From Garden to Table

Cristian Pintovidal, STJ Commons Dining Coordinator, harvesting herbs from the community garden with our Kindergarten students.

Fresh, fragrant herbs can really elevate a meal. It is a special privilege to have on-campus grown produce at Saint James School. For the first time this year, students were able to see (and taste!) their hard work!

Earlier this fall, Kindergarten students planted 50 herbs, including basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, and rosemary in a special “Kinder-garden” bed within our school garden. Each kindergarten class took part in digging holes in the soil and planting all of the herbs.

Cristian Pintovidal and Travis Humphrey from the STJ Commons taught our Kindergarten students about harvesting fresh herbs.

After about seven weeks since the initial planting, the Kindergarten classes joined the school’s FLIK dining coordinators in the garden to harvest their herbs. The FLIK team was able to make a special connection between planting, growing, and harvesting plants. The FLIK team then prepared a delicious fresh basil and tomato salad with herbs harvested by our students as part of that day’s lunch selection. This project has truly been a joy! Memories have been made along with deep, hands-on learning connections that we can enjoy! #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

At the Table

written by Anna Dickey, class of 2023

No day at Saint James School is ever really the same, but one variable still manages to remain constant: lunch. Each day at around 12:55 PM all the high school students flock to The Commons for a reprieve from classes and a chance to grab some food and talk with friends. This day-to-day assembly hundreds of hungry teenagers is where the beating heart of the high school can really be felt. There are dozens of tables positioned all around the Commons, and at each one there is a unique environment made up of all different types of people who participate in widely varying activities around the school. Personally, lunch is one of my favorite parts of each day for this exact reason. During lunch I get to see many friends who I don’t have any classes with, who I don’t see after school, and who I wouldn’t otherwise see if we didn’t meet for lunch each day. It can be hard to find time to meet with friends who participate in different activities and have different interests than I do, but lunch in the Commons always provides the perfect opportunity. The table I sit at everyday with five of my friends is a great example of this. We each take part in a wide range of varying hobbies and extracurriculars here at school. I myself participate in speech and debate, performing arts, choir, and youth in government. Like me, Lizzy Dickens participates in performing arts and choir, and Brooke Bender partakes in youth and government. But while some people at my table participate in the same activities as me, others do completely different ones. For example, Kaelyn Morgan is a sports superstar, playing on both the school’s soccer and basketball teams, while also representing the school in marching band. Then there are Selina Sun and Kelsey Shaffer, who, while both representing the school in math competitions and excelling in their academics, pursue the artistic ventures of music and visual arts, respectively. A day at our lunch table typically consists of hearing about Kaelyn’s grueling practice last week, cramming for tests with Kelsey’s help, Brooke hilariously rating the daily soup, Selina disagreeing with everything she says, and hearing Lizzy sing every type of song you can imagine under her breath. Some could describe our table as chaotic because of all the different things happening at once, but I like to think of it as a beautiful harmony. We may not all sing the same note or participate in all the same activities, but when we come together, we create a breathtaking melody. Due to COVID-19, last year that melody was stifled, but this year, with The Commons open to students again, the sound of people coming together can be heard all around campus. And during those precious forty-three minutes between 12:55 and 1:38 PM, there is no place I would rather be than at the table. 

The STJ Commons: Lunch Reimagined

The sound of silverware clinking and excited chatter fills the over 14,000 square feet of the reopened STJ Commons. Due to the pandemic, we made the difficult decision to serve to-go only lunches during the entire 2020-21 academic year. We were thankful to have provided nutritious lunches to our students, but the dining experience was limited to eating in classrooms or outdoors. This year, with increased safety measures, we reopened the Commons for in-person dining. Students are able to socialize with friends and classmates while utilizing the dozens of options at lunch each day. Favorites like the salad bar, soup and sandwich station, and grab-and-go healthy snack station are now available to our students and employees. The dining choices have also expanded to include a daily international food station in addition to the existing brick oven selections (like hot sandwiches, pizza, calzones, and baked pastas) as well as the fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein offerings our STJ family knows and loves.

“We are teaching the kids to make good choices,” says Cristian Pintovidal, Director of Dining Services. “Students will have to make choices all of their lives. In college they will have even more choices to make, so empowering them with good decision making skills now will help them in the future.” Mr. Pintovidal is passionate about food, but what you will notice upon meeting him is his love for people. “Of course we make good food that tastes good and what people like to eat,” he says, “but the table is where we share about ourselves and make connections with others. That is what I see in this space every day.”

#WeAreSaintJamesSchool

We will continue to use the Commons as our dining facility, but the space also serves as the elementary school stage and performing arts area. It is also used as a gathering place for school assemblies, awards presentations, and faculty meetings. Later this fall, we are excited to collaborate with the STJ Community Garden to incorporate student-grown produce and herbs into our cuisine. The Commons is truly the heart of campus and we are thankful that it has helped bring our school family together.

“I enjoy creating new menus and food selections that make people excited to try new things. My goal for this year is to provide excellent customer service which creates great memories for all the students. ”

— Cristian Pintovidal, Director of Dining Services