The Muddy Paw   

     This year at Dekalb High School has been filled with change, from acquiring a new principal, to all the new teachers in the classrooms. One thing is for certain: it has taken some time to get use to the changes; however, one of the more notable things that didn’t surprise our business teacher Ms. Hayner was a huge step for her business management class.

    Marina Hayner became a business teacher at Dekalb High School in August 2017. She is loved by the students and is a crucial part in getting high school students ready for the real world. Career thinking and resume building is heavily involved in all of her classes. This year, the sixth hour business class decided that they want to try and tackle the responsibility of planning, starting, and running a business, however, the choice of business was up for debate. The class contemplated a t-shirt shop, spirit store, or a cafe. After two weeks of brainstorming, the students decided on a cafe.

    The first step to get approved to run a cafe in the school commons was everything but easy. Ms. Hayner has tried for two years to get approved, yet was declined each time. This year, however, was a different story; there is a new principal, Mr. Lawson, and he decided to give the class a shot and let them present their plan. “ We had to come up with a process and business plan,” Ms. Hayner says, “then we presented it in front of Mr. Lawson. It had to get approved by the school board.” The presentation went well and the school board approved.

    The grand opening of the cafe was September 27th at 7:15 a.m. It was a huge success selling approximately $200 worth of goods. It is open every Friday in the school commons from 7:15 to 7:55 a.m. They offer beverages such as: coffee, tea, juices, and milk. They also offer donuts and granola bars. Other items are sold at the bake sales on Friday at every home football game, just outside of the concession stand.

    All of the sales go straight to the pocket for the Muddy Paw. The bake sales consist of donated goods and the profit of that is used to buy produce for the cafe. Since there is no overhead, the profits only increase.”Right now we are using the money to establish an account with the bank; eventually we will give back to the school or community, whatever is needed.” The Muddy Paw will be open every Friday until the end of the year, so if you are ever in need a shot of energy to get through the school day, you know where to go. Remember, Tigers run on java.