Entrepreneurial spirit on display at Ogden Elementary

At Ogden Elementary School’s first-ever Shark Tank-like competition on Nov. 14, you could walk around the back gymnasium of the Hewlett-Woodmere School District and find second- and third-graders showing imaginative products such as Mindful Muffs, Medi-Pops and Super Card Holder.

Adele Bilguray made the lollipop-like medicine because: “I didn’t like the medicine I had to take, it was yucky.” Fellow second-grader Maxwell Montero’s Super Card Holder was made because when, “playing cards as a little boy, I couldn’t hold the cards.” Now his brother Myles, 1, can hold the cards.

Judges loved all the presentations and chose Crazy Bot 2.0 created by Yajit Garikapati, Benjamin Tsadok and Liam Parag, Switch-a-Roo Bat by Aristotle Elipoulos and Evan Petithomme’s Mindfull Muffs as the three winners of the lower grade Shark Tank-like competition.

In the cafetorium, the fourth- and fifth-graders presented their created products to a panel of four judges — Dr. Ed Fale, David Friedman, John Wimmer and Bradley Hajart — viewed a plethora of creations ranging from the Brella Bike to the Ogden Bulldog App. Accompanied by the Shark Tank music, the students were introduced, presented their product, were asked questions by the panel and the potential entrepreneurs responded.

The judges awarded a first place tie to James Pisano and Daniella Donskoi; second place to Sienna Nelson and Mila Profiloski; and third place to Shai Cohen and Leah Vaknine.

Pisano presented Case Clean that kills germs. Donskoi created an environmentally safe toy. Nelson and Profiloski’s product was the Chalk Block. Cohen and Vaknine collaborated on Lunch Box Supreme, an extra large lunch box to carry all a hungry student needs.