By Marin Murray.

Last week, teachers and staff participated in the first-annual Halloween cook-off hosted by the social commitee. The Spanish department won the chili category, Sarah Fambrough and Rick McClure tied for first in the dessert category, and Joann Gutierrez won the award for best mac and cheese.

“We had a really good turn out,” social committee member and campus crisis counselor Roxanne Bush said. “The social committee is calling this the first annual one, so hopefully we’ll get to do it again next year.”

Overall, participation was high both with the entries and with donations from those who did not enter the competition but still tried the food. The Spanish department said that their first place in the chili cateogry was a collaborative effort among all five teachers.

“We collaborated because I had a busy evening Monday night, and so I was happy to cook it but I needed help with the prep work,” Spanish teacher Lori Wallace said. “We divided up the ingredients and everybody chopped and diced. I put it all together on Monday night.”

Their teamwork ultimately paid off and helped bring them closer together in the process, which was the intended purpose of the cook-off and for all of the activities the social committee plans.

“The social committee is responsible for just doing fun things around campus for faculty and staff,” Bush said. “It helps us to bring joy into our job, which is joyful, but it allows us to do fun things to show our appreciation for faculty and staff.”

The voting process for each category involved over 15 judges, including celebrity judges principal Emme Siburt and student resource officer Steven Valentine. It also gave all of the teachers and staff the opportunity to try all of the different entries, allowing them to eat lunch together, something that doesn’t normally happen.

“It’s fun to be together and to see people that you don’t normally see at lunchtime,” Wallace said. “I think it was a real morale booster for all of the teachers and everybody that was there.”

The social committee plans to host at least one activity each month for teachers and staff to participate in. The next activity will be another cook-off involving Thanksgiving foods.

“I just hope that as we continue to do things throughout the year that teachers will participate,” Bush said.