CHESTERFIELD, Va. – Teachers and students at Providence Middle but a twist on the traditional school lunch today, for National “No One Eats Alone” Day.
Ellie Garrison is one of several seventh graders who helped make this lunch happen.
“We are sitting with a different group of people that we normally sit with today,” Garrison said. “It was really to make them realize that, 'Hey, I can sit with people I don't know and still have a great time."
"In middle school you get hung up on who your friends are and you don't look beyond that,” said Maddie Klaman, 7th grade teacher at Providence. “Whenever we can take a moment and do that, it's a real positive.”
Bullying has always been and will continue to be a problem for students of all ages, and teachers said that adding technology to the mix only adds to the daily challenge.
While this lunch is one of hundreds these kids will take part in, Garrison hopes the simple social skills it highlights will stick with her classmates.
"Going up to a kid you don't know isn't scary,” Garrison said. “It isn't like a big monster that's going to scary you out. It's a fun time to get to know a new friend.”
“Small acts go a really long way,” Klaman. “Asking someone to play tic-tac-toe with you can make their day."
