Fourth and Fifth Grade students at Palm Pointe competed in a cooking challenge on Tuesday, May 14th and Thursday, May 16th. Fifty students participated in the event and showed off their cooking skills on Tuesday, and 40 competed on Thursday. In order to participate, students had to read the book entitled Lights, Camera, Cook. It was a Sunshine State Reader book for 2018-19. In addition to reading the book, they had to pass a quiz or complete a graphic organizer showing they gained comprehension of the book. Students were placed on teams of 5-6 and had a parent volunteer who led as the safety captain. Each team came up with a recipe on their own and then prepared enough servings for the judges and, of course, themselves. The judging panel was made up of the Principal, Kathleen Perez, the Assistant Principal, Annette Newsome, former Principal of Palm Pointe, Debra Snyder, and grades 3-5 instructional Coach, Allison Perry.
The judges tasted each of the dishes and then scored the students on dish appearance, texture, use of fresh ingredients (grown in our very own Palm Pointe gardens), description of the dish, team work, and, of course, taste. St. Lucie Public Schools District Cafeteria staff, Farm to Table Coordinator, and the Palm Pointe Cafeteria staff worked closely with Mrs. Fazzalaro, the Media Specialist at Palm Pointe, to put on this event. A huge shout out to our Child Nutrition Services Department for all they did to make the events successful. The students created amazing dishes and shined brightly as they presented their mouth-watering entrees. They can’t wait to compete again next year, as we would like to make this an annual event.
