As a part of a health initiative, the English Language Learning department makes smoothies for the student body. Their goal was to get healthy snacks to students instead of junk food from the vending machines.

“The smoothies are something that will maybe hold their hunger a little bit better than just a bag of chips or a granola bar,” said ELL teacher Travis Mauzey.

The smoothies can be purchased at the concession stand right across from the gym two times a week for $4. They are now open during Falcon Time Mondays and Wednesdays but next semester they hope to be open three to four days a week.

“Most smoothies, especially from smoothie eateries, there is a bunch of sugars in there and chemicals, and this one you could just taste that it was very healthy, green and eco-friendly,” said senior Alyssa Bannister.

         The ELL students have grown a lot of their own fruits and vegetables to use in their smoothies. In the past, they used a tower garden they keep in the classroom where they can grow some fruits and vegetables throughout the year, and they have a garden past the tennis courts where they grow fruits and vegetables.

“We’ve grown a lot of the kale, spinach and strawberries. Currently, since we moved rooms and we don’t have our tower garden, we’ve had to buy a little bit more than we planned on,” said Mauzey. “But hopefully moving forward next year, we will be able to use more of the produce we’ve grown.”

The ELL students started making smoothies toward the end of the school year last year, and it was very successful, so they carried it into this year.

“Some of the money goes back into the program so we can purchase supplies and things that we need like the blenders and cups,” said Mauzey. “We’ve talked about creating a scholarship for an ELL student, and we’ve also talked about giving some of the money away that we’ve profited to a charity of the kid’s choice.”

The club is also planning on getting stainless steel mason mugs for students to purchase, and if a student purchases one, they’ll receive a discount on smoothies by bringing that mug.

“We learn leadership, teamwork, communication and just all the essentials you’d need to run a business,” said senior Mario Andrade.

The goal is for the ELL students get to gain skills from working their smoothie business, like communication and teamwork, by having a rotation every two weeks of three jobs for the students to work the blender, the middleman and the cashier.

 “I really enjoy helping everyone, and seeing others want to serve the people at Staley giving them a better healthier choice then vending machines,” said junior Fatima Almansouri.