532 - Fall 2014.pdf

From the Archive
What’s the buzz in the
lunchroom?
The culture of an institution is reflected
in many ways. At Sandia Prep, lunch
period is one such expression. It’s a time
when we see happy kids having fun and
interacting with faculty.
The original Sandía School lunchroom
housed tables of eight. Everyone sat down
to eat at the same time and at least one
adult sat at each table. Pieces of the silver
and china the students and faculty used
are now on display in the current school.
In 1966, when lunch was served at our
current location, everyone again sat down
to tables set for eight, with one or more
adults seated at each table. In both cases,
a central kitchen prepared one meal to be
served to all and the cost was included in
tuition.
Summer of ’72
Survival Set
About 1970, seated, family-style lunch
gave way to bring-your-own lunch, or
buy pre-packaged sandwiches. The 1972
school yearbook, actually a box called
“Summer of ’72 Survival Set,” included
a plastic container that would have held
Jell-O, a cellophane hot dog wrapper, a
paper napkin and a broken plastic spoon
in its “Lunchroom Kit.” The option to
buy lunch each day, or bring your own,
has continued to this day. What have not
changed are the daily conversations.
This year at Middle School lunch,
students tend to seat themselves indoors
or outdoors by grade and in groups of
friends. Often the topics are what they
are watching on TV, who the current
“couples” are, and of course, schoolwork.
The Middle School takes lunch first from
11:10 to 11:55 a.m.; Upper School takes
lunch from noon until 12:45 p.m.
During either lunch period, you will find
faculty, staff and students sitting together
in the Russell Student Center or in the
Quad. Quite a few teachers eat in their
rooms while working with students. One
such example is new math teacher, Neal
Holtschulte, who confessed that he had
finally eaten lunch in the lunchroom for
the first time – but not until the second
week of the second quarter of the school
year.
It’s a time for faculty and staff to
reconnect as friends. One recent October
lunch saw history teacher Ron Briley
talking with IT Director and Middle
School Tennis coach Jenny Davidson.
The topic was baseball with a segue
to the House Un-American Activities
Committee.
At the 6th Grade Parent Orientation
breakfast, Student Government
Association President Uyen Phuong “U.P.”
Nguyen ’15 had the parents laughing at
the story of her first lunch at Sandia Prep,
six years earlier. She said she headed to
the bathroom with her lunch bag and a
book, since that had been her tradition at
her elementary school. She said everyone
was nice, but she was shy. On her way to
the bathroom, she ran into another 6th
grader headed there for the same purpose
and the two instead sat at a lunchroom
table together. Since then, U.P. said she
has continued to make numerous friends
and has never had to resort to eating
lunch in the school’s bathrooms.
One sign of the times nowadays is the
sight of student with head bowed over a
digital device at lunch, a time when the
Upper School students are allowed to
use their electronic devices. Occasionally
a cluster of kids will watch something
together on the small screens. When I
was a student here, I remember a group of
my classmates reading aloud a paperback
book (The Horse is Dead) to howls of
laughter at lunch.
Another sign of the times is how tasty
the food is these days. Some remember
the Landshire sandwiches of the 1970s
and 1980s that Science Chair Paula
Degenhardt and several students warmed
up to serve, although the centers of
burritos sometimes remained frozen.
Today with Hello Prep Deli, operated
by local Hello Deli business owner
Marcus Cassimus (and parent of two
Sandia Prep alumni), a $5.50 hot lunch
special is available daily, along with a
salad bar, sandwich or pizza special, and
a vegetarian option. Cokes and candy
bars were sold on campus through the
early 2000s, when the voices of nutrition
advocates caused the sugary treats to
disappear from campus.
Food sharing goes on, with kids who
eschew pizza crusts passing the last bites
on to those who love the crunchy morsels.
Good-natured arguments about video
games, discussions as to the natures of
Stalin and Hitler, and comparisons with
previous schools continue.
Sandia Prep is a wonderful place. Our
school lunch is just one example that
reflects the diversity of our student body
and the commonality of our focus on
exploring our world.
- Susan Walton ’72
Parent Relations Coordinator
Friend Time-2014 1938 Lunch with Coach-2014