Park Square Grand Opening
April 24, 2010 • written by Frannie Sprouls
Heading into the school, you wonder where you are going to find that Arizona tea that you’ve been craving. The only place that you can think of is the gas station down the road and you have no way of getting there and back in time for class. You aren’t sure if you can make it through the day without Arizona tea. But wait! The school store supplies Arizona tea! You rush in and buy it, excited for the day to finally begin.
On April 8, 2010, a crowd of students and staff waited outside the door of Park Square. Three green ribbons stretched across the door, waiting to be cut by the planners of the school store. 
For over five months, the Econ Club has been planning Park High’s first ever school store. “We started planning about the beginning of October,” said Mr. Hyland, one of the economics teachers and advisor of the Econ Club. “It really started with deciding the furniture and then the product, as well as the Econ Club.”
Gradually, items began to be added to the store: beverages, candy, t-shirts, and even a cash register. The windows read: “Park Square—Opening Soon.” Students began to wonder if the store would open before the end of the year. And it did, on April 8.
At 8:00 AM, Mr. Hyland began the ceremony. First to cut the ribbon were three underclassmen: Shauna Meyer, Alec Taft, and Tyler Verhey. The second ribbon was cut by two upperclassmen, Matt Struve, ’10, and Anthony Gockowski, ’11. The final ribbon was cut by the two students behind the school store: Jared Kean, ’10, and Luis Ortega, ’10.
As soon as the third ribbon was cut, the crowd rushed into the store, where the ribbon cutters/workers handed out green, black, and white beads to celebrate the opening. Teachers and students filtered in and out throughout the morning, buying t-shirts, candy, and most importantly, Arizona Tea. 
“We hope to break even by the end of the school year, pay for the things we’ve bought, and make a profit by next year, first time,” Mr. Hyland stated. By the time they begin to make a profit, the money will go to help entrepreneurs in third world countries start their own businesses through a site called Kiva.org.
Students seem excited for the opening of the store as well. “We have a place so you don’t have to go anywhere else to get breakfast,” says Maddie Sockness, a senior. “I forget breakfast sometimes.”
One deal that the store offers is the coffee mug. It is $15 but you can use it at the Coffee Bar, which is located in the concessions stand, to receive discounted coffee. But that isn’t the hot seller. “My favorite product would have to be the $0.25 Blow Pops,” says Mr. Hyland. “I didn’t think they’d sell.”
So rummage around your house for loose change and head down to Park Square!
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