By Annie Qu
Staff Writer
The 2023-2024 school year brings changes as attempts to help alleviate the effects of the pandemic are seen on campus.
The renovated lunch shelter and cafeteria features updates from the previous school year. The school lunch now offers a salad bar, which was a part of the cafeteria before the pandemic.
While there are still nutrition requirements in place, students have the option to choose what they want on their tray.
The cafeteria made the decision to provide five meal choices per day and designate a line for each one to help the lunch lines move faster. In addition, the school rearranged the lunch shelter by moving the benches toward the south side of the shelter to reduce crowding in the lunch lines.
The wider variety of food options is due to improvements on the manufacturers’ ends. During the pandemic, manufacturers cut orders in half and offered fewer choices. They now provide more choices, so the school is able to order more and provide a wide variety of options.
“The Food Service Department is excited to provide nutritious and delicious meals to students,” TCUSD Director of Food Services Marisol Cortez said. “This school year we have implemented some changes such as purchasing new equipment, hiring additional staff members, offering more choices and adding salad bars with fresh fruit and vegetables. We are partnering with ASB groups to seek feedback and we are looking forward to continuing to improve the meal service and a successful school year.”
In addition to the renovated lunch shelter, the mental fitness center is a tool that students can use, continuing on from last year. Located in Room 304 and open from 8:30 to 3:30 p.m., the mental fitness center provides a calm environment for students to relax or calm down during the day.
The center was opened on April 24 and is set for an official opening by October.
To visit the mental fitness center, students must first speak to their counselor. If the counselor feels that the center would be the best place for the student, they refer the student there. The center will continue to use a referral process after its grand opening.
The mental fitness center, which allows five students inside at once, features quiet areas, cool packs, snacks, a couch area and a cart for tea and activities for students to destress during the day.
The creation of the mental fitness center was prompted by similar locations at other schools and the transition back from the pandemic. The counseling staff felt that having a mental fitness center would be useful in helping students make the difficult transition back to in-person learning.