- by Hayley Blundell, Grade 5/6 Teacher, Alexandra Community School

Two years of COVID related school closures and cancelled holiday events were distant memories as staff and students at Alexandra School came together to enjoy a delicious turkey lunch on Friday afternoon.

Thanks to the impressive efforts of the Alexandra Parent Council, all 326 students and 36 staff members sat down together for a home cooked meal.

With the significant growth in student enrollment during the last 5 years, two sittings were needed to accommodate the entire student body.

The atmosphere was joyful and light-hearted, with students and staffed dressed in their best holiday attire as the aroma of turkey drifted throughout the school. 

Grade 7 and 8 students matched themselves up with kindergarten students to help them make their way through the assembly line of food. The children were greeted and served by several community members, parents and well-loved staff who have since retired from teaching at the school.  

The astonishing list of groceries needed to cook this large-scale meal included 13 turkeys, 100 pounds of potatoes, 70 pounds of carrots, 14 kilograms of corn, 54 boxes of stuffing, 9 tubs of margarine and 400 cookies.

A group of dedicated Parent Council members spent two days cooking, preparing, serving and cleaning up after pulling off a dinner for almost 400 people. 

The event was deemed a huge success and the parent council is already making plans for next year’s dinner. Alexandra’s motto is “Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle” and that comradery and sense of community was very much evident through the day.