WEST CHESTER — Thanks to a grant received from the King Arthur Flour Company, St.Agnes students attended a Life Skills assembly on April 12 and learned how to bake bread — from scratch. According to the Vermont-based company, which has delivered their Life Skills Bread Breaking Program to 120,000 other school students elsewhere, baking is a great way for kids to use and explore math, science, and culinary skills, all while having fun in the kitchen.
Seventh-grade teacher Jennifer Charney heard about the free program and applied for the grant. Then with help from local Giant grocery stores, which helped provide the ingredients, St. Agnes hosted the King Arthur Flour Company in Thomas Patrick Hall. There, Paula Gray, the senior Life Skills Bread Baking Program instructor for the King Arthur Flour Company, and three student helpers chosen ahead of time, gave a 50-minute presentation to students from third to eighth grades.
After the assembly, each student took home a package that included the ingredients and instructions to make either a bread loaf, a bread braid, cinnamon rolls, or pizza crust. They were instructed to make two loaves: one to share at home with their family, and the other to share with others in the community who are less fortunate — specifically, in this case, those at the St. Agnes Day Room.