promotion of school spirit more difficult. The Pony Market is a new location for students to purchase spirit wear and other Ponies gear without having to participate in sports or leave the high school to purchase spirit items. Items are affordably priced and cost less than most items from locations outside of the school.
“We thought that it might help promote some school spirit,” Dennis said. “It’s a great opportunity to sell some stuff for school spirit that doesn’t cost a million dollars.”
Although the Pony Market is focused around spirit gear, it also carries an assortment of other items. The products for sale range from snack food to bath bombs made by the special education department.
“Right now there are lanyards, drawstring backpacks, sweatshirts, t-shirts, sweatpants, little bags with a charger kit and headphones, water bottles, scarves, hats, gloves and cliff bars,” Dennis said. “Then there are some products our kids make, like bath bombs and pony blocks that light up.”
If the Pony Market turns out to be successful in the following months the staff will work to tailor products to fit the demand of the students. This would allow the market to stay fresh and give people a reason to return for more than just a snack.
“We are looking into, once we know what people want, starting to buy stuff in that general direction,” Dennis said.
Student response is one of the final pieces needed to implement the Pony Market to it’s fullest extent. As the market continues to grow the beneficial results will also continue to grow.
“I think it’s a great addition to the school,” junior Calvin Brinda said. “Now that I know about it I will use it all the time.”
Related Stories
Dylan Cook is a creative, outgoing, and outstanding sixteen year old student at Stillwater Area High School. Dylan enjoys photography, music, and snowboarding....
Hannah Drake • Feb 17, 2016 at 1:38 pm
I think the lead should have been a little more creative in a way that would drag the readers in. I had know idea what the Pony Market is. This article does a great job of describing what the Pony Market is and what it does. Great quotes from Dennis!
Charlie Skaret • Feb 17, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Nice article, does a good job of describing what this new service does, as well as the opportunities it provides the different student groups. The quotes make sense as they contribute to the story and explains necessary information further from a primary source. Overall nice job.
Daniel Onufer • Feb 17, 2016 at 8:02 am
This article was very well thought out. Good legth for an article. It’s great that the special needs kids have more jobs now.
Sam Hudachek • Feb 17, 2016 at 6:26 am
This was a very informative article and you had great quotes from Dusty Dennis. I know many people haven’t even heard of the Pony Market or don’t know much about it and I think this will really help it get more attention! Good job!
Samantha Flipp • Feb 16, 2016 at 8:44 pm
Nice job on this article. The quotes from Dusty were great, but remember not to repeat quotes in the photo captions. This is very informative and full of facts that students care about. I didn’t know that they sell bath bombs (I might buy one now)
Dylan Foster • Feb 16, 2016 at 8:39 pm
This is a very well written article and is great on getting out the lesser-known Pony Market. It will hopefully help get the idea of the Pony Market out because it is much cheaper and sells some pretty awesome things and this article talks it up to the right amount.
Amira Noor • Feb 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm
This was a well written, informative article that gives an insiders perspective as to what they do and sell at the Pony Market. There were also strong quotes from Dusty which shows that they asked well rounded questions.
Joe Rice • Feb 16, 2016 at 8:16 am
This is a very interesting story and you used great quotes from Dusty. A follow up of this article should be written for issue six to show how students have reacted to the store.
Erin Lemanski • Feb 16, 2016 at 8:13 am
I like how you added so much information to the article. It was very informative and personal with the quotes. I feel like if students have not seen the Pony Market yet, they get a great visual of what it looks like through your article.
Kai Knudson • Feb 15, 2016 at 10:17 pm
This article was well-written and informative. I had never actually noticed the market before which made this article more interesting. Also I like Dusty Dennis’s quotes and his name’s pretty cool, too.
Madison Crain • Feb 15, 2016 at 9:15 pm
I really liked this article because it was jammed packed with information. I liked how we got to learn why the student council opened the Pony Market. Plus the reason why they partnered with the special education department. I love how the special education department have a huge role in the store.
Jonathan Rustad • Feb 15, 2016 at 3:56 pm
This is a pretty solid article overall. I found it quite informative, I had no idea the Pony Market existed. I can’t really think of any suggestions. The only thing I can think of is maybe a more interesting lead.
Shenyn Gale • Feb 15, 2016 at 1:52 pm
This article was written well and very informative. I like how not only did we get the outside opinion from students but we also got the inside look at how its happening the way things are being made and sold. I think that its cool that the special education department plays such a big role in the school store.
Lauren Feldkamp • Feb 14, 2016 at 7:43 pm
I really like this article it is a well written piece that not only informs the reader of what the Pony Market is but gives more of an inside look in the market and its making.