By Emiliano Rodriguez and Juan Romero-Ruiz
Ms. Sarah Barnes, our learning support coordinator, has done it again—inspiring Pueblo’s staff members and faculty to compete against palatable entries. This time, she sponsored and organized a “Best Salsa” contest among our school’s faculty.
On Wednesday, Feb. 21—in early celebration of Rodeo Vacation—Barnes displayed all of the salsas from faculty and staff members.
This year, the 44 judges—consisting of several dozen staff members and even a few seniors—overwhelmingly chose the salsa concocted by campus security monitor Ms. Nellie Rivera for the “gold”; Folklorico and ELD teacher Ms. Carmen Bonillas received a “second place” award.
“I love cooking,” Rivera said. “It’s always fun for me. This contest was more than just a competition—it was a way for our faculty and staff to unite more often.”
She paused and said, “I don’t think I won—I think everyone won.”
Second-placer Ms. Carmen Bonillas said, “It’s not the ingredients that makes for a winning salsa—it’s all about the proportions.”
Bonillas added, “These kinds of contests are fun because we teachers sometimes need to just have fun.”
The good news is that every participant received at least a few votes, Barnes said.
“The non-winners all received certificates—as runners-ups in the contest,” Barnes said.
Both Rivera and Bonillas received gift cards.
On March 15, the day after the official “PI” Day (3.14), Barnes will host another contest among faculty and staff members: of course, pies! Normally, the pie contest would be on National Pi day, but because of the scheduled “March for Our Lives” event, Barnes said that the contest will be on Thursday.
She anticipates that she will have no shortage of judges for this one. Barnes herself said that she plans to enter this contest—although she’s keeping her entry a secret.