Students serve up lunch to school officials
CHANNAHON -- Together, Josue Rodriguez, 13, and Abraham Martinez, 14, made an awesome turkey sandwich.
Josue, a student in the cognitive disabilities classroom, paired up with Abraham in Hufford's Individual Education program, where they both learned how to serve lunch Thursday morning at Enjoi Bake Shop.
John Patsch/Staff Photographer
"Hi ma'am!" Josue said with a smile as he handed a menu to Connie Russell, assistant principal at Hufford Junior High School.
"What do you suggest?" she asked. "What do you think is good?"
She chose a turkey sandwich and off to work they went.
Wearing slippery plastic gloves, they discovered teamwork was essential as Josue put mayonnaise on the sandwich and Abraham held apart the sides of the sandwich roll.
"Salad!" Josue said as he added some to the plate. After they delivered the meal, they gave each other a high-five.
"I was kind of a little nervous," Abraham said. "(Russell) used to be our teacher. It was a new thing to serve somebody. It was pretty cool."
Their field trip was the culmination of a cooking unit, Cooking Up Student's Success, funded by a $1,200 grant from the Joliet Grade Schools Foundation for Education Excellence awarded to Hufford teacher Darren Raichart.
Since February, teams have been working together getting ready for Thursday's event, cooking dishes and desserts together.
The primary purpose of the grant was to expose students with cognitive disabilities to career options.
"It gives them a chance to practice skills that would benefit them," Raichart said. "They are working with general education students. It really gives them a chance to build up a positive relationships with them and work together and communicate in a positive learning environment."
Teacher Beth Milewski said her students learned valuable lessons in mentoring. One day, her students were goofing around, and she noticed that Raichart's students picked up on those bad habits.
"We talked about the impact they have," she said.
Anthony Dombrowksi, 12, learned a lot from his mentee, A.J. Summers, 13.
"He taught me how to relax with friends and stuff like that," he said.