The Foran school store has been closed for over two years due to Covid-19, but it will reopen in just a few short weeks under the direction of business teacher Mr. Jeff Blude, and will remain at the end of red hall.

     The store will sell items including tee-shirts, sweat pants, bucket hats, keychains, drawstring bags, and more Foran merchandise.

     According to Blude, the school store is currently being stocked and looks like it is on track to open after Thanksgiving.

     Foran’s school store will create a learning environment that can’t be replicated in the classroom. This is partially due to the different learning style it presents for the students in the marketing class that help run the store.

     Business teacher Mr. Frank Balestriere says, “The school store is about implementing the hard and soft skills you learn in the classroom.” 

     Soft skills are skills like teamwork and communication. Hard skills are skills like promotion, products, and marketing. Hard skills help people perform their job more effectively and efficiently. 

     “Marketing the products will be really important. Getting the products out there for students to see and switching to the 21st century by using social media to promote the products. By doing this the students will be more interested in the school store.” says  Balestrie

     This store also will promote Foran pride across the school as it makes it easier to purchase Foran merchandise with potential for more customizable options.

     Starting a successful business is not easy. It requires a lot of perseverance and there is no room for giving up. When starting from nothing, challenges down the road can be rough, but believing in the final product is essential for success.

     “If one word was to  describe a successful business, it would be perseverance,” says Balestriere

     There will be Covid-19 restrictions in the school store, Blude explains that there will be a limit on how many students can be in the store at the same time, and, due to Covid-19 restrictions, no food can be sold.

     Senior Daniel Thanas says, “ I love the school store, but it sucks that there are no cookies. It’s heartbreaking, I miss the cookies and I wish they had them.” 

     The food from the store was some students’ favorite part of the store.

     Blude said “I hope in the future the cookies come back after the restriction lift.”

     According to business teacher Mrs. Cacioppo and Blude, the school store will hopefully be open for multiple periods. This will make it very convenient for the students and staff to buy items from the store.

     The school store will add an element to the school that’s been missing over the last few years, and the one thing only 50% of the students have experienced in the past.