Maxine Yetter and Adele Barton wanted to do something kind for their teachers and the support staff at Corkscrew Elementary School in Naples, and thought the sweetest thing would be to bake them homemade cookies.
“We are in fifth grade, and this is our last year at our school, so we wanted to do something big for all the teachers,” Adele explained.
The girls wrote a proposal that included why they wanted to do the cookie project, the recipes, and their plan. They presented it to Principal Kelly Zwack.
“I loved it,” Zwack said about the proposal. “They very thoroughly answered questions for me and their assistant principal, so we could understand their full vision of what they wanted to do. I was really impressed.”
Once they had the administration’s support, the girls set out to create their “cookie crew” project. They made aprons and decorations with the school’s blue and yellow colors and purchased supplies. Then one weekend, they spent about six hours making 280 chocolate chip and sugar sprinkle cookies. Next, they packaged two cookies in each bag with a ribbon. On a Monday morning, teachers and support staff were called to the courtyard to pick up a sweet treat.
“It is so thoughtful to take time out of their day to think of the teachers,” said Marissa Brinson, a fifth grade teacher.
“It is a nice surprise,” added Rebecca McCosh, a fifth grade teacher. “And it is great teamwork. What a great way to spread kindness to teachers.”
Andrew Esposito, a third-grade teacher, was excited to see the cookie crew.“I love it,” he exclaimed.
“It just brightened my day, and the girls had the power to get every teacher out of their classroom for cookies. I can’t think of anything kinder than cookies.”
The girls are proud of their hard work and were excited to see how happy they made the people who work at their school.
“Everyone loves cookies,” Maxine said. “They do a lot for us, and they are amazing. They help everyone. They are the best teachers.”
The cookie duo says this might not be the last time they bake for their teachers.
“We might do something else,” Adele said. “We might do something totally different, like cupcakes.”