2nd Annual PA Distance “Core 4 Chopped Challenge” Brings Popular TV Show to Life with Students & Staff

The 2nd annual PA Distance "Core 4 Chopped Challenge" virtual event was held to reward the students who completed an optional Core 4 activity in their homerooms (for Nov. and Dec.) based on one of the four attributes: working independently. Any student who completed the activity earned a virtual “ticket” to watch the live event.

The “Core 4” Committee, consisting of teachers and four high school students who often lead by example, encourages their peers to exhibit characteristics within the PA Distance Core 4: organization, self-advocacy, working independently, and attendance. These student leaders, 9th grader Jaxon J., 11th grader Rickelle H., 12th-graders Isabella (Bella) R., and Giovanni W., are also tasked with organizing the reward events for students who complete the Core 4 themed activities each month.

“The committee meets regularly on Wednesdays. Essentially, the student portion of this group helps the staff and teacher group come up with ideas for how to get other students involved with core 4 participation,” Bella explained. “We mainly focus on what should be given out as prizes, what events should be, look like, and what activities can be done with the resources we have. I enjoy our setup and the type of activities that we organize.”

The most recent Core 4 reward event was based on the Food Network TV show "Chopped", where contestants get a basket containing four random ingredients. Using each and every ingredient, competitors are challenged to make a delicious meal in 30 minutes. 

“Last year, I went against myself in the school’s first Chopped Challenge, having to make a dish out of sardines, pickled beet juice, ramen noodles, and Sour Patch Kids,” Core 4 Committee staff sponsor and social studies teacher, Mr. Mysels said. 

Mr. Mysels and Jaxon J. emceed the event while Isabella and Rickelle managed the live chat, with their student peers, and Giovanni participated in the cooking challenge itself. Giovanni and Miss. Petraglia both had in-house judges on standby to taste the completed dish and choose a score out of five.

“From Rickelle and my perspective, it seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves and were active in the chat,” Bella said. 

“During our Core 4 Committee meetings, we discussed what items we all thought should be included in the mystery ingredient basket,” Jaxon explained. “I had a lot of fun emceeing the event. The chat was very active and it was really fun. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.” 

For this year’s event, Giovanni (pictured below - bottom right) was challenged to cook against high school social studies teacher, Miss. Petraglia (pictured below - bottom left). Miss. Petraglia is also the staff sponsor for the PA Distance Cooking Club, which Giovanni has been a part of for years - so they both came prepared with experience!

“It was interesting because we both had different ideas of what we wanted to do with the ingredients,” Giovanni said. “My dad was my judge and he ended up loving what I made.”

“I’ve been a part of the Cooking Club and the Cooking Summer Camp every year since I came to PA Distance,” Giovanni added. “I’ve learned a lot from Miss. Petraglia over the years so it was cool to be able to compete against her.” 

“High school counselor, Mrs. Buncic, and Mr. Waters (Giovanni's dad) were our judges. The basket title was ‘Salmon Choco-Cheese’ and the ingredients were salmon, EZ-mac, chocolate, and spicy mustard,” Mr. Mysels explained. 

All students who watched the event cheered on the contestants and commented on their dishes as they cooked. Each student participant will have a chance of winning prizes in a raffle at the end of January. 

Giovanni's dish (top right) was a spicy mustard pretzel-crusted salmon mac-and-cheese with vanilla ice cream and chocolate pieces. Miss Petraglia's (bottom right) dish was a seared salmon with a chocolate brown butter sauce, pesto mac-and-cheese, and an arugula salad with a spicy mustard dressing. 

“It was so fun to get to interact with the students while we were cooking and to hear their thoughts after we shared the finished products.” Miss Petraglia explained. “Giovanni did such a great job with his dish. They both turned out to be meals I would want to eat again!”

Both judges awarded their contestants with a score of four out of the possible five points, making it a tie. 

“I am so excited to do another Core 4 activity like this in the future. It is so fun to do activities like this and see all the students interacting in real-time. Since we tied, I am looking forward to our rematch!,” Miss Petraglia added

Events like this will be held every other month, all for simply completing the Core 4 homeroom activities and practicing the elements of the PA Distance Core 4. 

“The students loved the challenge,” Rickelle H., said, “Honestly, it’s the best challenge we had since I’ve been at PA Distance. I couldn’t pick sides! They both amazed me with the meal they decided to prepare, the techniques they used, and both of their taste testers were able to clean their plates.”