Middle School Students Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast
By Rick Flaherty
Students in Laura Birman’s class at Superior Middle School always take Thanksgiving seriously, and this year is no different. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Ms. Birman and her class served a full blown Thanksgiving feast for approximately 75 guests!
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The guests for the meal included the teachers from within the middle school who also work with the kids in Ms. Birman’s class, several support staff members from the school, and a number of administrators from the district board office, including Superintendent Stevens.
This year students had the opportunity to invite one or two guest from their family or the community. The addition of these guests made the event even bigger and more exciting for the kids.
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Ms. Birman freely admits that prior to her arrival at Superior Middle School in the fall of 2011, she had never before cooked a turkey, let alone the rest of the traditional sides that go along with the meal. Ms. Birman inherited this classroom’s tradition from another teacher who has since retired, Sue Pfau.
Ms. Pfau had been doing this activity with her students for many years. Ms. Pfau came back to help that first year when Ms. Birman took over, and her help was greatly appreciated. Ms. Birman shared that when she was asked to wash-out the turkey for the first time that she had no idea where to begin. Since that first Thanksgiving meal in 2011, Ms. Birman has become a regular master chef as she now runs the preparation of the meal like a pro.
In an effort to make this annual event an even greater learning experience for her students, Ms. Birman involves her students as much as possible in the planning and preparation of the meal. This year, the students in Ms. Birman’s class learned to ride the city bus to the grocery store and shop for the meal. Putting together a shopping list and then going to the grocery store are life skills that the kids in Ms. Birman’s class will use long after they leave Superior Middle School.
The kids were responsible for making good choices in doing some comparison shopping while at the store as well. The positive feedback from parents regarding the students and their work in getting ready for the meal has been tremendous.
Ms. Birman, her students, and the assistants in her classroom also run and manage the school store. Students and staff at Superior Middle School are able to pick up school supplies and Spartan apparel at the store. Some of the profits from the school store, along with a generous donation from Super One, help to pay for the Thanksgiving feast.
For Ms. Birman and her students, Thanksgiving is not only a time to celebrate, but a wonderful learning opportunity. Maybe next year they’ll add in a post dinner game of football to work off some of the calories.
