Middle Schoolers Learn Manners

Seventh graders on Team B at North Shore Middle School took part in a different kind of classroom experience and learned a lot more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Teachers designed a lesson to educate their students about dining etiquette and table manners, skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. 

Linens were used to cover the desks in the classrooms, creating lovely tables of six. As students entered, they located their place cards as the mouthwatering aroma of food filled the air. The teachers conducted a lesson using the Smartboard, which included interactive activities and a true/false game that made students aware of how many etiquette rules they break on a daily basis. After students had set their own place setting, and placed their napkins on their laps, lunch was served. Seventh grader Annalise said, “After the luncheon, I went out to dinner with a friend and told her the proper way to eat her food.”

Teacher Rosea Filone said, “Our students seemed so grown up as they made polite conversation and dined to the tunes of dinner music.”  By the end of the meal, students had learn to use silverware correctly, keep their elbows off the table, pass items to their dining companions, and so much more. Seventh grader Dominique Sylvester said, “At dinner that night, I tested my mom on dining etiquette.”

Lunch that day included lightly breaded chicken tenders, broccoli florets sautéed in garlic and oil, and pasta with a tomato and basil sauce. This delicious lunch was made possible due to the generosity of Elegant Affairs Catering in Glen Cove, New York. Aimee Canzoniero, 7th Grade Guidance Counselor, concluded by saying, “It was such a pleasure to see the seventh graders acting like young adults and practicing skills that will help to give them confidence in real-life social situations.”