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Pouring gluten-free batter onto a griddle, Elena Francis ’25 contributes to the cooking process at the pancake breakfast. There were five cooking stations set up around the food lab to ensure efficiency.
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Smiling, Christopher Li ’25 spoons batter into a measuring cup. SHF and MAO have been hosting the pancake breakfast together for years, making it a tradition for both organizations.
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Pouring her batter into a pan, Kyra Tooley ’25 and Annika Anumalla ’25 work together at their cooking station. Students worked in groups to make as many pancakes as they could for the teachers. “It was a lot of fun [and] I really enjoyed it,” Magnolia Hance ’26 said. “It was fun to hang out with some of the members in SHF and to make pancakes for some of our teachers who work really hard for us, and just to tell them thanks.”
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Gathered around the ingredients, Oprah Wei ’26, Ryan Linton ’25, Siyona Jain ’25, and Allison Yao ’25 work together to make batter. This was the first step in preparing the batches of pancakes for the teachers.
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Helping to tidy the Food Lab after all the pancakes had been made, Magnolia Hance ’26 gathers a bowl and spatula. All of the members pitched in to help make the breakfast successful. “I was in charge of helping to cook the pancakes, and just general clean up, so going around and making sure everything was neat and tidy,” Hance said.
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Scooping up fruit, Sra. Maria Ornelas puts together a plate at the teacher breakfast. Teachers were invited to get food before their professional development meetings started, courtesy of the students. “It shows that we truly do care about our teachers, which we do because they truly do help us in every way,” Inaya Seyed Mohamed ’26 said. “It’s just a lot of appreciation, because teachers don’t get enough appreciation.”
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The warm scent of pancakes wafts out of the bustling Food Lab, soundtracked by sizzling pans and the hustle and bustle of twenty some students working hard to cook up a delicious brunch. In an otherwise silent and empty campus, students from la Société Honoraire de Français (SHF) and Mu Alpha Theta (MAO) are hard at work preparing a decadent pancake breakfast for staff to enjoy on their professional development day.
On Monday, Oct. 14, students came in during the morning to help with the two clubs’ annual Pancake Breakfast. While students had the day off in recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, staff members still came to school for a professional development day.
A tradition for the two clubs, this year marked yet another successful breakfast event, planned by both MAO and SHF officers.
“It was a lot of just figuring out what we needed,” SHF President Awa Susan Currier ‘25 said. “We looked at last year’s spreadsheet, and tweaked it a little bit because last year we ran out of pancake batter. This year we also ran out of pancake batter, but a little bit later so that was good, [and it means] we’re getting better. Honestly it was really just [a matter of] getting people to sign up, and come out and support.”
After consolidating all the supplies, students got to work preparing the pancakes, dividing responsibilities amongst themselves to ensure an efficient work environment.
“I was assigned to bring certain materials, so I bought apple juice and orange juice, and then I helped to make pancakes,” SHF member Inaya Seyed Mohamed ‘26 said.
As the students spent time cooking pancakes and preparing other brunch accouterments before the teachers arrived, they were able to engage in a unique opportunity to bond within their respective organizations.
“It was a lot of fun [and] I really enjoyed it. It was fun to hang out with some of the members in SHF and to make pancakes for some of our teachers who work really hard for us, and just to tell them thanks,” SHF member Magnolia Hance ‘26 said.
The tradition of the SHF and MAO’s Pancake Breakfast tradition dates back years, making it many participants’ second or third time participating in the event.
“It was basically the same as last year,” Currier said. “We always have the same problems every year, we never have enough pancake batter, [and] something is always burning, but I think it was fun. It was a lot of bonding going on for sure. This is our once a year cooking thing, so I like it. It’s fun seeing everyone every year.”
The overall aim of the Pancake Breakfast is to show teachers appreciation for the work that they do, even when students are enjoying a day off.
“I feel like as we get older, it becomes more on the students to show the teachers that we care, and it becomes a lot harder because we have eight teachers typically, so not a lot of the teachers are getting the same amount of love,” Currier said. “They’re still out here teaching, they’re still here at 8:30 a.m. every morning, so I feel like it’s so important to give back especially when it’s hard for the general public to do so.”
By giving teachers a meal made with care, both clubs hope to acknowledge all that the educational staff does for them each day.
“Our teachers work really hard for us throughout the entire year,” Hance said. “We get a lot more breaks than they do, and it’s really important that we demonstrate just how grateful we are to them. They are the people giving us an education and setting us up for our futures, so we need to make sure we’re saying thanks.”
