Burr Bulletin - April 26, 2010

Dear Families,

We are going to experiment with our lunch and recess block starting this Thursday, April 29. As you may know, students currently come to the cafeteria to eat lunch at the start of their 30-minute lunch period, and then after about 15 minutes, they are able to go out for recess on the playground. If students want or need more time to eat their lunches, they are welcome to stay inside to finish eating and then go outside for recess.

Starting on Thursday, students will start their lunch period with a 15 minute recess; then they will come in to eat their lunches for 15 minutes (Kindergarten students will start with a 15 minute recess and then have 25 minutes to eat their lunches). When their lunch period is over, their teachers will pick the classes up from the cafeteria. Why the change? The Burr School Council is recommending this experiment for two major reasons:

Parents have long complained that their children say that they don't have enough time to eat their lunches. Lunch attendants contend that the children do have time to eat, but that many of them are socializing and talking instead of eating. When the children see that it's time to go outside for recess and their friends are ready to go out, some students just throw their lunches away so that they can go out with their friends. It is hoped that students will slow down and eat more and eat more calmly by having recess first and lunch second.
Even though our lunch/recess periods are well-supervised, there are over 100 students outside at each recess time. Conflicts between and among children arise at recess, and if they are not resolved appropriately, students return to their classrooms at the end of lunch/recess distracted by the conflicts and not ready to focus on learning. It is hoped that lunch personnel can help to resolve conflicts at recess and that students will be calmer at the end of the lunch period, having had recess first.

Five other Newton elementary schools (Angier, Ward, Franklin, Countryside and Lincoln-Eliot) are finding success with scheduling recess first and lunch second. Schools across the country are doing this as well and are finding that "when children play before lunch, there is less food waste and higher consumption of milk, fruit and vegetables. And some teachers say there are fewer behavior problems." (NY Times article: "Play, Then Eat: Shift May Bring Gains at School," 1-25-10).

We are letting you know of this change so that you can discuss it and the advantages with your children, encourage them to eat their full lunches, and make sure that they have full and hearty snacks for snack time since all children will be eating lunch 15 minutes later each day.

Teachers will let the students know about this change on Monday 4/26/10, and classes will practice going outside and practice putting their lunches in their class's lunch bin (a new feature as well) at the start of recess/lunch. We will provide large bottles of hand sanitizer in the cafeteria for students, and we will also encourage students to go to the boys' and girls' rooms to wash their hands following their recess and before they start eating. Our nurse, Marie Phillips, knows about this lunch shift and will comply with any necessary changes in times for students who take medication. We will have some teacher "observers" who will note successes and issues with this lunch shift and will offer help during the experiment. If this experiment goes well, we may consider continuing this "lunch shift" for the remainder of the year and implementing it next year as well. Wish us well with this experiment!

Sincerely,

Cindy Bencal