The winning cake on display in the mailroom. (Photo courtesy of Norge Hollows)

On November 21, 2022, students crowded into the teacher’s mailroom in the early hours of the morning. Starting at 7:15 a.m., students who participated in the school’s Spirit Week cake-decorating contest were to bring in the cakes they’d toiled over for days. Teachers wandered in to peer at the colorful desserts, some making copies while pretending not to be curious.

Ms. Roskoph organized the activities in Spirit Week, but class government members and their advisors came up with most of the ideas, including the cake decorating contest. Ms. Dollarton, one of West’s newest math and SAT Review teachers, helped with the idea of cake decorating, mentioning that Cherry Hill East did a similar contest throughout her years there. Ms. Tkacz, one of the judges, was in the mailroom greeting students and writing down submission cards as cakes came in. 

A sophomore cake submission. (Photo courtesy of Norge Hollows)

The judgment of the cakes was left to the school secretaries- Donna Tkacz, Latimini Morgan, Yasminah Mariano, Damaris Benitez, and Shannon Gingell- who followed the criteria of portraying the theme, creativity, and visual appeal, according to Ms. Roskoph. There were six cakes entered among the classes, and they were all beautifully and carefully decorated.