Seventh-graders in Jill Miller’s seventh-grade Family and Consumer Science classes recently received some very sweet news. The syrup they made from tapping maple trees behind the Jr./Sr. High School placed first in the middle school division in this year’s Schoolyard Sugaring Maple Syrup Contest.
This was the second year Miller participated in the contest with her FACS classes, trekking with the students into the woods just as the snow began to melt in March. Students tapped a number of trees and hung bags to collect the sap, emptying the liquid into buckets that would later be boiled down in the classroom kitchen.
New York Agriculture in the Classroom, in partnership with the New York State Maple Foundation, hosts the annual statewide maple syrup contest for classrooms across New York. They provide all the materials to tap the trees and collect the sap. Through the contest, students experience the process of collecting sap, learn the steps to boiling the sap into maple syrup, and then submit their product for judging against other schools.
The syrup the Mayfield students made and submitted for the contest was judged on its density, color, clarity and flavor.
To celebrate their win, the students last week in class made mug pancakes, topping them with their homemade syrup.
With their first-place win, the school will receive a prize of $250, which Miller said she hopes will help with some FACS classroom supplies.