Lunchroom Conversations

One of my (super fun) duties as assistant principal is to monitor the lunch room each day. I try to walk around and have conversations with the kids to try and take my mind off the low roar that will be sure to turn into at least a slight headache. As it turns out, these little conversations are the things that can make a mediocre day a little brighter. Here are a few of the highlights from the year so far:

Connor, a 2nd grader, is frantically waving his hand at me from across the lunchroom. When I arrive he asks, "Mr. Pajak, can you bring me some napkins?"
Me: Sure, what do you....oh. Is it for the pasta sauce that's in your hair?
Connor: Yeah.
Me: How did that happen?
Connor: I'm not really sure.

4th grader: Mr. Pajak, how old are you?
Me: How old do you think I am?
4th grader: Well.....my dad is 50. So you must be....53? (I'm 31)

Passing by a first grader trying to eat honeydew melon I overhear her mumble in frustration: "Uhhh. It's really hard to eat melon without front teeth."

Michael, a 4th grader, was telling me about one of his classmates. I didn't know who the boy was so I asked him to point him out. He pointed across a few tables and said, "He's the one in the red shirt."
Me: Michael, all the boys have red shirts. That's part of your uniform.

The kindergarten group is always good for a laugh. I was just saying hello as I walked by one of the tables when Braden stopped me.
Mr. Pajak, don't believe David that we took a trip across the ocean to see his family.
Me: Um....
Braden: (Dead serious) It's not true.

I always enjoy talking with Caroline a first grader. I happened to walk over by her on a day the lunch room was serving pancakes. She had syrup ALL over her shirt. So I asked, "Caroline, why on earth is there syrup all over your shirt?"
Caroline: I don't really like the pancakes, so I tried to drink the syrup. I think I need a rag.

As Timothy, a 1st grader, was leaving the lunchroom to go out for recess he said, matter-of-factly, "Mr. Pajak, it's been 2 months and.....(definitively) 25 days since my birthday." Then without waiting for a response, he continued walking down the hallway and out to recess.

I'll leave you with a piece of advice I've discovered during my time in the lunchroom.
Please. Please! If you have a child who is under the age of 12, do not pack their lunch with "yogurt tubes." I have had to open more of these than I can count. Only 10% of kids under 12 are able to open these. Do your lunchroom pals a favor and skip the yogurt!