FLORENCE, Ala. — Florence Middle School students went on tour in December to spread some holiday cheer, providing the community with the delicious goodness of baked treats.
History teacher Andrew Franck said the FMS Cookie Tour was partly an effort to help Florence Middle School achieve its STEM school certification.
“One of our criteria for being a STEM school is having community partners,” Franck said.
Part of that community partnership involves businesses, higher learning institutions, and organizations providing students with the expertise needed to help them prepare for the future.
Franck said that after asking some of the STEM students what they would like to do to give back to the community partners, they first questioned what they would be able to do as 12, 13, and 14-year-olds. He said the suggestion was simple—service and gratitude.
Franck said he and the students considered incorporating the holiday spirit and connected with the family and consumer science teacher and her class to bake cookies.
“In the end, they baked right at 1000 cookies,” Franck added.
After plating the cookies and wrapping them, Franck said the art students also got involved, creating holiday cards to be delivered along with them. Student ambassadors and choir students joined the mission, and together, the groups started their tour, delivering cookies to 21 community partners across the area.
“The kids were the ones that greeted the adults of every location we went to, and they just looked at them and said, ‘We know you do a lot for us, and we just want to tell you how much we appreciate it, and it doesn’t go unnoticed,’” Franck explained.
Franck said some businesses greeted the students with joy and excitement, insisting they tour their facilities during the deliveries.
Franck said he believed the students’ biggest takeaway from the tour is that they truly understand how many people work to improve their lives and educational experiences and that, through those contributions to society, differences can be made in their own lives.
