Lunch the last few years for Mount Vernon High School students has been chaotic and rough. For some students packing a lunch was a smarter idea than waiting in the long lunch lines with only two options. Another struggle was not knowing what was for lunch until we waited in line 20 minutes and finally saw a main entree and an alternate that we did not like. Stuck without a lunch we liked, many of us skipped eating.

This school year, the Mount Vernon staff created a new and improved way to cut down the lines and add more food. Along with the main entree lunch are four new choices: a chef salad option, a sub sandwich option, and different kinds of pizza every day. Another bonus, a new television has been put up to display the menu options available in each line. The new lunch system has also been able to create an extra 25 minutes that can be used to play in the gym, hang with friends, or see a specific teacher to talk to called ‘W.I.N’ time. W.I.N (what I need) is a perfect time for students that are struggling and need additional help to talk to their teacher, and it is built right into the schedule of every student. This time is really efficient and beneficial because now there is not a reason for students to stay after school and talk to the teachers, which leads to the teachers being able to get their work done after school and go home to their families.

The old lunch system had only a few benefits, such as two separate lunches. But even then lunch was only about 35 minutes long and did not give students much of a break in between eating and the next class. In addition, aside from Fridays with MTSS, students would not be able to talk to a teacher one-on-one except for before school and after school. Teachers can be busy before school preparing for the day or taking their own kids to school. After school the same is true, teachers usually grade classwork or prepare for their lesson the next day. Students involved in extra-curricular activities typically practice or compete right after school as well, so talking before and after school was a tough task.

The new and improved lunch systems provide many benefits for everyone, from teachers to students alike. It helps us students to get things done in an efficient way and takes the stress of confusing homework and studying away.