Lunch at school

Doesn't this look like lunch
 in any school in Lincoln?

School lunches are a high point of the day for us all! Al, the school cook always has a surprise up his sleeve. (He tells us not to look at the district prepared monthly menu, because he rarely follows it.) When his supplies come in, he decides what he wants to cook day by day. We haven't had a bad lunch yet.) His favorite football team the Seattle Seahawks won yesterday so today he celebrated by making stupendous homemade pizza. I think most of the kids had 2nds if not 3rds. When I asked what would have happened if the Seahawks had lost, Al said, "Two words-Campbell's Soup."



The school is really the hub of the community. In addition to feeding the school children, the elders of the community are also fed daily. Many of the kids hang around the building after school until someone says, "We're locking up. You have to go." There is an Open Gym several nights a week when adults and kids fill the gym and play and Al leaves the leftover lunch out for any hungry after-school visitors (err...make that teachers.) We are going to be missing the community carnival that will happen at the end of February. It's not school related but is held in the school building and apparently EVERYONE comes. 

The school was in danger of closing last fall if they did not have 10 students on Oct 31. We weren't even sure until November if our January job would be a "go." Last fall one family had sent their 17 yr old son to live with relatives in a bigger village nearby that had a larger school so he'd have more opportunities and be able to play on a true sports team. The family brought him back home for the month of October to save this school for his younger siblings. He apparently felt a bit like a martyr, but did it for his family. He's gone back to the other village this semester. Unfortunately, we are already counting heads for next year. There are currently 10 students but we are on unsteady ground for next year and it doesn't look promising that we will have a sudden increase in school population next fall.