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  1. #1
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    Default What time is lunch at school?

    Just wondering what time your kids eat lunch at school.

    This year DD (8th grade) has a very early lunch period and I’m pissed. On regular days it’s 10:40-11:10 on MWF and 10:25-10:55 on TR. on early out days (every other Wednesday), it’s 9:50-10:18! WTF?!?!? That’s breakfast, not lunch. School begins at 8:00 and ends at 3:00, so it’s not like she’s there that long before she has to eat lunch. On most days she has class for 4 more hours after finishing lunch. She’s going to be super hangry by the end of the day. She’s a competitive swimmer and needs to eat a big lunch at a relatively normal time, not at 10:30 am!!!! I don’t understand why lunch can’t start after 11?!?!? This isn’t normal.

    In elementary school, one grade has early lunch from 10:50-11:10. But they have scheduled afternoon snack every day.
    Last edited by georgiegirl; 08-14-2019 at 06:50 AM.
    DD (3/06)
    DS1 (7/09)
    DS2 (8/13)

  2. #2
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    Younger kids have the 12-1 block, older kids are earlier.

    I remember having a lunch at 10:40 as a kid and basically not eating the entire year because I wasn't hungry. In that case, it was cafeteria space. They could only let a certain number of classes at a time. So I hated it, but couldn't figure out a better alternative.

  3. #3
    WatchingThemGrow is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    We had 2 kids with early lunchtimes 10:05 and 10:30 last year. It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't the end of the world. They had a snack later in the day (my boys never ate it, I don't think) but it did work best if I brought them a hamburger or something right at 2:30 when school was out. It was fine, and we don't have the same time this year.

    And on the early release times, everyone has to be moved up so I understand that. If packing lunch for those days, I just pack food that can be eaten later as well.

  4. #4
    o_mom is online now Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    I would say it is actually pretty typical. We had lunch as early as 10:15 in elementary school. Here is our current schedule:

    Middle school - earliest lunch is 10:40am, latest starts at 12:50pm. School is 7:45am-3:00pm

    High School - earliest lunch is 11:00am, latest is 12:55pm, School is 7:50am -3:05pm

    As to why the early times, I would think that would be obvious. They can only serve a limited number of kids lunch at one time. Divide the number of students by that and you have to have a certain number of lunch periods, so to fit them all in, they need to start early and end late. I am actually impressed that our HS can fit 5000 students through only 4 lunch periods (they have three cafeterias).

    Every time we have had the earliest or latest lunch, the teachers tell the kids to bring a snack for morning or afternoon. The late lunches are actually harder for us - leaving at 7am and not eating until almost 1pm is tougher than a light breakfast and lunch at 10:40am.
    Mama to three boys ('03, '05, '07)

  5. #5
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    I’m just hope she’s allowed to eat a cliff bar at some point in the afternoon. There are three lunch periods. School has about 800 kids in two grades (8/9). There’s a substantial gap between each lunch period because classes are longer than lunch. She had the late lunch last year and did fine. Maybe I’ll save money this way since she won’t buy a full lunch just a snack

    Our elementary school does one grade per lunch period. We have 5 sections of each grade. So about 110-125 kids eating at a time.
    DD (3/06)
    DS1 (7/09)
    DS2 (8/13)

  6. #6
    klwa is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    When I was in elementary school, we had lunch starting as early as 10:10am in order to get all 11 grades in the school (K-6, 9-12 shared a cafeteria) through the building. My kids have had it as early as 10:30 and as late as 12:30. Really, I can't fault the cafeteria/school. Logistically, you can only get so many people through the line at one time. If I were you, I'd send her with snack food she can eat between classes or after the school bell rings.
    -Kris
    DS (9/05)
    DD (8/08)
    DD (9/12)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by klwa View Post
    If I were you, I'd send her with snack food she can eat between classes or after the school bell rings.
    I’ll send her with cliff bars or something. Unfortunately she’s not allowed to eat on the bus and she won’t get home until 3:50! I don’t remember having different lunch times when I was in school, maybe that’s because we all are outside 90% of the time (in Southern California). If it rained, we could eat in the classroom (elem) or in the halls (high school).
    DD (3/06)
    DS1 (7/09)
    DS2 (8/13)

  8. #8
    MSWR0319 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    My 5th grader eats at 12:25. My first grader eats around 11 I think. I know the 6th grade eats at 12:45. The later times are bad too because DS is very active in sports and needs to eat, especially during swim season!!

  9. #9
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    It's all over the place. One year it was at 11:10 on regular days, 10:10 on early release days. I think this year, 6th grade, it's around 1pm. Our bell time is 9:15 (super late, IMO). Our school is pretty lax about snacks though, in fact they're encouraged.
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  10. #10
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgiegirl View Post
    I’ll send her with cliff bars or something. Unfortunately she’s not allowed to eat on the bus and she won’t get home until 3:50! I don’t remember having different lunch times when I was in school, maybe that’s because we all are outside 90% of the time (in Southern California). If it rained, we could eat in the classroom (elem) or in the halls (high school).
    I’m sure she can scarf one down between classes. I wouldn’t worry.

    Schedule wise? That’s pretty typical.


    Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

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