Outdoor lunch petition in APS

[Anonymous]

Yeah. It may always have been the if APS “generally” but not at some specific schools. Looks like WMS at least has come around to allowing an outdoor option. This is a good thing. But I understand why parents want a mandatory policy that it be offered as an option, especially at the secondary schools with the high numbers of kids involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. It may always have been the if APS “generally” but not at some specific schools. Looks like WMS at least has come around to allowing an outdoor option. This is a good thing. But I understand why parents want a mandatory policy that it be offered as an option, especially at the secondary schools with the high numbers of kids involved.

And especially since WMS has the highest hybrid rates (which has been known since November for planning purposes...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not ALL schools are offering outdoors as an option. Literally not an option for any student at WMS. While the feeder elementaries are ALL doing outdoor lunch. Yorktown also strongly encouraging students to eat outdoors. APS needs to mandate an outdoor option, weather permitting. That’s a minimum basic requirement in my view.

According to my WMS 6th grader, they were allowed to eat lunch outdoors today.

That’s terrific! It’s be nice to communicate that to parents. Particularly those who have expressed concern about lunch as an impediment to returning to hybrid.

Boykin sent out an email about it, and clarifying the outdoor lunch plans, after school today.

It’s almost as if they wanted to get the kids into school for a day to see how it went and if there were any unexpected complications before making a commitment to parents on this issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. It may always have been the if APS “generally” but not at some specific schools. Looks like WMS at least has come around to allowing an outdoor option. This is a good thing. But I understand why parents want a mandatory policy that it be offered as an option, especially at the secondary schools with the high numbers of kids involved.

+1

Our ES is still doing indoor lunch with 50-60 kids inside the cafeteria. We decided to switch to all virtual.

If outside lunch was an option, my kids would have been there today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not ALL schools are offering outdoors as an option. Literally not an option for any student at WMS. While the feeder elementaries are ALL doing outdoor lunch. Yorktown also strongly encouraging students to eat outdoors. APS needs to mandate an outdoor option, weather permitting. That’s a minimum basic requirement in my view.

According to my WMS 6th grader, they were allowed to eat lunch outdoors today.

That’s terrific! It’s be nice to communicate that to parents. Particularly those who have expressed concern about lunch as an impediment to returning to hybrid.

They literally have- this has always been true. This is the FAQ on this
Outdoor Lunch

APS has strongly encouraged all schools to utilize outdoor spaces to help improve physical distancing during lunch in the hybrid model. APS has provided guidance to help schools devise an outdoor lunch plan as an option for students, to the extent possible. While every school has different challenges, many schools provide lunch outside as an option for students when weather, space and seating, and staffing conditions allow. Schools have implemented creative solutions, such as the use of:

Blacktop or hard surface play spaces marked to indicate six feet apart to designate seating for students.
Playing fields or other green spaces provided the ground is dry and that all students have equitable seating such as blankets or another alternative.
Reconfigured courtyards, picnic tables, desks or other seating outside, provided those locations are available.
As schools adjust to having more students in the building over the next few weeks, they will continue to adjust and communicate their plans for meals.
https://www.apsva.us/school-year-2020-21/health-safety/safety-at-school/#meals


one of my big issues with the petition is that APS has always said it was strongly encouraging outdoor lunch, to the extent possible. The petition writer is fully aware of this, and is getting people spun up into believing that they wouldn't have outdoor lunch when in reality, the Williamsburg principal was not willing to commit to outdoor lunch in the pouring rain.

The kids at our ES eat inside every day regardless of weather. It is true for some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. It may always have been the if APS “generally” but not at some specific schools. Looks like WMS at least has come around to allowing an outdoor option. This is a good thing. But I understand why parents want a mandatory policy that it be offered as an option, especially at the secondary schools with the high numbers of kids involved.

+1

Our ES is still doing indoor lunch with 50-60 kids inside the cafeteria. We decided to switch to all virtual.

If outside lunch was an option, my kids would have been there today.

