National Junior Honor Society students left no detail untouched while preparing a surprise appreciation lunch for cafeteria staff at Lynnhaven Middle School.
They gathered in gifted resource teacher Jessica Lessmann’s classroom to make sandwiches, flower bouquets and personalized messages for each staff member. They collected supplies for fabulous and fancy table settings.
One student, Joshua Shen-Thaidigsmann, even went so far to offer to bake cheddar biscuits with a garlic glaze the night before. Inspired to try simple dishes in a Teen Living class, Joshua said he now enjoys cooking and thought that nothing would be better than adding a special touch to the day.
Jackson Reynaldo and other students ensured that the sandwiches were well equipped with fillings, while Queen Isis-Frost helped to orchestrate the precise setting of the tables.
After the last of the lunches were complete, Lessmann invited the cafeteria staff members. When they came out of the kitchen doors, they were welcomed with a boisterous round of applause.
Cafeteria Manger Myong Dorschimer, also known as Ms. Choi, was taken aback, becoming emotional when she entered the breakroom to find the tables set to perfection, the flowers with the notes, and the dessert. Her chair was pulled out for her to sit, and she broke into tears.
All the cafeteria staff members were overwhelmed, finding it hard to believe students would do so much for them.
The idea came from the NJHS students several weeks before. They created the menu, which also included pasta salad, chips and grapes.
When word spread to the Student Council Association, which shares some of these same students, they suggested adding a desert to the meal. Nothing Bundt Cakes donated a cake for each of the cafeteria staff.
“I’m so very proud of my students,” said Lessmann, sponsor of the school’s NJHS. “They were very dedicated in giving back to the staff who work tirelessly to feed 1,000 people every day.”
The morning after the surprise meal, Ms. Choi and the cafeteria staff had a little thank you for those 27 students who participated in this wonderful surprise —a plate of cookies and a handwritten thank-you for each one of them.
Love does beget love.
Christina Webner is the school media liaison and a school office associate at Lynnhaven Middle.
