As Teacher Appreciation Week continued across the county last week, an educator at Lakewood High School and her club decided to give the school a refresher, literally.
Yadiraliz Hawks, a World Language Development teacher at Lakewood and adviser for the school’s International Club, organized an International Refresher Cafe for teachers and staff.
“About two months ago, what I did with the International Club at the different schools I’ve been at, I had the kids plan and organize a day we could participate in for Teacher Appreciation Week to show some appreciation and honor those teachers who give them everything,” Hawks said while recalling how the idea began. “Since this is my first year at Lakewood High School, I put it out to the club kids. I have 55 members in the club. I asked, ‘Hey, Teacher Appreciation Week is in about two months. Do you want to do something for them? I kind of have an idea I want to try this year. If you all want to, we can do something. But we don’t have any money in our funds. So, if any of you want to donate and honor some of those favorite teachers that you have, maybe you all can donate some money, and we’ll see what we can come up with.’”
Students soon began bringing in donations to help fund the project. Once enough money had been collected, Hawks introduced the idea of what she called a “hydration station,” and students quickly embraced it.
“I was able to purchase everything we needed with the donations they gave,” Hawks explained. “Some of the kids even donated $40 to honor those teachers. They were very excited about it. That’s how it all started. Together, we stayed after school on a Monday. I had all the syrups, powders and everything else I was able to buy. I said, ‘OK, you guys come up with the flavor combinations,’ so we kind of had a taste-test afternoon. They created the flavors, and I came up with names that were teacher- or staff-specific as well.”
According to Hawks, the International Refresher Cafe received an overwhelmingly positive response.
“We had three carts set up, and we went around during third block, which is when we eat lunch,” she explained. “We had one with an ice box, one with the syrups and another with the water and cups. The carts were draped with our International Club tablecloths to make sure they looked cute. We had a sign on the front that said, ‘Sip sip, hooray, we appreciate you every day.’ We went around to each classroom, and all the teachers were so excited when we gave them the menu. They loved the different names and thought they were funny. They tried the drinks, and they were a big hit.”
Hawks said the excitement from both teachers and students made the experience even more rewarding.
“I was particularly excited about it because, one, I don’t think that’s ever been done here,” she said. “And two, the teachers were so excited that even the kids who donated and helped pass out the drinks noticed it. They said, ‘Mrs. Hawks, oh my God, the teachers are really so excited. Did you see their faces?’ I told them, ‘Yeah, it’s a nice thing that you’re doing.’ That really is special to me. The kids were very excited about it, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
While most of the cafe idea went smoothly, Hawks admitted there was one small hiccup during the process.
“I did sort of mess up on the syrup order,” Hawks said with a laugh. “But it worked out. I ordered the syrups on Amazon and didn’t realize most of them were sugar-free. When we were doing our taste test, and thank God we did that, we were like, ‘Something’s missing,’ and it was because they didn’t have sugar. Even with the powder packets, we were using sugar-free ones. So I realized that’s what was missing. I had to buy coconut and vanilla flavors, and I made sure those had sugar in them. Everybody still really liked the drinks overall, and it all came together in the end. That was the only issue, but even then, as we went around, we were able to let the teachers know the syrups were sugar-free.”
The drinks proved so popular that teachers returned after school and again the following day to enjoy them.
Lilliana Mata, a 10th grader at Lakewood, described the experience and said Hawks has helped make the International Club a fun environment for students.
“Ever since she came and started the International Club, it’s been a really fun thing to do,” Mata said. “She’s bringing us these new opportunities. With this one, during Teacher Appreciation Week, it was really cool. Everything was fun, and I had a good time seeing everybody’s face, especially because some of the teachers don’t really get appreciated as much as others. It was really nice, and I was able to donate to the cafe. I really loved it. It was fun hanging out with Mrs. Hawks and giving the teachers drinks. I’m glad she gave us the opportunity to donate and give back to the teachers. That’s my experience and my perspective on how I saw it.”
“Is It Summer Yet?” was reportedly the most popular drink at the cafe. The beverage included two pumps of vanilla, strawberry and mango flavoring mixed with a packet of wild strawberry lemonade. Mata said she wanted to try it, but the ingredients ran out before she had the chance. She was, however, able to sample the second most popular drink.
“I believe it was called Hall Pass Punch,” Mata said. “It was really good and really sweet. Even though the flavors were sugar-free, you could still taste the sweetness, which was nice. That was my favorite.”
Hawks said she already plans to bring the cafe back next year.
“I’m excited about next year,” she said. “Now I have an idea of everything I need to buy, and I’ll be better prepared. They asked if there was a coffee-flavored one, so we’re going to add some new things. I’m very pleased with how it ended. Everybody seemed to really enjoy it.”
The event also reinforced Hawks’ appreciation for the students at Lakewood High School.
“I’m new here to the school, like I said, this is my first year,” Hawks said. “I don’t know why this area has a bad reputation, but the kids are just phenomenal. I absolutely love it here. I want the community to know these kids have big hearts. They really care about each other, and they care about the teachers and staff. That’s my biggest takeaway. I want people to know we have some really awesome kids here who care for one another and the staff.”