Same with my middle schoolers. And we can’t just opt in. There’s a waitlist now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not ALL schools are offering outdoors as an option. Literally not an option for any student at WMS. While the feeder elementaries are ALL doing outdoor lunch. Yorktown also strongly encouraging students to eat outdoors. APS needs to mandate an outdoor option, weather permitting. That’s a minimum basic requirement in my view.

According to my WMS 6th grader, they were allowed to eat lunch outdoors today.

That’s terrific! It’s be nice to communicate that to parents. Particularly those who have expressed concern about lunch as an impediment to returning to hybrid.

They literally have- this has always been true. This is the FAQ on this
Outdoor Lunch

APS has strongly encouraged all schools to utilize outdoor spaces to help improve physical distancing during lunch in the hybrid model. APS has provided guidance to help schools devise an outdoor lunch plan as an option for students, to the extent possible. While every school has different challenges, many schools provide lunch outside as an option for students when weather, space and seating, and staffing conditions allow. Schools have implemented creative solutions, such as the use of:

Blacktop or hard surface play spaces marked to indicate six feet apart to designate seating for students.
Playing fields or other green spaces provided the ground is dry and that all students have equitable seating such as blankets or another alternative.
Reconfigured courtyards, picnic tables, desks or other seating outside, provided those locations are available.
As schools adjust to having more students in the building over the next few weeks, they will continue to adjust and communicate their plans for meals.
https://www.apsva.us/school-year-2020-21/health-safety/safety-at-school/#meals


one of my big issues with the petition is that APS has always said it was strongly encouraging outdoor lunch, to the extent possible. The petition writer is fully aware of this, and is getting people spun up into believing that they wouldn't have outdoor lunch when in reality, the Williamsburg principal was not willing to commit to outdoor lunch in the pouring rain.

The kids at our ES eat inside every day regardless of weather. It is true for some schools.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Outdoor lunch is the right idea and we are lucky that our elementary principal has prioritized it.

APS should do outdoor lunch to the maximum extent practicable.

However the petition contains hardline language and I won't sign it for that. If there is a lightening storm or tornado, my kid can eat in the classroom with the window cracked.

Nothing against the organizer, I d sign it if I agreed with the language and appreciate any genuine effort to keep hybrid safe and ongoing. I don't have any HS or MS kids, but indoor lunch seems the weakest link, so.......

[Anonymous]

Happy to see WMS 6th graders ate outside today. The school has a major communication problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not ALL schools are offering outdoors as an option. Literally not an option for any student at WMS. While the feeder elementaries are ALL doing outdoor lunch. Yorktown also strongly encouraging students to eat outdoors. APS needs to mandate an outdoor option, weather permitting. That’s a minimum basic requirement in my view.

According to my WMS 6th grader, they were allowed to eat lunch outdoors today.

That’s terrific! It’s be nice to communicate that to parents. Particularly those who have expressed concern about lunch as an impediment to returning to hybrid.

They literally have- this has always been true. This is the FAQ on this
Outdoor Lunch

APS has strongly encouraged all schools to utilize outdoor spaces to help improve physical distancing during lunch in the hybrid model. APS has provided guidance to help schools devise an outdoor lunch plan as an option for students, to the extent possible. While every school has different challenges, many schools provide lunch outside as an option for students when weather, space and seating, and staffing conditions allow. Schools have implemented creative solutions, such as the use of:

Blacktop or hard surface play spaces marked to indicate six feet apart to designate seating for students.
Playing fields or other green spaces provided the ground is dry and that all students have equitable seating such as blankets or another alternative.
Reconfigured courtyards, picnic tables, desks or other seating outside, provided those locations are available.
As schools adjust to having more students in the building over the next few weeks, they will continue to adjust and communicate their plans for meals.
https://www.apsva.us/school-year-2020-21/health-safety/safety-at-school/#meals


one of my big issues with the petition is that APS has always said it was strongly encouraging outdoor lunch, to the extent possible. The petition writer is fully aware of this, and is getting people spun up into believing that they wouldn't have outdoor lunch when in reality, the Williamsburg principal was not willing to commit to outdoor lunch in the pouring rain.

