Lunch Scheduling for 2007 - 2008
Mr. Evans is seeking input from parents and students on the lunch schedule for next year. In years past students ate lunch with their grade, but this year lunches were mixed. Mixed lunches have the advantage of making class scheduling easier, and there have been fewer altercations this year in the cafeteria. Grade level lunches (1) allow students time to socialize with friends in their grade, (2) make it easier for teachers to offer lunch time support (3) allow class officers and sponsors time to communicate with the whole class.
Please post your comments on the lunch schedule here. It will be a convenient place for MHS staff to gather community input.
Update: Grade level lunches are back in place for the 2007 - 2008 school year.
14 comments:
We can't deny the number of fights, altercations and disruptions went significantly down this year with the new lunch schedule. BUT, so have the numbers of teacher/student conferences, appointments for help, and conversations. UNLESS there is a way for the teachers to have office hours that are accessible to all of their students, in the end we are doing a dis-service to our students and teachers. We are not providing an environment of academic success or helping increase teacher/student connections. We are making it harder for the student to seek help - this is the last thing we need to do. It takes many student forever to admit they need a little extra boost, even longer for them to get it together to actually get the extra help; putting this extra barrier or challenge between them and help from their teacher makes it too easy for them to bail. In addition, there are many students who do not have the ability to come in early, or possibly stay after school to see a teacher. Many work, often in financial support of their families. Many of them do not have their own cars, or have the parking spot to be able to drive in. Many students parents are already at work or on their way to work when they would need a ride to school. Activity busses are great - but not daily, what if the bus day, is not the day of your teachers after hours? Either teachers would have to agree to have hours on bus days - and then, is limiting it to two available days going to make it harder for the teacher to help a potentially larger number of kids for extra help?
Are we sure it is JUST the new lunch schedule helping behavoir? Or is it that in additon to other programs put in place? Are we asking the entire population to mesh lunches to isolate a relatively small number of students? Should all students pay the price because a group in a particular class needed to be separated? Can we hold those students who need separation accountable for their actions, can't loosing your lunch period with peers be a part of what happens when you don't make the right choice in your class lunch? Beyond all the points above - how are Freshman expected to really gell and bond as a class, when there is no one time during the day to be together, disseminate information, get volunteers... Freshman year (especially at the kickoff of the year) is so busy, with so many events and opportunites to come together as a class, for the freshman w/out older siblings, how is the student, the parent, etc., expected to KNOW all the great opportunities...
But parents be aware - having the class lunches will also mean patience with scheduling limitations, the possiblity of a class not being available during the one time your student can take it... each side will bring it's limitations, pick your priority and run with it. But let us not rally the administration to our cause, and then flip and fill their in box with complaints at the unavoidable outcomes of implementing the changes. Sometimes in life, we just can't have it all. But a spirit of cooperation will definitly reap more benefits than anything. If you are a logistics expert, or scheduling queen and you want the lunches back to how they were; step up and offer your services, or volunteer to be a part of the scheduling committee and see the challenges this presents and be a point of contact to address the questions and complaints, this change back will also bring.
Just food for thought.
I am really glad that there is this forum and I hope that Mr. Evans will think seriously about the lunch schedules next year. I agree with what the colonelmom said about making the "trouble-makers" accountable for their actions without taking it out on the whole school. The mixed lunches have been a disaster for my student this year. She did not have lunch with any of her friends and had no classes with them either. She took to skipping class so that she could see her friends during the day! Not that I'm excusing her behaviour, but last year lunchtime was the one time she could hang with all her friends and talk. She felt left out of the loop and wanted to be part of her group. Let's put the lunches back the way they were or as some schools have chosen have one lunch time. Kids eat in the halls etc.
