MORGANTOWN — “Fake it ‘til You Bake it.”
This is the phrase 11 students had in the back of their minds when coming into a four-day class on how to design and bake their own cake.
With Brandi Ammons, teacher at Morgantown High School (MHS), hosting the class and instructing students how to design a cake, it allowed only four days and their creativity to come up with treats of their own.
On the final day, students presented their final products, explaining the type of cake they baked, with each student also giving their masterpieces a name. The judges were: Julia Hamilton, extended day director, Janet Williams, co-owner of The Cupcakerie, and Rich Vidiluch, assistant principal at MHS.
Williams, who is in the baking industry herself, said she was thrilled to see the students at such a young age wanting to learn the culinary art of baking. Williams said that overall, she was “super impressed with the levels of creativity” displayed by the students in the course.
“I think it’s always good to see young people want to get involved with something you’re interested in,” Williams said. “I’m particularly excited to see that they’re willing to give up their summer to study this sort of thing. I think that shows a real dedication to what they’re interested in.”
Ammons had no expectations going into the class, considering it was a brand new class incorporated into the Summer Snowflake program.
“Trying to meet the needs of each student in the time frame that we had so they could walk away with something that they could be proud of and use was what I wanted them to do,” Ammons said.
Ammons not only taught students about decorating a cake but she also sat down with them and talked about how to run a business.
Ammons also learned a few things from the students.
“I learned to be very flexible, and to be more flexible than what I already was,” Ammons said. “I never laughed so much and we laughed every day. It was hilarious. They taught me perfection is not always the key.”
Hamilton is in charge of designing and creating each class in the Summer Snowflakes program. She gets ideas from teachers to go with the art, music and STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — classes.
Hamilton said her main goal with each class in the program is for kids to find something they enjoy and love.
“I want them to just really love learning. That’s what this is really all about,” Hamilton said. “No matter what their interest is … I want them to love what they do and associate coming to school with something that is fun for them.”
