On a cold Tuesday morning in Sunny Florida last week, it was quite a sight to see all the Floridians dressed up as if it were -50 degrees and snowing. When students arrived at ODA, there was a substantial chill in the air. Besides the chill, students smelled something out of the ordinary. Not only did they discover fresh, hot chocolate, but they didn’t even need any money. It was free!

With a huge cold front passing through, Mrs. Dougherty decided to do something special for the students. She met with Mr. Latta, head of middle school, and decided to give the students free hot chocolate.

Once the idea was passed, it was up to Brett Schnathmann, ODA’s chef, to make enough of the decadent drink for the entire middle and upper school.

To make the special drink, he bought the hot chocolate mix that he normally uses, just in bulk amounts. He then took the powder and added hot water, and there you have it! Not only did he go above and beyond by adding marshmallows and whipped cream on top, but the drink itself was “magical.”

“We used 12 gallons of the powdered hot chocolate, and even went through an additional 80-90 individual packets. It was crazy, ” says Brett Schnatthmann, ODA Food Services Director.

The hot chocolate brought warmth and happiness to every student as they tried to get back into the routine of school.

“It’s really warm, and I think it was perfect because it was freezing out. It made my day,” says sophomore, Sierra Dickerson.

“Hot chocolate is warm and makes me happy,” says sophomore, Peyton Vaughn.

“Hot chocolate is the bomb, ey,” says sophomore M’Balia Bangoura.

“It makes me warm and toasty and feel good inside,” says Junior, Oliver Tannheiser.

“I don’t drink the hot chocolate, ” says Sophomore, Madeline Naylor, boldly.

Not only did students enjoy the hot chocolate, but faculty did as well.

“It was a very nice thing for the school to do for Floridians during this deep freeze. However, I didn’t have any, ” says history teacher, Mr. Bernsen

No matter if you drank the hot chocolate or not, just feeling the warmth and kindness in the air was enough to make Tuesday a great day. Thanks, ODA leaders, for making a cold day, a lot warmer last week.