Last year, high school and junior high lunches were separate, not including Tuesdays and Thursdays, which were PrimeTime days. Beginning this year, high school and junior high students share a lunch period, which has significantly increased the number of students in the cafeteria at once. The decision to combine lunches has made it a less enjoyable time and impacted students’ ability to socialize and take a break to be better prepared for their remaining classes.
A pleasant lunch period has the potential to boost student morale and provide a much-needed opportunity to socialize and take a break from schoolwork. The increase in the number of students in the cafeteria has created a busier and more chaotic environment with more crowded tables and people talking over each other, limiting many students’ ability to relax and prepare themselves for their next classes.
Having more students in the cafeteria has also made it more difficult for the teachers and coaches supervising lunch to watch students as carefully and ensure that everyone is adhering to the rules. Teachers now have to work to keep junior high and high school students separate, and the higher number of students often leave a larger mess.
The school lunch line is longer, and with only five microwaves available for use, students with food to heat up are forced to wait longer to start eating. This means students trying to get to events like FCA or watch film have to rush to the cafeteria to get their food or arrive late. Because some teachers release their classes a couple minutes earlier for lunch, the classes that wait for the bell arrive last to the cafeteria, and the same students end up in the back of lunch and microwave lines every day.
Although some think that a combined lunch is unavoidable, the school has had a functional schedule with separate lunches in the past.
Returning separate lunches for junior high and high school students would create a more relaxed environment to socialize and allow students to take a mental break to be better prepared for their remaining classes.