Open campus lunch is a privilege to Lakes Community High School that juniors and seniors and also requires them to obtain responsibility. Students who choose to leave campus need to make sure they are back on time and follow school rules and regulations while they are out. Open campus lunch gives these students independence and an opportunity to venture off school grounds and explore the local area, including eating at new restaurants. 

At Lakes, open campus lunch is 50 minutes long. To some this is just enough time, while others believe they could use some extra minutes, especially those who are part of half lunch class schedules, such as AP Biology. 

Juniors were asked where their favorite places to eat and how far they live during open campus  lunch. Along with that, how they are able to manage their time effectively to eat their desired meals. 

An AP Biology student Gabbi Winters tells us about what she accomplishes during her lunch hour. Winters is a junior at Lakes Community High School and only has half the period due to the 1.5 period AP Bio class. 

According to Winters, she feels she has enough time to do what she needs to do during her lunch period as she only lives about 2 minutes away. Winters explains how her parents are home so, “they make food for [her] so [she] can eat a small quick lunch and come right back to school”. 

While carpooling with friends is fun, Winters has no time to do so as it is either an inconvenience for the friends who have the full period or there’s just simply not enough time according to her. 

Although Winters has little time to do a lot during her lunch period, she still finds a way to make it back to the school early and “walk in with 5 minutes until the bell”. While only having half the period can be a disadvantage, Winters makes the most of her time and feels she has plenty of time to get at least some quick fuel to finish out the day.

Additionally, Lakes junior, Jake Wisniewski, who has a full 50 minute lunch period, shares his favorite go to lunch spot is Junior Paul Migas’s house. While he enjoys going to McDonald’s for a good kids happy meal with friends every once in a while, he mostly goes to Migas’s because he lives close to the school compared to Wisniewski. 

To save gas money, Migas and Wisniewski normally carpool together and use their time effectively by getting from Lakes, to Migas’s house, and back to Lakes before the bell rings. 

At Migas’s house, Wisniewski tells us about some delicious crispy chicken melts he eats. He explains, “it’s like a pita bread chicken and cheese sandwich that you stick in the microwave for a couple minutes”. Wisniewski expresses how normally he enjoys one to two of these sandwiches with a large glass of milk. 

Junior Drew Bowen also shares his lunch experience. Bowen splits his weeks about 50/50 with whether he goes home or out with friends during off campus lunch. He explains he goes, “home like 2 or 3 days out of the week”. 

Although Bowen usually goes out on late start days because he lives further from the school, he does believe he has enough time. Bowen uses his time wisely to ensure he gets the most done during lunch.

As revealed by Bowen he explains how, “[he] usually puts [his] food in the microwave, normally it’s leftovers, and then continues all the other stuff [he] needs to do while [he’s] waiting”. Bowen is in no rush during lunch time and usually waits 10-15 minutes to leave Lakes because he “hates everyone’s driving”. 

After his relaxing lunch, Bowen usually starts heading back to the school at the last minute while still making it on time. 

As the three juniors wrap up the year, Wisniewski and Bowen hope their lunch schedule stays the same for their senior year; while Winters is hoping for a full 50 minute lunch period so she has more time to be with friends during her lunch period.