Sisters school shuffles recess

Sisters Elementary School plans to start having recess before the lunch break.

At the school board meeting on November 13, elementary school principal Jan Silberman reported that the district's Nutrition Services Coordinator Janice Comfort suggested making this change several weeks ago.

Comfort pointed out that research demonstrates that recess before lunch helps students perform better in school and eat healthier. It also promotes a calmer lunchroom atmosphere. Silberman said that after researching Comfort's suggestion, "We really see that this is something to look into." Silberman added that parents expressed an interest in making this change at October's parents' coffee.

Schools are starting to include recess before lunch as part of their wellness policies, and such a policy may prove to be beneficial to Sisters Elementary School.

Schools that have adopted a program of having students go out to recess and then return to eat are finding that children eat better.

For years, teachers and administrators have been aware that many students rush through lunch, and some eat very little or sometimes nothing in order to be able to rush out to recess. The guiding principal for the change in recess timing is that when there is no recess after lunch, there will be no incentive to speed through lunch or skip it all together.

Schools are also finding that cafeterias are quieter and that fewer students go to the health room with stomach aches. Less food and milk are thrown away, less litter ends up on the floor and less supervision is required in the cafeteria creating a win-win situation for the school and students alike.

Teachers are also weighing in that students are less hyper when they return to class after lunch rather than after recess. Students are able to settle down to classroom activities more quickly. It was also noted that disciplinary problems are also reduced, allowing teachers to have more time to teach and providing students with more time to learn.

Silberman said that her plan is to try having recess before lunch in January or February.

For more information about the reported benefits of recess before lunch go to: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr34/fanrr34-5/fanrr34-5.pdf; and http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n11-12_v15/ai_18999100.