The Lunch and Recess Committee meets the first Monday of every month in the Cafeteria after morning drop-off. All parents are welcome to attend the meetings at any time.

Our committee supports the efforts of the school staff to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all of our children at lunch and recess. We do regular playground maintenance (painting this year!), coordinate volunteers for the lunchroom, and hold the kindergarten orientation every year. We welcome all parents to join us and get involved in our committee.

PS3 Lunch and Recess Guidelines

2012-2013

At PS3, we are fortunate to have a vibrant, diverse, creative, and respectful community comprised of children, parents, staff, and friends.  We strive to provide an atmosphere where our children feel respected, empowered, and safe.  In order for this community to thrive, we recognize that this requires cooperation.

While volunteering at PS3, we ask all parents to think of every child in this school as their own child. We volunteer at PS3 to provide help and support to the staff so that they can be more successful in creating a safe and nurturing environment. Having volunteers in the building allows us all to give a lot of love and attention to our vibrant children.

How to be successful as a lunch and recess volunteer at PS3

• Learn the cafeteria & playground guidelines and help children follow them.
• Your role as a volunteer is to assist the staff and keep our children safe.
• Encourage children to share and play cooperatively and to speak to each other respectfully.
• Use positive language and focus on what you want the children to do.  For example, “Please eat your food,” instead of “Stop fooling around,” or “Remember to go down the slide,” instead of “Don’t go up the slide.”
• Be proactive in helping children avoid unnecessary or aggressive conflict by remaining vigilant in watching the children and assessing their “play.” Help them to refocus their energy on another type of activity if you notice games getting aggressive or out of control.
• Keep moving around the cafeteria and playground, watching over and offering help to all the children. (Please do not sit at the table and eat lunch with your child or get so engrossed in conversation with children or adults that you are unaware of what is going on around you.)
• Do not use your cell phone, even just for texting.
• Parents can be placed in an uncomfortable and awkward position if they are placed in the role of the disciplinarian. You can stop inappropriate behavior, guide and encourage more appropriate behavior, but allow staff members to handle any discipline.
• If you witness a member of our community doing something inappropriate, such as playing on the staircase, running in the building, using disrespectful language, and you don’t feel comfortable talking to them yourself – speak to a staff member and ask for help. Don’t ignore it.
• Always model appropriate behavior. Violent, aggressive or bullying behavior, either verbal or physical, is not acceptable from children, volunteers, or staff.  Please remember children are watching you and will model your actions.

Students’ Cafeteria Guidelines

The focus at lunchtime is nourishment, safety, respect, and friendship.

• Please remain in your seat throughout the lunch period.
• Please raise your hand to ask permission if you need to get up from your seat, to get water, a spork, more food, wash your hands or use the bathroom. You should not get up to go talk to another student.
• Please respect yourself, each other and your environment. You should speak respectfully to each other, to volunteers, and to staff members.  You should work to keep the cafeteria clean and not throw food or dump food on the floor.
• Please use your “indoor voice”.
• You should eat your own food.  You should remind your friends if they ask for your food, or offer their food, that no one is supposed to share their food.
• We expect you to clean up after yourself at the end of your lunch period.
• If you are throwing food, you will be asked to clean up your food and place it in the trash.  If you are in Kindergarten or 1^st grade, you will then be moved to “clear table” to finish the remainder of your lunch.  If you are in 2^nd grade or above, you will immediately be sent to the office.
• If you speak disrespectfully to another student or a staff member, you will immediately be sent to the office.

Further guidelines for volunteering in the cafeteria:

• Wash your hands upon entering the cafeteria in the washroom on the left.
• All children must be given a tray of food if they did not bring lunch from home.
• Help open milk containers, lunch boxes and packaged food (do not use your teeth!).
• Fill up water cups and distribute to children asking for it – this is primarily for K/1 students.
• Direct children who receive school lunches to walk to the line when their class is called to line up (no running in the cafeteria – it’s really dangerous).
• If needed, help hand out milk cartons to children who receive school lunch.
• Children should always be encouraged to take food from each section — entrée (meat/fish/pizza), the salad bar, fruit and milk.
• While children are getting food, it is helpful if a parent can be stationed at the salad bar to help children reach food.
• Make sure you keep circulating around the tables monitoring the children and offering support as needed. Try not to become so involved in a conversation with children or adults that you stop monitoring the children’s behavior and needs.
• Please help the lunch room staff clear the tables at the end of lunch and wipe them down.  It is also helpful if parent volunteers sweep under each table at the end. The turnovers between lunches happen quickly, so please help as much as you can to clean up.