JES Cafeteria

Policies

Breakfast

Breakfast is served each morning in the cafeteria. Students must be in line no later than 7:20 am in order to go through the serving line, eat and report to class by 7:40 am. Please plan accordingly. *Meal prices may be adjusted to reflect rising costs.

Joining your Child for Lunch

You are invited to join your child for lunch. Please sign in and obtain a visitor’s pass. Only visitors who are on the child's pick up list will be able to eat lunch with the child.

When dining with your child utilize the Parent Café. Be aware lunches brought into the cafeteria from outside restaurants must be placed in generic containers that do not identify a specific restaurant. Also note it is a federal regulation that soft drinks not be allowed in the cafeteria.  *Meal prices may be adjusted to reflect rising costs.

Sending in Lunch Money

All meal related money sent to teachers must be placed in a sealed envelope. On the front of the envelope, please include:

• Student(s) Name(s)
• Grade(s) and Homeroom Teacher(s)
• Meal(s)/Item(s) for Which You Are Paying (Breakfast and/or Lunch; extra milk, ice cream)
• Date(s) for Application of Money (Today’s Date, Week of …, Month of …)
• Total Amount of Money Enclosed

Teachers will send sealed envelopes to the cafeteria for processing.

If you would like to take advantage of the option to prepay your student’s meal accounts online, please visit https://www.k12paymentcenter.com/. If you need assistance, please contact Sue Hamm at 706-367-2546 or shamm@jeffcityschools.org

JCS Director of Nutrition - Sue Hamm - shamm@jeffcityschools.org

Meals should be paid for in advance or paid daily. Checks and cash are accepted at each school or you may pay online with a credit card. If you would like to prepay your student’s meal account online, please visit Lunch PrePay. To register, you will need your child’s district student number. You can find this number by logging into the Parent Portal. Your student’s district ID is located next to their picture on the homepage. Once you have created an account on Lunch Prepay, you can make payments, view balances, view meal histories, and receive low balance notifications. There is a $1.95 transaction fee. However, you can make payments and apply it to multiple lunch accounts under one transaction.

Applications for free or reduced meals are accepted all year long. A new application needs to be filled out each school year. Only one application needs to be filled out for each family. You can mail these forms into central office or have your student turn them into the cafeteria staff at their school.

English Free and Reduced Lunch Form Spanish Free and Reduced Lunch Form

Jefferson City Nutritional Services

Jefferson City Schools Food Service Department is committed to providing each student with a healthy, affordable, and safe meal that is served by caring individuals so students are ready to learn when they get to the classroom. School breakfast and lunch are planned and prepared according to standards that meet the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans in a safe and sanitary environment. The cafeterias serve as learning centers where students can acquire the knowledge to develop lifelong healthy eating habits

USDA’s federal nutrition regulations for school meals ensure that all meals offered are well-balanced and provide students the fuel they need. Recent changes to the meal pattern regulations include an increase in fruits and vegetables (each student must select at least one serving), a greater variety of vegetables to include dark green and red/orange vegetables and legumes, an increase in the availability of whole grain products, and a more age-appropriate caloric limit. Please visit each schools website to see the lunch menu.

Jefferson City Schools recognizes that student wellness and proper nutrition are related to students' well-being, growth, development, and readiness to learn. Please click on the link below to access the districts wellness policy. If you have any comments, suggestions, or a desire to be involved in the implementation of this policy, please contact Sue Hamm at 706-367-2546.

We look forward to dining with your children in our cafeterias.

The cafeteria parking lot will be limited to staff parking, bus arrival and dismissal, and supported drop-off (students who need extra assistance). If you have a student who needs extra assistance at drop-off (student with crutches, wheel chair, etc), you must obtain a special car tag from the front office. Reducing the traffic flow in this area will serve to ensure safety, as well as improve the traffic flow from school to school.

Morning Drop-Off Procedures:

The school day begins at 7:35 am. Please enter the JES car drop-off line from Old Pendergrass Road onto Horace Jackson Road (across from the Jefferson Academy and Jefferson Middle School). Prior to 7:15 am, please move into the right lane. This will allow staff and faculty to use the left lane to enter the campus in a timely fashion.

Due to the steady traffic flow on your left, please plan for your child to exit the car on the side nearest the building. We ask that you NOT park and walk your child to the building.

 Students arriving between 6:45 - 7:20 should be dropped off in front of the building. As soon as personnel come from the building to open car doors, your child may enter the Media Center. Staff will monitor the students and escort anyone eating breakfast to the cafeteria. All students will be                   dismissed to class at 7:20.

Students arriving after 7:20 should be dropped off in front of the building and report directly to the classroom.  Personnel unloading cars will accept snacks upon drop-off. Please mark them with the teacher’s name. They will be delivered to the classroom prior to 9:00 a.m.

NOTE: The above process is one area in which we request your full cooperation. Please do not allow your child to exit your car from Old Pendergrass, Hoschton Street, the front lawn, or the old Jefferson Public Library. It is much safer for students to exit cars in front of the building where supervision is provided. Otherwise, the safety of all is jeopardized, and the flow of traffic is disrupted. Drop off in the cafeteria area or in the loop beside the gym is not an option for parents. 

Dismissal Procedures:

The school day ends at 2:25 pm.

The traffic pattern for afternoon pick-up will be restricted to Horace Jackson Road (located directly behind Jefferson Elementary School across from the entrance to Jefferson Academy and Jefferson Middle School). In support of an efficient and safe dismissal process, we ask all parents to use the drive around pick-up procedure. 

Unless students are enrolled in the afternoon PLUS program, students must be picked up promptly at the end of each school day.

 Please clip the pick-up card to the passenger visor. Keep the visor down until your child is loaded each day. In support of efficiency, personnel in charge will focus on the card rather than the car. In the event that you forget your card, parents are expected to park and come in to the building to check out their child. Please present your picture ID. Always maintain these cards in a safe and secure manner as the person presenting the card will      be allowed to pick up your child in the car line.

WALK UP PICK UP: Walk up pick up is reserved for those families who live in such close proximity to the school that it is possible for them to walk to the school to pick up their child. Please bring your car tag as identification and use the sign out sheet provided. Walk up students will be brought to their parents at 2:45 in the area in front of the cafeteria. This allows us time to safely complete bus dismissal and begin the car rider process.

Parent Change in Student Transportation:

Please note that Jefferson Elementary School personnel will not deviate from a student’s routine dismissal plan without official notification from the parent or guardian. Official notification is two-fold. Written notification in the student agenda will give direction to the teacher. Notification on a separate full sheet of paper will be sent to the office to give direction to supporting personnel in charge of dismissal. 

The sheet should include:

1. the name of the student
2. the name of the teacher and grade level
3. specifics relative to the change (to include the duration of the change). Only in the case of a rare emergency should changes be made via telephone. Please understand that late notification of a transportation change could result in a breakdown of communication. In such case, the safety of your child could be jeopardized. Thus, any emergency change in transportation must be made prior to 1:00 p.m.