Grove syrup

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Maple Grove Charter School students, aided by volunteers like Gary Paul, spent two days on March 8-9 tapping over 160 maple trees in the woods surrounding the school. Ray Melanger, a local maple syrup producer and past Maple Grove School parent, hosted the “first tapping” at his home for the state of Wisconsin this year. He instructed Maple Grove Charter School students on the proper way to safely tap maple trees. Melander also showed Maple Grove students how to tap maple trees, along with the other volunteers, in the school forest.

Hanson’s brother, Wes Kottke, collected the maple tree sap and then cooked it down to maple syrup.

The maple syrup cooked from sap collected in the school’s woods was served at the town of Hamburg’s ninth annual first tapping pancake breakfast on Sunday, April 10, as a fundraiser to support Maple Grove Charter School.

On Friday, May 6, Maple Grove Charter School first graders will host their families for a Mother’s Day pancake breakfast in the school gym using maple syrup produced from the school woods. There will be a small student performance before the breakfast.

SAP COLLECTING- Maple Grove school classmates line up and ask last minute questions about sap collecting and the maple syrup making process from school principal Robin Hanson.