← Back
Embedded Files
A candid photo of students during the NumnomSuok event. | Photo Via: NumnomSuok Facebook Page
Order Up!
Order Up!
On March 1, 2024, Notre Dame of Cotabato’s Numerica event took place. It was the school’s Math Fair celebration for their academic school year of 2023-2024. During Numerica, the community of eleventh graders, along with the ABM students from the twelfth grade, was tasked to run a food and beverage extravaganza called NumnomSuok, in partial fulfillment of their Entrepreneurship subject. It was a feat that was as challenging as it was exhilarating as it required the young students to serve all present members of the NDC community on the day of Numerica.
During several weeks of preparation, the grade 11 students continuously poured immense effort into establishing their respective groups’ food and beverage businesses. Together, the eleventh graders built a diverse selection of food stalls, with many capitalizing on trending food and drink items such as rice bowls and fruit syrup soda drinks. However, since the grade 11 students were doing all this while simultaneously attending to their other obligations at school, struggles and troubles on top of an already strenuous assignment were brewing.
First faced with the problem of time constraints, the drawback of not having enough stall foundations built befell many of the students. This pushed the entrepreneurs-in-training to improvise, going as far as negotiating with their teachers to allow them to use the covered steel bench facilities on campus as their stall locations instead.
On the day of the actual event, unavoidable hurdles managed to land in the grade 11 students’ hands. Multiple ingredients and material shortages took place, as well as unexpected power outages. With the food orders growing higher and higher and more complex throughout the day, the eleventh graders had no choice but to come up with solutions promptly.
Jyrus Alonto, a grade 11 STEM student from the Bro. Carlos Rafael, who was a part of the OniShi Grubs food stall shared, “A significant obstacle that we faced during NumNumSuok was definitely the shortage of materials we needed for our products. A big one was ice since it ran out very quickly especially because we couldn’t keep it from melting due to the absence of a freezer. We scrambled to solve this by contacting members of our group who were not on campus yet to buy ice before they arrived at school. We also contacted delivery services once or thrice to purchase ice without having to leave the campus because we were not allowed to once we were inside. Another challenge we faced was our certain products not meeting their expected amounts sold mostly because of high competition. Because of the abundance of stalls, many of the customers tended to not walk up to our stall, so, instead, we were the ones who walked up to the customers to sell our products. We were basically peddling.”
A candid photo of students at the OniShi Grubs food stall during the NumnomSuok event. | Photo Via: NumnomSuok Facebook Page
These problems were sure to have caused some short-term strain in the students’ relationships. Drama stemmed from multiple aimless blames thrown around due to high levels of stress and adrenaline. However, the eleventh graders persevered through these challenges because they had a common goal — to succeed. They proved to be a community of students with a significant sense of responsibility; their cleverness alongside their awareness of the things that truly matter allowed them to conjure up fixes to any hindrance that approached them.
A candid photo of students at the Kwique food stall during the NumnomSuok event. | Photo Via: NumnomSuok Facebook Page
Jaleel Taug, a grade 11 student from Bro. Felix Amancho, who was a part of the Kwique food stall shared, “Participating in an event like NumnomSuok, where we students can sell our own products was an eye-opening experience that deepened my understanding of business operations — revealing that while the process is tiring, it is ultimately fulfilling. Although our group occasionally had arguments, heartfelt conversations allowed us to resolve conflicts and strengthen our teamwork. Overall, the event was a joyous experience that solidified my ambition to have a business in the future, and it also served as a reminder that to succeed, we must give our all.”
In the end, this batch of NDC’s grade 11 students achieved an eventful and successful execution of their task. This event acknowledged all of the grade 11 students’ hard work in a ceremony where the groups that had the highest earnings, best printed, radio, and video advertisement, and more were awarded. The grade 11 students’ efforts were also incentivized because they were given full authority over their profits. Not all of the students’ businesses may have reached their financial flourish, but what was definite was the memories and lessons of teamwork and service they acquired, all undoubtedly worth treasuring.
Category: Feature | By Yvan Gilayo | June 26, 2024
Google Sites
Report abuse