"Lights On!" for cake-decorating fun at Westwood

Jim Bissett, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
·2 min read

Oct. 29—It was the icing on the cake for Colby Geisel Thursday afternoon at Westwood Middle School.

"That looks good, huh ?" the 6th-grader said. "I think that's as good as we're gonna get it."

Colby and several classmates at the school on River Road were taking part in Westwood "Lights On !" observance — a national enrichment event that about 8, 000 schools across the country were also hosting after the sounding of the dismissal bell for the day.

"Enrichment, " was both the watchword and ingredient of the day.

Well, it was part of several watchwords and ingredients of the day, actually.

"Lights On !" was hosted by Westwood's Project ISAAC initiative.

"ISAAC " stands for, Increasing Student Achievement — Advancing Communities, and it's part of the 21st century Community Learning Center Grant funded by the state Department of Education.

Stir all that together, Brandi Wolfe said, and you've got a recipe for all the above, with lots of fun sprinkled on top.

Stirring and recipes, she knows.

Wolfe, who teaches 6th grade reading and language arts, is also a serious baker who has her own business on the side.

That's why she did all that baking beforehand Thursday.

She coordinates all the "Lights On !" activities at Westwood.

For this one, she thought she'd do a play on the Netflix show "Nailed It !" where teams of budding bakers try to recreate a recipe that came out of a pro's kitchen.

Double-layer cakes and cupcakes were the assignment of the day, for Westwood's budding bakers — plus their moms and dads (and other caregivers) who came out.

The object for the local version was to recognize the team that could best recreate Wolfe's decorations: She presented a cake done out in a purple-icing castle kind of scene, complete with a bat flying around the proceedings.

Under Wolfe's eye (and icing) three unassuming cupcakes were also transformed into a spookily fun trio of hobgoblins — which, uh, were all gobbled up at the end.

So was the cake.

"The idea is just to come out and have some fun, " Wolfe said.

A panel of local lawmakers and other officials were enlisted for the judging, which wasn't easy, the panel said — because of all that confectionary attention to detail.

Colby, meanwhile, eventually pronounced the cupcakes decorated by his team as judge-worthy.

He even mapped out his own recipe, he was so inspired.

"I'm gonna have to learn how to bake, " he said.

TWEET @DominionPostWV