Lunch Out at Northwest Academy

Once a month, Northwest Academy high school students have the opportunity to leave campus and enjoy lunch out with their friends. In the past, the school gave them the option to sign up for lunch out with fellow classmates and a teacher. The administration is again considering this choice as a possible privilege for students during lunch outs.

David Wagstaff, Dean of Students, remembers when this lunch out idea was an option.

“What we used to do with lunch out,” Wagstaff said, “the faculty members would put their name on the glass wall and you could sign up with whoever you wanted to have lunch with and where they were going.”

Wagstaff believes that this option not only would bring the students and teachers together but also provide more variation for lunch outs. Some students have already shown interest in the idea.

“I think that having a cool little place to go during lunch out would be fun,” Camille Robertson, a sophomore, said.

The school’s size contributes positively to this type of idea because of the small numbers.

“I like the teachers here so it would be fine,” Robertson said. “If it was another school maybe not.”

Revan Williams, a Northwest Academy alumnus, remembers what is was like when he was in high school.

“We would go out to the Indian cart or one of the little local buffets,” Williams said. “You know, grab food with your teacher and talk about non-school things, sort of get to see a different side of them: as a person and less of an educator.”

While Williams remembers his experiences with this lunch out option, so do some teachers, including Jada Pierce.

“It was good,” Pierce said. “Overall, I would say it was a positive experience.”

This option provided not only students, but teachers as well, the chance to bond and get to know each other better outside of class hours.

“As a teacher it was really good for me because I had an opportunity to get to know my students in a different way and a different environment than the classroom,” Pierce said.

Pierce also remembers being interested in listening to the students’ conversations.

“It was neat too to get to see the students engaging with each other outside of an academic environment,” Pierce said.

If anyone is interested in having this as an option for lunch out, see Wagstaff. Students must have their lunch out pass to be able to participate in this lunch option.