MICHIGAN CITY – It wasn’t a typical school lunch for the Queen of All Saints seventh and eighth graders on Nov. 16. Instead of eating in the school’s cafeteria, students ate in the darkened gymnasium, illuminated by candlelight.
Each year, students in the school’s upper two grades have the opportunity to dress up and enjoy a special candlelight dinner.
“It’s very fancy. We’re able to dress nicely and visit with friends,” said Abel Davila, a QAS seventh grader.
Daniel Patino proudly wore his dad’s new tie for the special occasion. “This tie has never been worn before. My dad wanted me to wear it, so I decided to wear it for him. He taught me how to tie it,” said Patino, also a seventh grader.
This year is Patino’s second year at the school and said the dinner allowed him to get to know his classmates better.
Haley Sheets, the school’s cafeteria manager, said the dinner is an opportunity to teach the students manners and etiquette. “It’s nice to see them experience a formal dinner setting and see how they react to it. It’s nice to see how much they like to dress up and have their own special meal,” she said. “We wanted to set it up like a formal restaurant setting.”
Sheets is a QAS alum who recalled how much she enjoyed the candlelight dinner herself. She said the candlelight dinner has been an annual event for nearly 10 years.
To give it the feel of a five-star restaurant, the tables were covered with linens. Dinnerware and a complete set of silverware encircled a candle at each table. To help the students decode the confusing layout of all the silverware, the students were instructed on what each utensil was used for.
“I learned what to do with all the different silverware. You start with the outside and go in. Having all the different forks and spoons can be confusing,” said eighth-grader Emma Nelson.
Sheets was at the school by 6:30 am to start preparing the meal. The menu included turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, stuffing, rolls and pumpkin pie.
Sheets and parent volunteers brought the food to each table in serving bowls. Echoes of “please pass…” and “thank-you” could be heard throughout the gym as dishes were shared between students.
Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie seem to be the favorites among the students. Sheets said she prepared 10 turkey breasts, over 100 hundred servings of mashed potatoes, and at least 8 pies. “They ate well. They went through all of it,” she stated.
“It was like a fancy restaurant, something special we normally don’t get to do. It gave us a chance to use our manners,” said Amelia Arnold, a seventh grader. “We could have a proper meal with our friends, and it wasn’t rushed like in the school cafeteria.”
Arnold recalled another time she had an opportunity to eat by candlelight. “We had a power outage during my birthday dinner, so we had dinner by candlelight.”
Emma Nelson offered her insight into the importance of the dinner. “It’s really important to learn etiquette for when you’re out with your family or later in life, like when you go on a job interview. You need to know how to eat properly.”
Eighth graders Kayla Campbell, Nacaya Robinson and Sarah Mosley said the dinner was a very special time for them. The dinner allowed them more time to socialize with each other in a more formal, grown-up way.
“This will be one of the memories I’ll take away from Queens,” said Campbell.
Caption: Queen of All Saints seventh and eighth graders enjoy a turkey dinner by candlelight on Nov. 16. The dinner in a formal setting allowed the students to learn and practice manners and etiquette. (Bob Wellinski photo)