Schools

Fat Tuesday Treats Support RHS Reading Program

Paczki sales at the Romeoville campus will help purchase incentives to encourage teens to read.

Romeoville High School library staffers marked Fat Tuesday by passing out fresh-baked paczki.

The Polish pastry — a traditional Mardi Gras treat stuffed with fillings like strawberry preserves, prune, apricot, sweet curd cheese or chocolate — was on sale as part of a fundraiser for the Spartan Reading Program, now in its second year at the campus.

Funded mainly by grants from the Valley View Educational Enrichment Foundation (VVEEF), the program encourages teens to read by offering a big incentive in the form of an electronic gadget.

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For every book a student reads and reviews, he or she receives one raffle ticket, explained Library Media Center (LMC) Director Stephanie Brunetti. The more books students read, the more chances they have to win when the grand prize is raffled off in April.

Last year’s raffle item was an iPod Touch. This year, the winning student will receive a Kindle Fire.

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Brunetti said the VVEEF grant helps stock the library with books and paid for the first two electronic devices. Students can choose from a selection of “recommended reading” books, taken from lists including the Illinois Read for a Lifetime program, Abraham Lincoln Book Award winners, Best of the Best for Young Adult selections and Best of the Best Popular Paperbacks picks.

“Because our school funding is so short, we rely on grants,” Brunetti explained.

Tuesday’s fundraiser help provide additional incentives for students, such as gift cards to area businesses, according to LMC Aide Janet Zabinski. Some local businesses — including Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John's, Great Clips, Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage, Unlimited Tan, Burger King, Mr. Taco, Cold Stone Creamery and Culver's — have also stepped up to donate incentives for students.

“Hopefully, this will raise money to buy an electronic for next year,” added Brunetti.

The Spartan Reading Program kicks off during Teen Read Week in September, running through National Library Week in April.

“So they basically have the whole school year to read as many books as they can,” Brunetti said. So far this year, teens have read and reviewed 142 books.

On Tuesday morning, Zabinski and Brunetti were busy putting together paczki pre-orders. The pastries, similar to a doughnut, came from Orland Park Bakery.

Brunetti said she ordered 300 of the sweet treats for pre-orders, plus an extra 50 for staffers sure to be tempted by the Fat Tuesday staple.

Paczki history

A Polish tradition is to celebrate the last six days of Carnival, known as zapusty, beginning on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) when paczki (fried doughnuts) are eaten. In America, paczki can be found in Polish bakeries, with Pączki Day, Feb. 21.

The pronunciation varies. Some say POHNCH-kee; Americans generally say POONCH-kee. Singular is pączek, pronounced POHNCH-ek. Whichever way you say it, the bakery sales clerk will understand what you want.

The baking and consumption of paczki began as a practical matter. Pączki were made as a way to use up the lard and eggs which were prohibited during the ancient observance of Lent. Now, they’re more of a last-minute binge on sweets before the sacrifice begins.

Pączki is Polish for “little package.” And what sweet packages they are.

According to tastingpoland.com, paczki are round spongy yeast cakes, rich in egg yolks and stuffed with one of many fillings like: rose or strawberry preserves, prune, apricot, liqueur, budyn (Polish pudding/blancmange), sweet curd cheese or chocolate. The dough is deep fried like a doughnut in deep oil until dark golden color and served covered with powdered sugar, icing sugar or chocolate. Also, oftentimes it is sprinkled with orange peel. Paczki, among the most traditional Polish desserts, they appeared in Poland during the time of King Augustus III of Poland (first half of 18th century). For a recipe, click here.

Where to get paczkis: 


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