Schoolwise

Hot lunches at Nixon

This article is about kids' opinions on hot lunches and also some answers from adults about the hot lunches. This article has answers from 35 kids from different grades, Anne Green the lunch server, and Ginny Chu the school clerk. Different kids had many different opinions. It also depended on what grade they were in. Here are the questions and answers.

Do you like the food?

Ben Prudence a 5th grader said "No. They don't serve good food."

Peter Giovannotto a 4th grader said, "No. They barely cook it."

A.J. Giaccia 3rd a grader said, "Yes. Nachos taste good."

Justin Gamble a 3rd grader said, "Yes. It has good food."

Is there enough food?

Ger-Lih Lin a 5th grader said, "No. There's not enough in their main course."

Laura Romero a 4th grader said, "Yes. It fills me up.

Liz Sosa a 3rd grader said, "Yes. There is a lot of food."

Allyssa Lytley a 2nd grader said, "Yes. It fills me up."

Does lunch cost too much?

Bobby Bateman a 5th grader said, "Maybe. You don't get a lot of food."

Mark Ustinov a 3rd grader said, "No. It's just right."

Ellery Dake a 2nd grader said, "Maybe. I don't know how much it costs."

Tina Armanante a 3rd grader said, "No. It cost more in New Jersey."

Does snack cost too much?

Robbie Cole a 5th grader said, "I think it's a little high."

Maria Vargas a 4th grader said, "No. other schools charge more."

Elliot Askarinam a 5th grader said, "It should be 25 cents for a fruit roll, not 50 cents."

Is the food good enough for the cost?

Natalia Gieseler a 3rd grader said, "No. It costs a lot."

Eric Mueller a 3rd grader said, "No. It's to expensive for how it tastes."

Hanson Perkins a 4th grader said, "No. It's not always cooked."

Steffie Giavannotto a 2nd grader said, "No. It's to saucy."

Is the snack good enough for the cost?

Liz Wise a 5th grader said, "No. It's a little expensive for the taste."

Derrick Brooks a 4th grader said, "No. It's too much for what it is."

Hanspreet Sandhu a 3rd grader said, "Yes. There is a lot of fruit roll for 50 cents."

Would you rather have home lunches?

Veronica Sobey a 5th grader said, "Yes. I get more food."

Jeff Mendelman a 4th grader said, "Yes. Home lunches aren't as greasy."

Callie Strawn a 3rd grader said, "Yes. They're bigger and better."

Aadith Srinivasan a 5th grader said, "Yes. They're bigger and better."

Would you stay with home lunches or do you want hot lunches?

Scott Lanana a 5th grader said, "Home lunches. They're not as greasy."

Shannon Quirk a 4th grader said, "Home lunches. They're really good."

Kate Kosco a 4th grader said, "Home lunch. I expect more from a hot lunch."

Eric Stewart a 3rd grader said, "Home lunch. I don't like to spend money."

Maggie Wynn a 4th grader said, "Home lunch. Get goodies for no cost."

These questions I asked a couple of adults:

How does the district decide how much to charge?

Ginny Chu the school clerk said, "They decide how to charge by how much they have to pay the workers: cooks, drivers, and servers. They also have to pay costs of food, gasoline for the trucks, and lunch trays. That is how they decide to charge."

Why is there not more food?

Anne Green the lunch server and money counter said, "The high schools get the most, the middle schools get a little less, and the elementary get the least. The food is one third of daily requirements. Also the food is expensive. Younger kids eat less."

Do you make a profit?

Anne Green said, "We make no profit. We have to pay for indirect/overheads and everything Ginny listed. We also have to rent the trolley food holder, rent the tables, and also pay for the food heater."

About how many kids/adults get hot lunch a day?

Anne Green said, "About 135 a day at Nixon."

Does snack make a profit?

Anne Green said, "Snack makes a little profit but that pays for the indirect/overheads.

--Matthew Drasner

Star Wars

Are you going to see the new movie, Star Wars? Do you play Star Wars cards and how long have you been playing? What is fun about playing?

Questions by Ben Prudence

Matt: I've seen the movie and have been collecting Star Wars cards for 6 months. I like the pictures and the game texts.

Dylan: I've seen the movie and I've been collecting for 2 years. It's fun because you can destroy other people's ships. You have planets, and you try to defend them from being blown up.

Andrew: I've seen the movie, and I've been collecting for about 1 1/2 years. What I like is playing with my friends. Brent: I haven't seen the movie. I used to collect the cards, but I stopped about 1 year ago because it wasn't fun anymore.

Giulia: I didn't get to go to Star Wars even though I stood in line a long time. My brother was just ahead of me, and he got in which isn't fair because it was my idea. I don't play, but my brother does. He's been playing for 1 1/2 years.

Ger-lih, Lainey, Lisa, Katie Y., Katie S., Robbie, Heather, Dalia, Sara and Veronica have not seen the movie and do not play Star Wars cards.

--Ben Prudence, Grade 5