CAMPUS
By Eliott Grover ’06
HOW A FRIENDLY TEAM-BUILDING EXERCISE TURNED INTO A HIGH STAKES CULINARY COMPETITION On a balmy July morning, Tabor’s senior leadership team kicked
“I was trying to think of something that would require people
off a three-day retreat. It was the first time the group had met
to be creative and to problem solve,” Jaccaci says. “My wife
in person since Tony Jaccaci became Head of School in July
and son have been very into The Great British Baking Show. I
2021. There was an ambitious agenda. In addition to charting a
watched this process and saw how people would problem solve
course for the 2021-2022 school year, Jaccaci wanted his team to
in really impressive ways. And I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be a
bond and learn how to work together as effectively as possible.
fun way to do it and in the end just have some sort of thing
That first morning was a productive session. Gathering in the Great Room at the Head of School’s house, they talked about their individual leadership styles and discussed various chal-
where everybody wins?’ Or at least that was the thought.” As it turned out, the afternoon was not without drama. Things got heated. And not just in the ovens.
lenges they had encountered as educators and administrators.
Six months after the bake-off, several participants rehash the
After lunch, they were ready to return to meetings when Jaccaci
competition in a spirited group interview. For some, the wounds
threw them a curveball: they would be spending the afternoon
are still raw.
in the dining hall. The reason? They were competing in Tabor’s first Great Muffin Bake Off.
“If it’s not noted in the article that the results are under protest for perpetuity,” Dean of Students Tim Cleary tells this writer, “I will come after you.”
34 TABOR TODAY | Spring 2022
