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.

That's a good point. I think some schools are having indoor lunch this week while they figure out logistics/staffing for various periods. They will move outside soon.

That is not what he said. He and the PTA president joked that there wasn't $ in the budget for tents. He later said on the town hall (last week) that lunch would in inside and could not do outside because of the overlapping lunch times and courtyard use.

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.

That's a good point. I think some schools are having indoor lunch this week while they figure out logistics/staffing for various periods. They will move outside soon.

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.

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.

The bolded is untrue. Your kid can do outdoor lunch if you check them out for lunch and then check them back in. Yes, that puts the work on parents, but it is an option. They have also said repeatedly that they plan to have an outdoor lunch option later.

So only those kids whose parents who are able to check them out for lunch are able to eat safely? Yeah, that's a fair solution.

And not to mention, do you have a middle school kid? My kid would rather stay virtual than have Mommy check him out for lunch, lol.

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 great - where?

Duran reiterated in the weekly update that they are encouraging outdoor lunch. From the website:
"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."

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.

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.

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

Cicadas

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty funny that the organizer of this is keeping her kids home. The irony is that she is always attacking anyone who pulled kids from APS to send to private. She seems to think those parents should stay quiet and not advocate to open APS. Does she have self-awareness. But whatever, I’ll sign her petition so long as it doesn’t delay reopening timeline. These things go nowhere anyway.

Not sure why you find this funny. I'm keeping my kid home because his school is putting them all into a cafeteria together. Maybe your kids are in private or in a school with better lunch plans so this is amusing to you. But not to me.

It’s funny because the organizer lacks self-awareness. I pulled my kids to private because I need to go to work 5 days a week and can’t leave them home alone. I saw the writing early on and frantically applied and got them into a catholic. It’s not a long term solution for my family and I want my kids back in their neighborhood school. Yet she constantly attacks people like me for not having my kids in public, as if I forfeited all right to advocate to APS. (Btw, I don’t actually post on AEM in part because of nasty mean people like her that attack others. So, yes, it’s funny her logic doesn’t apply to herself. Perfectly okay for her to advocate on lunch even though she is t sending her kids - yea, sure. For the record, I think both parents in both cases should be able to advocate. But HER hypocrisy IS funny, in a sad way.

Are you going to sign it (because outdoor lunch is a no brainer) or are you not going to sign it (because you're petty and don't like the organizer)?

DP. Fully not signing it because of this. Call me petty but I'm giving absolutely no support to this nut job. Plus, a petition won't do any good in Arlington. You need 10000 committees and surveys to have outdoor lunch.

IDGAF where my kid eats. They just need to be back in school,

Petty.

And the reason why our country has failed this pandemic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty funny that the organizer of this is keeping her kids home. The irony is that she is always attacking anyone who pulled kids from APS to send to private. She seems to think those parents should stay quiet and not advocate to open APS. Does she have self-awareness. But whatever, I’ll sign her petition so long as it doesn’t delay reopening timeline. These things go nowhere anyway.

Not sure why you find this funny. I'm keeping my kid home because his school is putting them all into a cafeteria together. Maybe your kids are in private or in a school with better lunch plans so this is amusing to you. But not to me.

It’s funny because the organizer lacks self-awareness. I pulled my kids to private because I need to go to work 5 days a week and can’t leave them home alone. I saw the writing early on and frantically applied and got them into a catholic. It’s not a long term solution for my family and I want my kids back in their neighborhood school. Yet she constantly attacks people like me for not having my kids in public, as if I forfeited all right to advocate to APS. (Btw, I don’t actually post on AEM in part because of nasty mean people like her that attack others. So, yes, it’s funny her logic doesn’t apply to herself. Perfectly okay for her to advocate on lunch even though she is t sending her kids - yea, sure. For the record, I think both parents in both cases should be able to advocate. But HER hypocrisy IS funny, in a sad way.

It's not hypocritical. Her kids are still in the system, whereas yours are not. That's a pretty fundamental difference in terms of having skin in the game. So I have no problem at all with her advocating for outdoor lunch, as it may someday benefit her kid(s) at some point and will definitely benefit other kids in the short term.

You really don’t see how silly it is in both scenario? Hey single mom that had to pull 5 yo out of APS so she can actually go to work to keep a roof over her head: shut up! You’re not in the system anymore! What’s that? You can’t afford another yet of private and desperately need to APS to be 5 days a week? Too bad, so sad you pulled your kids and have no skin in the game! This lady is one of the most notorious trolls on AEM, so for that reason alone I wouldn’t sign it. I wouldn’t trust her intentions or sincerity AT ALL. Also I feel very safe with APS plan to eat outdoors when feasible or in the classroom. I’m comfortable with it because it’s what my kids’ school has been doing all year - 5 days a week!

