Written by Calvin Jackson |
Here at Morgan, there is an annual gingerbread house contest. The contest is run and facilitated by Family Consumer Science Teacher Joanne Nunan. The contest is judged by teachers and staff that work in The Morgan School. They cast votes based on which constructed gingerbread house they like best. The winners can range through all grades, awarding both male and females with first, second, and third place.
There are requirements for the gingerbread houses to qualify for entry in the contest. The entirety of the finished product cannot exceed a size greater than 15″ x 15″, and that includes the base. All of the entries are required to be delivered in completed form on a plywood base. This base is necessary because it enables the ability of the gingerbread house to be freestanding. The base also must be decorated to preferably go along with the theme of the gingerbread house. Each student should have their own theme that makes their gingerbread house unique and interesting.
All of the components to the houses must be original and not from boxed kits. The entire house must be edible, excluding the base because it will be plywood. The structural parts of the house need to be made out of gingerbread. This requirement ensures that the original aspect of the contest, to make a festive and edible house, is kept throughout all of the entries.
Mrs. Nunan advises that content and quality should be more of a priority over the quantity of components in these houses. She said the teachers voting see the house as more appealing if the house meets all of the requirements and is of great quality over one that barely meets requirements with a large quantity of sloppy components.
Students are allowed to work in teams if they prefer. To view some past gingerbread houses, view the slideshow in the Pawprint’s Come See the Gingerbread Houses. The winner of the contest in 2013 was a team that was led by Cassidy Sorota, who is now a Morgan alumni. The past winners have primarily been seniors and a few juniors, but that should not discourage any underclassmen from participating in the contest.
The entries must be submitted no later than Monday, December 21st before school starts as the judging will take place on the 21st and 22nd of December. The houses will be judged by the following criteria: originality, overall appearance, creativity, soundness of construction, and overall culinary skill. The entries are to be picked up after the contest, no later than 11:00 a.m. on December 23rd. All houses that are not picked up by this deadline will be donated to the local Assisted Living Facility. For those who compete in the contest, The Morgan Pawprint wishes you the best of luck.
Updated photos from December 17, 2015:
Photos by Alyssa LeMay |
