THUNDER BAY -- A student teacher and a kitchen manager have cooked up a winning formula to get kids out of the classroom and into the community to give back with their math skills.
Regional Food Distribution Association kitchen manager Kelsey Agnew wanted to get more students into the kitchen.
His friend Maia Green had just started a teacher placement at Ecole Gron Morgan and wanted to get her Grade 8 students some real-life experience with math, a subject usually reserved for desk work.
With the RFDA's busy Christmas season in full swing, the pair watched Wednesday morning as their dream became a reality, with students busy using their math to make soup, sandwiches, cookies and other food that will eventually end up in Holiday Hampers for those in need.
"It's amazing," Agnew said watching the students work together. "It's like a little buzzing beehive."
Green agreed.
On top of helping out and learning new skills they also use the ones they got from the classroom. Later they'll face math questions about they're work, which included making 1,000 jars of soup. They'll also write about the experience for the RFDA's newsletter, another skill put to good use.
"To me it's that perfect win-win-win," she said.
While 13-year-old Yuna Sung could have done without getting soaked while doing dishes, she was having a lot of fun Wednesday. The field trip is great but it's even better to know that her class is helping people who might otherwise go hungry.
"It's really nice to help people that need help," she said.
Hannah McGuire, 13, said making soup for so many people was tough but thinking about the surprise cookies people will get when they head to various food banks in the region feels great.
"It's pretty cool," she said.
