It has been proven that kids focus better when they have food in their stomachs. At McAuliffe, the students are allowed to eat a snack in 7/8 period but they still have to do their work and most kids either don’t have time to eat their snack because they are doing work, or don’t do work because they are eating a snack. So, we believe that there should be a designated break for snack time. 

      In 6th grade, we eat lunch and have recess at 11:00 am, and finish 25 minutes later at 11:25. That is the last time we get to eat until 2:45, which is the start of period 7/8. We still do not have a notable time to eat our snacks. 

      While interviewing a few classmates we learned that most students get very hungry during the gap between lunch and snack and they feel like “an outside snack break could be very beneficial.” We agree for many reasons. An outside break will gather students’ focus for the last few periods and also the snack will help them focus on school work and not their stomach. 

      Studies show that students are easily distracted, but regular short breaks can help them focus, increase their productivity, and reduce their stress. Regular breaks throughout the school day—from short brain breaks in the classroom to the longer break of recess—are not simply downtime for students. They are educational tools to help students learn.