Think back to school lunches and how you probably would have preferred skipping many of them.
For students at Baldwin High School, there’s little chance of that today.
Lunchtime offers a variety of choices that folks of previous generations could only dream about, from delicious day-launching breakfasts to restaurant-quality pizza to fresh-fruit smoothies.
“And we do online ordering,” said Joyce Weber, Baldwin-Whitehall School District food service director. “We just rolled that out, so we’re so excited. The kids can pick what kind of bread, what kind of cheese, what kind of meat, what kind of veggie toppings they want on their deli sandwiches.”
Weber’s enthusiasm was evident as she greeted visitors to the cafeteria during the high school’s initial 4C’s Night: College, Career, Curriculum and Community. The Feb. 11 event served as a showcase for what Baldwin is all about, including a primary emphasis on nutrition.
“A hungry child cannot learn, because if their tummy is rumbling, they’re not listening to the teacher,” Weber said. “So we are a very important part of our Baldwin-Whitehall community.”
Equally as important for 4C’s Night guests was the opportunity to partake in what the cafeteria has to offer.
Overall, the evening drew a substantial crowd of students, their parents and other residents, much to the satisfaction of faculty member Cassidy Cooper, a primary organizer.
“We typically in the past have done just a standard curriculum night, where parents and students can come and hear from teachers as they’re planning their schedules for the next year,” she said. “This kind of came about in conversations of what more can we be offering and trying to get more people to attend.”
As the high school’s future pathways facilitator, she suggested inviting representatives from institutions of higher learning and various potential avenues of employment.
“We’re trying to hit all of those different areas, whether it’s college, a career in trades or military, and helping to show students and parents how our courses and curriculum can help translate to their lives after Baldwin,” Cooper said.
Preparing for life after high school is senior Milana Varon, who praised the presence of the representatives.
“They are very eager to talk with us and learn what we want to do with our future, and I think that’s a great thing because it helps us get out there. It helps us be more social,” she said. “And it also helps us figure out what we want to do, ultimately.”
Another 4C’s Night feature involved participants in school clubs and activities providing fellow students with information about what they do. A newer example is the ASL Club, promoting the importance of American Sign Language, which is the first of its kind among Allegheny County schools, according to members Kelcy Bhandari and Alayna Lewis.
The event further served as a welcoming session for eighth graders at Baldwin-Whitehall’s J.E. Harrison Middle School, allowing them to get a good feel for the school they’ll start attending toward summer’s end.
For Jill Fleming-Salopek, the school district’s director of secondary education, 4C’s Night represented a successful combination of good ideas.
“I’m really proud of the efforts of our faculty and everyone who works at the high school — the administrators, the counselors, all of the teachers — for what they were able to design and offer tonight, because it’s really a one-stop shop,” she said. “They really put something together that is going to meet the needs of all of their learners, and that’s what’s really important.”
