Anonymous wrote:VOLUNTEER. Help if you can. Can your pta organize trained adults to help the one or two who mcps staff who are there? Each family should see how "chaotic" it can be.

Please do NOT Volunteer if you think kids should be quiet at lunch and recess.

Anonymous wrote:I have worked as a teacher's aide covering both lunch and recess. At recess, this is the time to run and yell and scream. Get all your energy out!

At lunch, it's acceptable to be a bit louder than in the classroom, but not as loud as during recess. We would give a warning to lower the volume, and if they didn't, they had to eat the rest of their lunch in silence. Some aides would punish kids for giggling or making faces at other kids, but I let that slide because "kids will be kids."

Rumors about kids being sexual are inappropriate and if I were a teacher I'd be giving a Big Talk to my students about spreading rumors about other kids doing ANYTHING remotely sexual and how unacceptable that is.

+1. It's recess. They are supposed to be loud and chaotic.

VOLUNTEER. Help if you can. Can your pta organize trained adults to help the one or two who mcps staff who are there? Each family should see how "chaotic" it can be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here, I would argue it isn’t safe. At my school we def had some broken arms and other serious injuries at recess.

Broken arms are a normal childhood injury. A recess that was controlled to the point that breaking an arm is impossible isn't a recess worth having.

this, at our W feeder there are typically a couple of Parent Volunteers most days that help with lunch and recess. There was one dad the kids loved who set up games and what not but his kids both moved on.

Anonymous wrote:PP here, I would argue it isn’t safe. At my school we def had some broken arms and other serious injuries at recess.

Broken arms are a normal childhood injury. A recess that was controlled to the point that breaking an arm is impossible isn't a recess worth having.

PP here, I would argue it isn’t safe. At my school we def had some broken arms and other serious injuries at recess.

It’s quite chaotic. It’s 2 paras who at my former school tended to be on their phones the whole time. After lunch/recess teachers often spent 30 minutes+ trying to calm the students back down from the recess conflicts that had unfolded, a couple students would be at nurse with injuries, etc. Most chaotic time of day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, isn't it just one low-paid para per 50 or 100 kids at lunch and recess? Of course there's going to be chaos.

My kid is going to kindergarten next year, this is shocking to me. What? How is that safe?

lol, yes it is safe. However, it is quite chaotic

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, isn't it just one low-paid para per 50 or 100 kids at lunch and recess? Of course there's going to be chaos.

My kid is going to kindergarten next year, this is shocking to me. What? How is that safe?

Why don't you look up the statistics on school safety at your kids' future elementary school? I would be willing to bet that there hasn't been a recess related death yet.

Anonymous wrote:I mean, isn't it just one low-paid para per 50 or 100 kids at lunch and recess? Of course there's going to be chaos.

My kid is going to kindergarten next year, this is shocking to me. What? How is that safe?

I mean, isn't it just one low-paid para per 50 or 100 kids at lunch and recess? Of course there's going to be chaos.

My kids haven’t complained about it. Yeah sometimes they’ll come home with a story that kid x or kid y was rowdy and did something bad but not very often.

My kids’ ES also recruits parent volunteers for lunch/recess to help out the teachers’ aides. So that’s something you could look into OP since you seem concerned…

Very, girls too.

I have worked as a teacher's aide covering both lunch and recess. At recess, this is the time to run and yell and scream. Get all your energy out!

At lunch, it's acceptable to be a bit louder than in the classroom, but not as loud as during recess. We would give a warning to lower the volume, and if they didn't, they had to eat the rest of their lunch in silence. Some aides would punish kids for giggling or making faces at other kids, but I let that slide because "kids will be kids."

Rumors about kids being sexual are inappropriate and if I were a teacher I'd be giving a Big Talk to my students about spreading rumors about other kids doing ANYTHING remotely sexual and how unacceptable that is.

Is it common in mcps that there are often chaos and yelling among boys in ES for 4th graders and 5th graders during recess and lunch time ? I know MCPS is low in staff during recess and lunch time. I just learn from my son that it is quite common, and they sometimes spread rumors that who kisses who or who likes who even though it is untrue...... How do your kids manage all these chaos, yelling and rumors in ES? Ignore it? Report to teacher? Laugh it off? Arguing or screaming back?