Mega Lunch officially started on Wednesday, September 20, after more than a month on a traditional schedule. With 1500 students this school year, specific rules and logistics look different from last year’s mega lunch.

Tutorials are scheduled by hallways this year, which places restrictions on where students can eat lunch. Administration hopes this will reduce noise and distraction, but some students have concerns about limited seating.

“I’m kind of worried about where everyone will sit since last year’s situation was bad,” senior Aiden Schnackenburg said. “There’s way more students this year and it was hard enough finding spots last year. Even at traditional lunch, it’s crazy busy.”

During mega lunch, teachers hold tutorials for students who may need additional help with lessons outside of class. Teachers encourage students to take advantage of these 30-minute instructional periods. 

“I think it’s great to have tutorials during mega lunch because then kids don’t have to come in before or after school,” English teacher Linda Black said. “Some kids are busy with after-school activities and it really helps them out. It’s beneficial to have that time during school, for sure.”

The cafeteria staff prepares behind the scenes to serve each student during the hour-long lunch period.

“Preparing for mega lunch is actually not as bad as everyone thinks it is,” cafeteria manager Nitosha Ramsey said. “It’s just a regular day for us. The only thing is that it’s one hour serving the kids. We prepare the night before so that they can get through the line on time and enjoy their lunch.” 

For freshmen on campus, mega lunch is a new experience.

“I’m so excited because I don’t know what it is,” Freshman Jillian Castleberry said. “We get to have an hour-long lunch to do homework and to talk with friends. I feel like mega lunch will be a very productive time to study for tests too.” 

Compared to the 30-minute lunches for the first 5 weeks, many students see the extended time mega lunch provides as beneficial.

“I feel like mega lunch starting again is good because we get an hour of a break from learning,” sophomore Kirk Rudolph said. “Constantly sitting at a desk and only getting 30 minutes of break is definitely not good for students’ mental health. It also gives us more time to finish homework instead of staying up all night trying to finish everything.”

According to the National Institute of Health, 1 in 3 adolescents suffer from anxiety and about 50% of those people state that homework and school are the root cause. 

“I think mega lunch definitely helps calm people down,” sophomore Liz Weiss said. “It offers many things like tutorials and clubs that can help with school or just take people’s minds off of class. If you have different friends that you didn’t have at traditional lunch then you can hang out with them too. Mega lunch kind of gives me peace of mind.”