students can belong

our community including Emmy’s toiletries drive this March, which ended up donating two large Amazon boxes full of toiletries to a local RV community According to Emmy, the community often lacks basic necessities such as shampoo and soap

Stirring up Success: Mrs. Sasaki’s cooking club is a Blach club favorite

One of Blach’s most popular clubs is Cooking Club, with a range of 20-30 people attending each club meeting The club was originally founded last year by 8th grade student Weston Muscarella, with 8thgrade science teacher Mrs. Diane Sasaki acting as supervisor.

According to Mrs Sasaki, she and Weston used to chat after class about their hobbies, which led to the two of them finding a shared passion in cooking. They would both share recipes and ideas in between classes, and when Weston decided to start a cooking club, Mrs. Sasaki was happy to become supervisor Weston now attends Los Altos High School, but the club is still continued by Mrs Sasaki.

ments, and then you can change one ingredient at a time until you make something delicious.” recipes they want to try from home or online.

Every other Thursday, the club helps pass out boxes to cars with families that can’t afford food. They have also hand made dog toys and donated them to Canine Companions, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Rosa that trains service dogs

All club leaders are moving on to Mountain View High School next year where Dugar looks forward to starting a similar club

Mrs. Sasaki has enjoyed cooking from an early age, with her mother and grandmother being her biggest cooking inspiration. Even though cooking was a required chore in her household, she expressed gratitude at having the opportunity to spend that time with her family.

She says, “For me, cooking is like a science, or a controlled experiment. You have to have exact measure-

This love of cooking eventually led her to work for three years as a chef in various kitchens in LA, including a WolfGang Puck and John Dominus Restaurant. She then worked multiple jobs in a restaurant intermittently for the next 15 years while she was a teacher

Her passion for cooking clearly influences the way she runs the club. “I want to make food that interests the kids,” she explains.

This is why students are responsible for bringing to the club

Then, while the rest of the club is eating lunch, the student who brought the recipe explains the food’s history and origins. “And then we cook like crazy!” Mrs Sasaki laughs.

This year, the club has made a variety of delicious foods from a range of countries, including Chinese egg tarts, stir fried broccoli with beef, El Salvadoran pupusas, pasta with marinara sauce, and chocolate butter mochi cakes with a mango drizzle. Mrs. Sasaki hopes that students who attend her club will get a love for food and broaden their taste.