Salem Elementary School holiday dinner beloved tradition by students, teachers

Kaylen Hunold grabbed a green hot lunch tray and a milk carton before walking into the dimly lit cafeteria at Salem Elementary School on Wednesday, Dec. 19. The only lights were twinkle lights strung on all four walls and the glow from a 12-foot Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the cafeteria. The lunch tables were set with white plastic tablecloths, silverware and stemware filled with water as opposed to the usual plasticware students use every day.

'It's crazy in here,” one kindegrartner exclaimed as he went to find a seat next to his friends.

This is the annual Salem Elementary School Christmas dinner where kindergarten through fifth-graders eat together with their teachers while the PTA serves food.

The menu Wednesday wasn't anything fancy - ham, hash browns, green beans and mandarin oranges made up the holiday dinner - but the Christmas spirit was alive and well as students toasted each other by clinking their glasses and singing along to the music.

'This is my favorite day of the whole school year,” said Beth Sandersfeld, the secretary at Salem Elementary School. 'The kids give us so much pleasure during the year. It's a time for us to give back.”

A formal dinner is an experience not every student gets to have at home, Sandersfeld said. It's a chance for students to get dressed up and celebrate the holidays as a school before Christmas break.

Suzan Harrison, third-grade teacher at Salem, said that in such a small school with just over 100 students, the Christmas dinner means a lot to everyone.

'We're like one big family,” Harrison said.

Salem PTA member Jennifer Kruse's fifth-and first-grade students absolutely love being able to dress up, use stemware and eat lunch with the teachers, she said. It makes them feel very special, she said.

'All of us have a lot of fun and it's really special,” Kaylen Hunold said.

'It's a magical day,” PTA member Julie Hunold said, Kaylen Hunold's mother.

Amanda Reynolds, Title I teacher at Salem, said that when the fifth-grade students are asked at the end of the year what their favorite memories are of elementary school, they all say it's the holiday dinner.

Meredith Lee, fourth-grade teacher at Salem, said the students really appreciate the effort the staff puts into decorating the cafeteria and making the day special for them.

'It's just a part of (Salem). It's kids enjoying being kids,” Lee said.

Emma Weocher, a fifth-grader, said that it's going to be sad next year in middle school without the Christmas dinner.

'It's nice that the PTA does all this work and I'm really going to miss it,” Weocher said.

Next to her, fifth-grader Maleah Johnson put her arm around Weocher and fifth-grader Gracie Rooks as she said the best part of the Christmas dinner is experiencing it with her closest friends.

'I feel like my friends are my family,” Rooks said.