Grapevine Elementary School’s theme for the school year is “Wild About Engagement” and to help new students feel welcomed, counselor Angela Horn transformed her counseling room into the “Grapevine Grill” during the week of September 4-8.
“We always do new-to-GES ‘lunch bunches’ once or twice, maybe three times, at the beginning of each school year,” Horn stated. “The purpose of the lunch bunch is to check in, to get to know our new students and for them to get to know us, and to make sure we have a good pulse on how they are assimilating into our GES family.”
Although “lunch bunches” are hosted at GCISD’s other elementary school for the same purpose of getting to know students, the idea for the cafe came about during a text thread among the school’s leadership team about how to showcase engagement in the classroom and throughout the school.
“We were just brainstorming to see how we could model this month’s engagement challenge which is transforming classrooms,” Horn said, adding that the idea for a cafe quickly came to her after thinking, “what can I do for the small groups?”
A fan of alliterations, she quickly thought of the Grapevine Grill, which opened within a week.
The restaurant, where first-fifth grade students bring their lunches, greets customers with a welcome sign that has the motto “now serving our newest Stars.” As they entered, guests were invited to sit at any of the tables, which were adorned with tablecloths, centerpieces and a menu with the words “A Taste of GES” written in large print. In the background, relaxing music played.
“I shared with my students that restaurant menus have prices of items, but what we serve at GES is priceless,” she said. The word “priceless” was written next to the cost of each of the menu items, which instead of entrees had descriptions of offerings at GES: “fun, encouragement, laughter, friends, family, success, risk taking, and goal setting,” to name a few.
During their time together, Ms. Horn invited students to introduce themselves, if they wished, and to share one thing that they miss about their previous school and one thing that they like about GES.
Fifth grader Zenia Lalwani raised her hand to share that “One thing I miss about my old school are my friends, and a thing that I like about this school are all the new friends that I have here and that all the teachers are really nice.”
Those same sentiments were shared by student after student as they took turns volunteering responses and getting to know each other. Horn also invited them to ask questions, which prompted students to ask about the book vending machine in the lobby area, and celebrations held throughout the school year.
“My hope for what comes from this Grapevine Grill is that they feel welcomed and that they realize that every day could be something different because I know that our teachers definitely strive to achieve that in the classrooms,” Horn explained. “We’re about creating experiences for students and keeping them engaged.”