Would you like a chance at winning a $25 gift card from Starbucks?

In early January, all pre-calculus honors classes were assigned a project in which students had to track the growth of Starbucks locations over approximately 40 years and provide additional background information about the company along with fun facts.

Pre-calculus honors teacher Ms. Smith told The Clarion more about the project and what the students learn in the process. She said, “They learn how to model a successful business with functions such as exponential and logistic. They also learn about national and international competitors of the coffee giant Starbucks and business facts such as carrying capacity, economic influences, recession consequences, and more.”

Each group presented their projects in their class period and attempted to execute their information in the most creative and accurate manner to win the Starbucks gift card. Vice Principal Mr. Chris Hunninghake also visited second period during presentations. Seniors Martin Ulloa and Ronny Pena were the winners of the 8th period pre-calculus class, while juniors Joe Landeira and Mina Di Filippo were the winners of the 2nd period pre-calculus class.

When Di Filippo was asked about her views regarding the project, she explained, “Starbucks was an interesting company to research considering its enormous size and huge growth factor. I really enjoyed learning about and discussing how the 2008 recession affected the growth of Starbucks. This project gave me a deeper insight as to how I can apply the concepts I used in the classroom to a real world experience like the growth of an actual business over a period of time.”

Ms. Smith was asked why she enjoys the Starbucks project. She replied, “It ties the unit of functions to a neat real-life application Starbucks business model. It also teaches students to work together, share a sense of responsibility, and make a presentation in front of a large group of their peers.” Congratulations to the winners!