The scent of chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes, lemon bars, and other baked goods has filled the Commons during recent lunch blocks as the sophomore and senior “bake-offs” began at the Upper School. In this new take on a bake sale, two teams bring in a homemade batch of around 40-50 baked goods to sell to students, a concept that has drawn enthusiasm from participants and consumers alike.
In the sophomore grade competition, $3 buys a pair of baked goods, one from both teams. Students who purchase a pair vote for their favorite. The team with the highest number of votes advances to the next round.
Sophomore Vice President Diya Gandhi ’27, who helped organize the bake-offs, said the main objective was to raise money for the grade treasury.
“Last year, we only did one bake sale,” she said. “This year, we’re going to be having a dance on May 17, so we definitely needed to step up our game.”
Since few members on the sophomore student council had baking experience, they decided it would be a good idea to outsource the baking, Diya said. So far, the sophomore student council has raised over $500. According to her, as the competition progresses, the prices for a pair of baked goods will increase to reflect the increased level of competition. In the semifinal round, attendees will pay $4, while the final will cost $5. Diya said it has been 100% successful.
“Everyone’s really excited about it. Everyone’s really interested in the score. There’s a lot of competition and bragging rights involved.”
The bake-offs have generated so much enthusiasm that they have the potential to become an annual event, possibly expanding to include 16 teams instead of 8, Diya said.
Olivia Bell ’27 would prefer to see a more compact competition schedule. There were almost three weeks between every contest, making the quarterfinal round feel very long, she said.
“The most fun part was being able to work together but also getting to see people’s reactions to trying our cupcakes.”
Olivia and her teammate Barbara Ma ’27 won their contest on Dec. 5, 2024 and advanced to the next round.
“We just wanted to bake,” Barbara said. “But it was also fun that we were earning money for the treasury, for fun activities.”
Senior participants are at liberty to bring in any amount of baked goods and price them however they want so they each have different maximum profits. Whoever raises the highest percentage of money out of their maximum profits wins the round. The competition was inspired by the March Madness college basketball bracket, Senior Student Council Representative James Constan ’25 said.
“It was just a fun way to have a bake sale. We could have just had regular bake sales, but this was a great way to bring the grade together and have fun together.”
So far, the Senior Student Council has raised about $470, most of which will go toward funding prom.
The 12th grade semifinals began on Friday, Jan. 10, when Maggie Pond and Ellora Roy’s cake pops beat Beckett Dubovik’s pumpkin bread (all ’25). On Jan. 31, Aleeza Riaz, whose cupcakes defeated Victoria Nassikas’ lemon squares, competed against Kate Rice, whose chocolate chip cookies beat Haley Hicks’ coffee cake in November (all ’25).
Like the sophomores, the seniors plan to raise prices.
“We sell out in 10 minutes,” James said. “The lines get kind of crazy sometimes.”
Another goal of the bake-offs was bringing the class together, he said.
“Senior year is a great year to get together as a grade … People invite their friends and it’s just really good for the community.”
Aleeza said the grade council achieved their goal.
“With this experience of having people actually Mid bake for our class bake sales, there’s a greater sense of community, and people are really excited to support each other and support the class.
The sophomore semifinals were planned for Jan. year 23 and Feb. 6. The final will occur on Feb. 20, and the senior final will take place on Feb. 7.
