West Essex Students Serve Up Annual Senior Breakfast

More than 120 senior citizens from throughout the West Essex County area spent Wednesday morning at the annual West Essex High School Senior Citizen Breakfast.

Students in the high school's culinary program prepared a delicious breakfast for seniors of homemade quiche, fruit salad, carrot muffins and banana bread.

Seniors also talked with students and enjoyed performances by the West Essex High School Dance Team and choral and musical groups. 

Vee Popat, West Essex supervisor of the arts, even performed "Silent Night" on his saxophone. After the performances, seniors were given gift bags of cookies baked by the culinary students. Retired West Essex Middle School teacher Bonnie McLain said she loved coming back to West Essex to see everyone.

"It was beyond belief," McLain said of the performances. "Better than I remembered!"

Joe Piel, of West Caldwell, the first principal of West Essex High School when it opened in 1960, said, "I really enjoyed the program today."

"The students here are just wonderful," Terry Izraeli, of Caldwell, said, who attended the breakfast with her husband of 56 years Hyman. Hyman Izraeli said he enjoyed talking to the students.

Muriel Mota, of West Caldwell, talked to Amanda Wolfson, a senior from North Caldwell, all about celebrating the holidays.

"We are having so much fun," Wolfson said as she posed with Mota for a photo.

"It is nice for the senior citizens to come to West Essex and celebrate the holidays with their family and friends," said Anthony Rubino, a sophomore from North Caldwell, as he worked at the breakfast. 

"It is really fun doing this and it is nice seeing them enjoy everything that we made."

Students in the culinary II and food and sports nutrition classes prepared all of the food for the breakfast, set up and served the meal and also socialized with the senior citizens at the event.

The West Essex Dance Team and a small musical group performed during the breakfast. 

Afterwards, seniors moved to the auditorium to enjoy performances by the orchestra, band and choral groups. The program featured many holiday classes including "Sleigh Ride," and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," from "The Nutcracker Suite."