It may well be possible that the number of altercations are down this year is because of the new administration, not the mixed lunches. Thank you, Mr. Evans, for stepping in and guiding our school to a much better year than last. I know it wasn't easy and we appreciate your hard work. I vote for returning to the same grade lunches and I am a strong proponent of its return. Lunch is an important part of the day for the students and they really enjoy being with friends of their own grade even though many have friends in other classes. Just ask any student who was placed in a lunch where they hardly knew anyone - it was very stressful when it should have been a pleasant break during an already hectic day. And then there was the policy of no lunch changes - now what was the reason behind that especially when a student had additional valid reasons to switch lunch periods? (Was it because the counselors didn't want to deal with it? Guidance is another issue that may want to be addressed soon!) Trying to get additional help or make up work due to absences has been challenging because of the mixed lunch schedule as well. These kids work hard - they need our support in any way we can offer it. One relatively easy way is to return to the class lunches. It has been done for years and somehow it worked with the scheduling. In fact, this year more than any other our family has experienced more scheduling problems than before - could it have been due to the new lunch scheduling? Maybe, maybe not, but the mixed lunches have caused more than their share of problems for us. I urge the administration to stongly consider returning to them. It would make the students', the teachers', and the parents' lives a lot easier. I know the goal of the school is to have a successful student body. This is one avenue towards that goal.
The fourth sentence from the bottom of anonymous' line (March 10, 11:32 am) should have read:
I urge the administration to strongly consider returning to the class lunches (not mixed lunches- definitely not them!)
Thank you for your support!
I am a current 9th grader, but, thankfully, I have had lunch with my friends both semesters and I have been able to get help from my teachers during lunch. I would prefer to have grade level lunch, but the mixed lunch does not greatly bother me.
I am happy to see a ninth grader post on this site. That was one of the lucky ones. A much more common experience: Poor ninth graders who did not eat the first few weeks of school because of upper classmen, or had no one to sit with at lunch , who rarely saw a friend through the entire school day, who couldn't go get academic help during lunch, or do not know who is in their class of 2010... Why did we do this to our children? To make it easier on the schedulers? Talk about throwing them to the wolves!!! Was the school thinking that just because there are fewer fights amoung the schools "frequent flyers" that the students were better off? Look below the surface, misery abounds. Get the priorities straight... return to grade level lunches.
I would definitely like to see the lunch schedule revert back to the way it used to be. My junior class daughter was devastated by the change. Most of her friends are not in her classes, and lunch was the only time all day that she got to see and talk to them. She wasn't crazy about school before, but she actually hates it this year.
My soph son thought it would be horrible, but it turned out to be okay. He said he still had friends in lunch and got to know more upper classman. I think it should stay
My daughter definitely has not liked the mixed lunches this year - not many friends have her lunch. I know she'd love to see it revert back to grade level lunches.
I am a senior right now and I have totally hated the mixed lunches. As a senior, we have been accustomed to eating lunch with our friends and bonding for 3 years, and then suddenly had everything flipped on us mainly because of the incoming freshman class. Why were we punished for the incoming freshman having a food fight during the last day of school in middle school, and for the sophomores' horrible behavior. I think that the grade level lunches created a great bonding atmosphere for each class. As a compromise, I think that mixing the juniors, freshman, and sophomores would have been okay, but let the seniors stay together.
I am currently a Freshmen at magruder, And i really think it would be way better to have grade level lunches next year instead of mixed lunches. I dont really mind having a mixed lunch but i would strongly prefer having a grade level lunch because then i could hang out with my friends. i have hated lunch this year because now i never get to see my friends So next year i really hope we get to grade level lunches.
My daughter and her friends have been very opposed to the mixed lunches. Much of this is due to the fact that they aren't able to have lunch with thier friends and many times they don't have classes with them either. I understand how this can cause upset. They're busy kids and they really should have some time during the day to socialize.
Comment by forum moderator: Thank you, everyone, for your comments. As forum moderator, I elected to delete one comment because it was an attack on another commenter. Please remember to maintain respect for each other's opinions on this forum. Thanks!
My son is a senior this year - (the 2007-2008 school year). He started out the school year with lunch with the seniors. Then, after about a week and a half someone brings him a note that says he now has lunch with the junior class and switched one of his classes to another period. No one discussed this with him, or asked him if he minded.
I have tried to talk to counseling, administration, and directly to Mr. Evans. They all say they had to do it and it is basically too bad and my son just needs to learn to deal with it. I think this is a horrible way to treat someone. My son is very upset about this. I encouraged him to take a full schedule senior year to enjoy all the senior class experience has to offer.
So much for grade level lunches.
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