The kids at our ES eat inside every day regardless of weather. It is true for some schools.

I suspect it will be true of our school (Abingdon)

[Anonymous]

This petition is pretty meaningless. What it asks for is that schools be required to offer an outdoor lunch option every day unless it is unsafe to do so, in which case they can eat inside. But who decides what is safe? Can the school decided it’s too rainy? Too hot/cold? Unsafe because there’s insufficient aides available to supervise? If so, then what this petition is asking for is no different than APS’s current policy of strongly encouraging outdoor lunch. If the drafter wants more specific rules on the conditions that would allow a school to deem it unsafe, then she needs to explain what those should be so people understand the constraints that would be put on schools and people can decide whether the feel like the proposed rules adequately respect non-covid safety considerations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not ALL schools are offering outdoors as an option. Literally not an option for any student at WMS. While the feeder elementaries are ALL doing outdoor lunch. Yorktown also strongly encouraging students to eat outdoors. APS needs to mandate an outdoor option, weather permitting. That’s a minimum basic requirement in my view.

According to my WMS 6th grader, they were allowed to eat lunch outdoors today.

That’s terrific! It’s be nice to communicate that to parents. Particularly those who have expressed concern about lunch as an impediment to returning to hybrid.

They literally have- this has always been true. This is the FAQ on this
Outdoor Lunch

APS has strongly encouraged all schools to utilize outdoor spaces to help improve physical distancing during lunch in the hybrid model. APS has provided guidance to help schools devise an outdoor lunch plan as an option for students, to the extent possible. While every school has different challenges, many schools provide lunch outside as an option for students when weather, space and seating, and staffing conditions allow. Schools have implemented creative solutions, such as the use of:

Blacktop or hard surface play spaces marked to indicate six feet apart to designate seating for students.
Playing fields or other green spaces provided the ground is dry and that all students have equitable seating such as blankets or another alternative.
Reconfigured courtyards, picnic tables, desks or other seating outside, provided those locations are available.
As schools adjust to having more students in the building over the next few weeks, they will continue to adjust and communicate their plans for meals.
https://www.apsva.us/school-year-2020-21/health-safety/safety-at-school/#meals


one of my big issues with the petition is that APS has always said it was strongly encouraging outdoor lunch, to the extent possible. The petition writer is fully aware of this, and is getting people spun up into believing that they wouldn't have outdoor lunch when in reality, the Williamsburg principal was not willing to commit to outdoor lunch in the pouring rain.

The kids at our ES eat inside every day regardless of weather. It is true for some schools.

Which school?

ASF

Hopefully they change it but it is too late for us since we already decided to go with all virtual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok I admit I didn't focus on lunch at school enough before. My kids' teachers said they would get the kids outside when possible. Now that we're in this, I'm realizing this isn't going to be good enough.

I also didn't realize some schools aren't doing any outside lunch at all. My friend just filled me in on her kid's school's lunch plans and it sounds like a super-spreader event waiting to happen.


Here's the petition. Maybe it will help? https://www.change.org/OutsideLunchAPS

Considering it has even reached 500 signatures I am guessing there is a lot less concern over this issue then as imagined ...

[Anonymous]

Petitions do not accomplish anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok I admit I didn't focus on lunch at school enough before. My kids' teachers said they would get the kids outside when possible. Now that we're in this, I'm realizing this isn't going to be good enough.

I also didn't realize some schools aren't doing any outside lunch at all. My friend just filled me in on her kid's school's lunch plans and it sounds like a super-spreader event waiting to happen.


Here's the petition. Maybe it will help? https://www.change.org/OutsideLunchAPS

Considering it has even reached 500 signatures I am guessing there is a lot less concern over this issue then as imagined ...

Oh there’s concern for the issue, but as stated earlier, APE parents are too petty to sign it.