WILLMAR -- The hosts and waiters waited anxiously for their guests.
One after another, they arrived at what would ordinarily be a classroom to see the tablecloths, Thanksgiving centerpieces and carefully folded napkins.
Cassie Stillo was a little worried as she waited at the door, but then she saw her dad. David Stillo said he had lost track of time while working on his computer but would not have missed his daughter's Thanksgiving luncheon.
Tuesday marked the ninth time the special needs students at Willmar Junior High have hosted the luncheon for their parents.
While soft music played in the background, students sat next to their guests as classmates waited on them, serving a lunch of roast turkey sandwiches, chips, pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting and a choice of hot apple cider, apple juice or coffee.
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The lunch was a surprise to some of the parents, because their children had kept their plans a secret. "She just told me it was a lunch at school, that she'd like me to come eat with her," said Lori Garberding, mother of seventh-grader Tiffany.
More than two weeks of planning went into the luncheon, said teacher Vicki Henle. The students discussed what they wanted to serve and made a grocery list.
Tiffany Garberding was in charge of calling businesses to ask for donations. Jennie-O Turkey Store came through with a rotisserie turkey breast. Old Home Bakery donated buns.
Students shopped for everything else they needed at a grocery store. They even checked sale fliers to get the best deal they could.
The students made menus and printed invitations for their guests -- usually a parent or a favorite teacher -- and they made place cards for the tables.
Each of them had a job. Some were waiters, others were hosts or cleared tables. With those jobs came discussions about manners and how to act while at work.
The luncheon is a special event for the students each year, Henle said, but it's also a good hands-on learning experience.
The students used their math skills to determine how many people they would be feeding and how much food they would need.
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Henle said she calls it "green sheet math" after the weekly circulars at Cash Wise Foods, which is across Willmar Avenue from the Junior High. She frequently uses them to make math exercises more relevant to real life, she said.
The students had a $25 budget for groceries and supplies, she said, and she was pleased with how well they stuck to it. Their final bill was $25.36.
"We have to take their academics and make it practical," she said.
Teacher Linda Olsen said writing invitations and menus, as well as many of the other activities, fit into the students' reading program, too. They'll continue that today when they evaluate how their luncheon went and write thank-you notes.
Everyone had a chance to be a guest in the tiny restaurant, and everyone had a chance to serve. While the seventh-graders ate with their guests, the eighth-graders waited on them and cleared tables. They switched roles for a second luncheon for the eighth-graders and their guests.
Teachers and students followed food safety guidelines, including regularly checking the temperature of the turkey and serving food wearing plastic gloves.
"I double checked the food safety rules," in light of the contagious virus that spread through a Willmar elementary school last week, Henle said. School and health officials told her to use the usual precautions and to go ahead with the luncheon, she said.
Eighth-grader Cody Somerville said he enjoyed waiting on the guests and he didn't think it was too hard.
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"In real life, it would be hard, because there would be so many people," he said. "I think I would like to do it in real life."
Teachers and paraprofessionals who work with the students were also guests at the luncheon. They helped make the "work" experience more authentic for the students by causing just a bit of trouble. They asked for extra food or complained about their cider, and some asked to see a manager.
Henle sat down for a turkey sandwich of her own as the second wave of guests was served. She was proud of the students and how well their luncheon had gone, she said.
"Some kids couldn't have done this a year ago because of their behavior," she said. "They've worked up to it."
