«What’s for lunch today?»—This question echoes through the Beasley classrooms every morning as students look forward to the delicious food that will be on their trays for their mid-day meal. In fact, it’s one of the most popular questions we hear from Lower Schoolers as lunchtime approaches. The lunch menu is often announced to students in their homerooms as one of the topics mentioned, along with the day of the week, the date, and the weather. In Senior Kindergarten this week, it was an especially important question as the two SK classrooms enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the Lower School Dining Hall.
In SK science, students are learning about what living things need. «As part of this study, we have learned the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods,» shared Lower School Science Teacher Laura Pupillo. «We have also learned about the five food groups and MyPlate, a system of designing healthy meals.
«Connecting to our foods, we met with Olga, our school’s nutritionist, and we were ready to then learn more about what MICDS does to plan and prepare healthy lunches for us at school.» What better way to consume this knowledge than by touring the Beasley Dining Hall!
Olga Goumas is the Dietitian and Assistant Director of Food Services through FLIK Independent School Dining. She is a constant in the Lower School Dining Hall and was the perfect person to give SK a tour and tell them about the planning that happens for every Lower School lunch.
Our SKers this week were hungry to learn more about the prep that goes into their tasty meals at school. They were delighted to switch sides from being served their food and sitting at the tables to getting behind the counter where the food is prepared and dishes are cleaned. Olga showed them where they wash their hands, how food is kept warm or cold, and where the dirty trays and silverware are washed. She explained the components of a healthy meal and how many different colors are part of the meals in Lower School, and she talked about the team that makes the delicious meals possible and how important it is to thank the lunchtime crew.
«During this tour, I hope SK can have a better understanding of all the components that go into making their healthy, made-from-scratch lunches in the dining hall,» Goumas shared. «This starts by showing them all the equipment, produce, and people needed to make these meals possible.»
