Craigieburn Secondary College moves recess to 11.30am in radical trial
Social media and skipping breakfast have been blamed for this Craigieburn college’s radical changes to recess. This is why students will be cracking their lunchboxes open in the morning.
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Lunch is being moved to 11.30am in a radical bid to help high school students concentrate.
The trial — at Craigieburn Secondary College — will see pupils instead have a 25-minute recess in the afternoon.
Teens scrolling social media late into the night, skipping breakfast and battling to concentrate through the day are among reasons for the overhaul.
Craigieburn Secondary College principal Kate Morphy said the shift, which will see the school’s 45-minute break moved forward from 1.30pm, aimed to get students engaged from the get-go.
“We know we have new challenges with attention spans,” Ms Morphy said.
“One of the things our school has looked at is how ready kids are in terms of being fed and coming to school having had breakfast and not staying up late.”
Ms Morphy said late nights on social media and starting the day without food meant students were increasingly lethargic in the afternoon.
“I do think kids are coming to school less ready,” Ms Morphy said.
“It’s my understanding — also from having my own kids — that teenagers operate differently and attention seems to be absorbed into social media.”
Assistant principal Allison Greene came up with the idea to swap the recess and lunch breaks.
“The kids’ lunch break was quite late in the day and we wondered whether flipping it might help with their concentration, whether being more rested and fuelled at the start of the day could help,” Ms Greene said.
Students, teachers and staff were surveyed before the move with the overwhelming response in favour of a change.
“Students thought it would make them more settled and give them more time to eat,” she said.
“And some parents made the comment that some students did leave food in their lunch box as they didn’t have time to eat it.”
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Meanwhile, Craigieburn Secondary’s breakfast program has been skyrocketing in popularity.
Ms Morphy said “we’re giving away 800 toasties a week”.
It was another way to ensure students could push through the day by having food in their stomachs early.
“It’s about sustainability of energy,” the principal said.
The school in Melbourne’s north also changed its timetable from six periods to four in the past few years, making classes longer so students had more time to knuckle down.
“It’s been really successful in giving them a strong lesson structure,” Ms Morphy said.