On Wednesday, November 15th, AL2 hosted Red Bridge's first ever cafeteria. We designed a space and menu to accommodate approximately 50 different people with varying preferences and allergies. Click through the pages of this website using the side menu or the buttons below to learn more about ALL of the work that went into this!

Here's what other students said about the cafeteria:

Here's what we said about the cafeteria:

• Good, but a little too loud. - B

• Stressful! - S

• I agree with S that it was stressful because it felt like a lot of people were rushing towards us and people weren’t staying in line. - A

• Once your friend got food, more people wanted food! I think it was really fun. But also stressful at the same time! - T

• I felt rushed preparing and then when it was the actual cafeteria I felt less rushed. - J

• I’m the same as J because because we made dal, chili, fried rice, sandwiches, muffins - a LOT of stuff! - G

• Everyone did a great job! AL2 should be so proud. - D

• It was really stressful and hard to do, but it felt good when we finished it and did it. - E

Reflection: "Could a cafeteria like this happen everyday at Red Bridge?"

• No! Because it is really hard to make, it takes a lot of effort, and teachers are going to have to work late to make all the stuff. - G

• Probably not, but I would like it to, but I would just be one of the workers. - I

• I guess, yeah. We just might need a staff. - J

• Probably not every day because it was really stressful, but if we thought about it a little more and had the space and time to cook, I think it could. - L

• No thanks! - D

• Yeah! I think so because it went really well! - L

• Yes! Because the food is tasty and it is fun. - S

• I think we could, but when it becomes more people it would be a lot harder. - T

• I think it could, but if there were more people, we'd need more staff. - A

• Not so much.. I think it would be really hard to! - B

• Yes! Except not the kids cooking because that would be very intense. - Z

• Kind of... maybe. If we take turns because all the time someone doing something would be a little tiring. - B

• No. - E

Work and Character Habits in Action

What actually happened

We ended up practicing SO MANY of the AL2 Character and Work Habits. Here are some examples:

• Time Management: AL2 students make plans and tell time to see if they're on track with their plans.

  • In the morning, we figured out everyone's jobs for the day and made a detailed time schedule. We knew who was on dish duty every 15 minutes. I kept looking at the computer and the clock to see who should be doing dishes and helped remind them. - Z

• Goal Management: AL2 students need to set goals and make a plan to achieve them.

  • We had a goal to make a video, to make decorations, to know what the dining space was, to get all the food ready to serve, to be able to feed everyone - too many goals to name! Each one we had to make a plan for. - T

• Resource Management: AL2 students keep their personal and communal spaces and materials neat and organized so everyone can learn and get what they need when they need it. 

  • We had so much stuff to keep organized: the tables, the chairs, the recipes, the dry dishes, the dirty dishes, the ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, etc. - B

• Self-Knowledge: AL2 students learn to be honest about how their actions impact others.

  • If we didn't wash our hands, we'd spread germs and we had to wash our hands a lot. - B

• Initiative: AL2 students put their best work forward and look for ways to help their community without being asked.

  • I was walking around and asking people, do you need anything? Is the food good? So they wouldn't have to raise their hand. During the cooking and cleaning, after I was done stirring, I didn't know what to do and it looked like E and L needed help so I helped them do the dishes without anyone asking me to. - I

• Focus: AL2 students focus on tasks for up to 30 minutes and get back on track when they're redirected.

  • It takes focus to know about allergies and make sure you don't offer a certain food to someone who is allergic to it. - J

  • I saw the people that were kitchen staff very focused on scooping things and giving the food to people. Making the dal needed a lot of focus because they had to cut onions and tomatoes. - S

• Collaboration: AL2 students contribute to projects and discussions in a balanced way and to try to solve problems that naturally will come up when working together. 

  • One example was someone drying dishes for others even when it wasn't their turn. - L

  • We had to go, "Oh where is the strainer?" "Can you go get ___ for me?" "Can you stir for me?" - B

• Emotional Awareness: AL2 students learn about the "mood meter" and how to read and respond to their own and others' emotions. 

  • On cafeteria day, there were a lot of emotions and we had to read the emotions and help each other without getting mad. For example, when someone got a little upset that they didn't have a job to do, they sat down and had a break (which was a calibrated response). - A

• Attitudes & Actions: AL2 students try to think about actions they can take to show kindness, flexibility, and gratitude. 

  • One example was someone drying dishes for others even when it wasn't their turn. Another example of flexibility was when I made title cards for all the food and one of them went missing last minute! I made 4 more! - L

  • When someone was using your measuring cup, you needed to wait. - B

This page was written by Rachel with the help of all of the AL2 students that were present on Thursday 11/16.