NP: I agree that outdoor lunch is better than indoor lunch. And I agree that that is what APS is already doing and saying. I absolutely do not trust the organizer of this petition. Yes, who the organizer is as a big influence on why I will not sign- b/c I view this as an attempted 'poison pill.' She is absolutely vicious and mean, and kind of crazy. The last thing I want to do is give her a further platform.

Wow. So much nasty. It’s a petition to help our community, but I guess it’s more important to be spiteful.

DP. The point is, not everyone trusts the person who created this petition to act in the best interests of the full community. That’s not hateful or spiteful, it’s just reality based on what they have seen from her in the past.

I mean, what exactly do you think she's going to do with it? It's a freakin' petition (that won't really do anything).

The language is pretty clear - you can either support it or not. But it's spiteful to oppose *just* because you don't like the organizer.

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.

The bolded is untrue. Your kid can do outdoor lunch if you check them out for lunch and then check them back in. Yes, that puts the work on parents, but it is an option. They have also said repeatedly that they plan to have an outdoor lunch option later.

Yes. Thanks for that helpful clarification. WMS will not prohibit me from picking up my child and giving them lunch outdoors. True. But they are not offering it as an option to students in the building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to sign it (because outdoor lunch is a no brainer) or are you not going to sign it (because you're petty and don't like the organizer)?

Or c, I'm not going to sign it because I support outdoor lunch but also think schools should have the flexibility to meet the needs of their specific situations on a day-to-day basis, and therefore think broad mandates are not the best idea here.

ditto.. I just don't want more obstacles and hurdles for getting the kids back in school full-time. I'm going to put trust in the Principal that she will do what's best, and not expect perfection. Outdoor lunch, ventilation, 6-foot mandate distancing, every teacher being vaccinated, etc etc. the lists and demands will never stop if we continue to enable these people.

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to sign it (because outdoor lunch is a no brainer) or are you not going to sign it (because you're petty and don't like the organizer)?

Or c, I'm not going to sign it because I support outdoor lunch but also think schools should have the flexibility to meet the needs of their specific situations on a day-to-day basis, and therefore think broad mandates are not the best idea here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty funny that the organizer of this is keeping her kids home. The irony is that she is always attacking anyone who pulled kids from APS to send to private. She seems to think those parents should stay quiet and not advocate to open APS. Does she have self-awareness. But whatever, I’ll sign her petition so long as it doesn’t delay reopening timeline. These things go nowhere anyway.

Not sure why you find this funny. I'm keeping my kid home because his school is putting them all into a cafeteria together. Maybe your kids are in private or in a school with better lunch plans so this is amusing to you. But not to me.

It’s funny because the organizer lacks self-awareness. I pulled my kids to private because I need to go to work 5 days a week and can’t leave them home alone. I saw the writing early on and frantically applied and got them into a catholic. It’s not a long term solution for my family and I want my kids back in their neighborhood school. Yet she constantly attacks people like me for not having my kids in public, as if I forfeited all right to advocate to APS. (Btw, I don’t actually post on AEM in part because of nasty mean people like her that attack others. So, yes, it’s funny her logic doesn’t apply to herself. Perfectly okay for her to advocate on lunch even though she is t sending her kids - yea, sure. For the record, I think both parents in both cases should be able to advocate. But HER hypocrisy IS funny, in a sad way.

It's not hypocritical. Her kids are still in the system, whereas yours are not. That's a pretty fundamental difference in terms of having skin in the game. So I have no problem at all with her advocating for outdoor lunch, as it may someday benefit her kid(s) at some point and will definitely benefit other kids in the short term.

You really don’t see how silly it is in both scenario? Hey single mom that had to pull 5 yo out of APS so she can actually go to work to keep a roof over her head: shut up! You’re not in the system anymore! What’s that? You can’t afford another yet of private and desperately need to APS to be 5 days a week? Too bad, so sad you pulled your kids and have no skin in the game! This lady is one of the most notorious trolls on AEM, so for that reason alone I wouldn’t sign it. I wouldn’t trust her intentions or sincerity AT ALL. Also I feel very safe with APS plan to eat outdoors when feasible or in the classroom. I’m comfortable with it because it’s what my kids’ school has been doing all year - 5 days a week!

NP: I agree that outdoor lunch is better than indoor lunch. And I agree that that is what APS is already doing and saying. I absolutely do not trust the organizer of this petition. Yes, who the organizer is as a big influence on why I will not sign- b/c I view this as an attempted 'poison pill.' She is absolutely vicious and mean, and kind of crazy. The last thing I want to do is give her a further platform.

Wow. So much nasty. It’s a petition to help our community, but I guess it’s more important to be spiteful.

DP. The point is, not everyone trusts the person who created this petition to act in the best interests of the full community. That’s not hateful or spiteful, it’s just reality based on what they have seen from her in the past.