The holiday cookie swap tradition continued in SHS family and consumer science teacher Jennifer Wade-Baker’s food lab. This year, students celebrated diverse cultures and holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. In Wade-Baker’s Experimental Foods Class, students participated in an annual treat swap, baking an arrangement of delicious holiday-themed baked goods shared with their classmates to enjoy as an early holiday treat.
Originally, this tradition began in the old Lester J. Gates Middle School, where Wade-Baker taught for six years; when she moved to the high school eight years ago, she brought the “bonanza” to the SHS table.
This baking bonanza involves students being organized and independent. Wade-Baker stated, “The cookie swap involves many steps and preparation.” Students choose their cookies and create grocery lists to buy supplies and resources for the recipe. When students have the ingredients and supplies needed, they go to the kitchen and start baking. Wade-Baker keeps an eye on students’ safety and cleanliness, whether they are cooking or baking. Students had certain criteria for what ingredients they could and couldn’t use based on food allergies, making the assignment safe for each baker. 
Wade-Baker explained that the project is a way for students to collaborate and work as a team to create a product. The process involves patience, communication, and community building. Students also have an opportunity to experiment with real-life experience in the kitchen. SHS sophomore Hailey Gill, a student in the Experimental Foods class, said her favorite part of this assignment was “being able to have an input into what we do.”
Wade-Baker plans to continue this tradition at SHS, noting there is no better way to get excited for the holidays than a cookie swap! She also sees value in students gaining life skills in the kitchen with their classmates. She remarked, “If you can get along in the kitchen, you can get along anywhere!”