Select high school juniors and seniors should have the option for open lunch, members of the Cardinal Corps told the School Board Thursday.
Cardinal Corps president Mackenzie Mayer and members Harper Schreiner, Cody Loganbill and Sophie Sanchez explained why open lunch should be offered for upperclassmen.
Positive behavioral interventions and support is a reward system the high school has in place that promotes school safety and good behavior.
The program rewards students with SOAR tickets, which previously could only be used for late homework and tardy passes. The Cardinal Corps said many of the students rewarded with SOAR tickets did not have a use for them.
“The Cardinal Corps saw this as a problem and brainstormed some cost-effective things that would have value for all students,” Schreiner said.
Therefore, students would like to see SOAR tickets also used as a way for upperclassmen to go out to open lunch as an incentive for good behavior.
For underclassmen, the SOAR tickets could be used on the frozen yogurt machine that is still in the works.
Positive effects of open lunch are that it is a financially sustainable option, displays trust, offers more freedom to students and provides incentives for students to participate in school activities, Loganbill said.
The students are still working with administration to finalize the plan. As of now, the Cardinal Corps suggests juniors have the open lunch option Thursdays and seniors have the option Fridays. This would create less traffic in the school parking lots for those days.
High School Principal Ron Abel said his support for this initiative is still wavering. An issue he noted when open lunch was previously offered is that students would be tardy for their next classes after lunch.
“There are issues I think we would need to resolve, but I think the Cardinal Corps has indicated that they are willing to police [these issues] to make sure this is something we could sustain within the logistics we’re trying to work out,” Abel said. “They’ve worked very hard at this. I think this provides a reward that has tremendous value for the kids.”
The School Board also heard a report on a plan from the middle school to make sure the school’s Cardinal Market is available to all students.
The new Cardinal Market would provide students with free food, trivia games where students could win prizes and potentially win the “student of the month.”
Middle School teacher Daniel Ruegsegger said student of the month would provide recognition and motivation for students who are not as involved in school as they could be.
“We don’t want this to be for only certain students,” Ruegsegger said. “We want this to be available to all students.”
The Cardinal Market would also exhibit students’ art pieces so other students can be recognized as well. The market provides snacks and drinks to all students free of charge.
People can donate to the market by bringing items to the middle school office or can make monetary donations to the Eudora Schools Foundation.
Reach reporter Tatum Goetting at [email protected].
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