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December 17, 2009

Montessori students raise dough with in-school bakery

By Cara Spilsbury

It's not every day that elementary school students take orders, mix ingredients, bake a product and package the goods for sale.

But it was more than just a lesson in baking or business savvy for the nine first- and second-graders in Susie Renninger's class at the Merrimack Montessori School on Saltonstall Road in Haverhill.

The children were baking with purpose. When the loaves were finished they were sold for $5 each to families and friends. In six weeks, the students raised $530 for Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization based in Quincy that provides children up to age 12 with basics like clothing, school supplies, toys and more — all the physical goods that children need to be safe, protected from the elements and ready to learn.

At the beginning of every school year, Merrimack Montessori students collect supplies and backpacks for Cradles to Crayons, but the students noticed that children might need help all year long, not just in September. The bread fundraiser was born.

"Now the children have the wonderful joy of being able to give cash to the organization," said Mary Gale, head of school at the private Merrimack Montessori.

The students set a goal of $500 for the project, and they were thrilled to surpass it. Ben Davoli, 6, of Haverhill called it "a booming business."

The children collected order forms for the bread that included the purchaser's name, phone number, and number of loaves. Customers could choose among honey wheat, white and raisin breads. The class would enter the orders in a log book and keep track of when they finished each loaf, when they called each customer to alert them their loaf was ready and when the customer picked it up.

In the end, the students baked 102 loaves of bread. But that number wasn't nearly as important as a few other statistics that the students found fascinating.

"Each $25 (donation) gives supplies to one child," said Isabella Xenakis, 7, of East Hampstead, N.H. "We helped 21 children."

But the enterprising students didn't stop at helping other children. They also delivered 20 loaves on Veterans Day to a food pantry for veterans in downtown Haverhill and 10 loaves on Thanksgiving to Emmaus House, a homeless shelter in Haverhill.

"We felt very proud of ourselves," said Isabelle Halsey, 7, of Haverhill. "We felt excited and really happy. It really just helps people."

Supplies for the bread making were donated by parents, many of whom also spent time in the class helping with the baking, which was done with a bread making machine.

When asked if they were open to running another fundraiser, members of the class emphatically nodded.

"I'm flexible with that," said Zachary Roberts, 7, of Groveland.

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