Westwood Junior High School Cooking Club
Teaches Students Skills That Will Last a Lifetime
by Chloë Ranaldi
Students at Westwood Junior High School in Saint-Lazare are learning how to cook, in an after-school cooking club.
In the after-school program, the students learn basic skills to help give them more independence and confidence in the kitchen.
The students learn how to use a knife, feel comfortable grating cheese, use spices, and adding their own flare to the recipes they create.
The cooking club started last year, after a life-skills class on cooking gained popularity and interest amongst students who were interested in taking part.
The club was then created as a response to interest amongst the students.
Caroline Dejordy is the facilitator for the after-school club on Tuesdays, with the grade 7 students.
Dejordy taught the students on Nov. 12, how to make double baked potatoes, by microwaving the potatoes so that they’re soft, cutting them open, and scooping up and mashing up the inside of the potato into a bowl. Following this, the students used spoons to refill the potatoes, then they put them in the oven to bake.
The students then write the recipes they learn in a notebook, so they can take it home with them.
“ What we’re hoping is that when they try it here, that they’ll try it at home, and they’ll realize things become easier as they practice,” said Dejordy.
Dejordy says it’s important for her that “students eat healthier food, and feel good preparing their own meals, and helping their parents at home.”
Sarah Michaud, is also a facilitator for the club, she says “it’s also nice [for students] to work with people they wouldn’t usually see in other day to day clubs or in class, so it’s fun to have them mingle and see different personalities.”
“We wanted the students to cook independently at home, whether it be helping a family member, or just being more independent in the kitchen. It’s a good skill to have when they grow up and they can use these skills in the future,” said Michaud
The after school program is for students in 7, there is another group of grade 8 students that also meet after school, and a group of students chosen by the resource team– to help make students more independent, and more confident in the kitchen.
