DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706130205

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 14   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

GOOD MANNERS EARNS STUDENTS LINEN-SERVICE LUNCH

``Pass me the butter, please.''

The butter is passed.

``Thank you.''

That kind of politeness netted Claudia Butler the Silver Spoon Award - a fancy meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, string beans, iced tea, dessert, rolls and that butter.

The luncheon is served on fancy plates, on a tablecloth, with nice silverware and - get this - waitresses.

This is a school lunch? It is if you have been extra good, for six weeks, whilst dining in the Kilby Shores Elementary School lunch room.

The Silver Spoon Award competition operates on a point system. Classes adhering most closely to a set of eight rules get what principal, Sunny Dixon, aptly calls an Elegant Lunch.

And the rules are: Walk at all times, hands and feet to yourself, keep your place in line, go through the serving line one time, remain seated until given permission, talk quietly, always practice good table manners, leave the table clean for others.

That sounds like a list of things children should be learning at home. At Kilby Shores they are learning it at school.

``Learning good table manners carries you a long way,'' Dixon told the children.

``This program rewards children for doing something good,'' said Carol Harry, Employee Relations Associate for Lipton Tea, the school's business partner. ``Often, we criticize, criticize, criticize, so something like this is good.''

Her company added to the ``good'' by handing out discount coupons and pencils. The school adds to all those good feelings by handing out certificates of recognition.

Best of all, is the Elegant Lunch.

``When we started this, at the beginning of the school year, I thought we'd have one class every six weeks,'' Dixon said, ``but we wind up with about five. It gets to be fiercely competitive.''

It means extra work for the cafeteria workers who have to cook two meals a day over a three day period.

``Our cafeteria workers are the best in town,'' said Assistant Principal Constance E. Jones. ``They don't mind. The average cafeteria worker doesn't even want to cook one meal at the end of the school year.''

Doris Eure, the cafeteria manager, added, ``We don't mind the extra cooking at all. We love it.''

So do the children.

``This is better than cafeteria food,'' said Jennifer Jones. ``The fried chicken is better than McDonald's.''

Melissa Wilson feels otherwise, ``It's not better than McDonald's, but it's better than Hardee's.''

It is fancier than either place.

The tables are set up on the stage.

``The plates are wonderful, and we get silverware instead of plastic forks. And we have knives and wonderful flowers on the table,'' Melissa gushed.''

The meal starts with a blessing. Jones first asks if there anyone who preferred not joining in. One hand was raised, nothing was said, no one looked askance.

Then, came the meal, which lasts a little longer than the usual cafeteria lunch time.

``I'm impressed by this, but not surprised,'' said School Board member, Fran Alwood. ``Sunny Dixon is always doing something innovative.''

Melissa summed up the fancy noon meal: ``The tea is good, the food is great.''

On May 28, Glenda Brooks' 3rd grade class and Sadie Faulks' 5th grade class both enjoyed an Elegant Lunch for the third time this year. Earlier winners were the 2nd grade classes of Doris Rawls and Davis Parker and the 5th grade class of Debbie Shepheard. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS

Robbie Bradshaw relishes his Silver Spoon Award luncheon at Kilby

Shores Elementary.

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