Thankful Friday at Incarnate Word Academy

One of the most anticipated traditions of IWA is the Thanksgiving Luncheon hosted by the Mothers' Club. This is a celebration of being united and sharing a meal with the whole IWA community before the week-long Thanksgiving Break.

While our school community is close-knit, the only times the entire school is all together in one place are at Annunciation Catholic Church for Mass and special all-school assemblies. That's one reason the Thanksgiving Luncheon is a fan favorite; it's another opportunity to gather everyone together. Unity has such a big role at the 609, and events like this one allow us to connect with community. That's an exciting and major part of IWA.   

The preparation for this event takes a great deal of time and effort. There are multiple things to incorporate and take into account such as having enough food, scheduling, and who is serving. Since the whole event is organized and carried out by the Mothers' Club, they are the ones who are at the school before the students to collect the food brought by other volunteers. They are the ones who are serving. And they are the ones cleaning up after the luncheon.

The Mothers' Club asks parents to donate a Thanksgiving dish that will be served at this lunch, which makes the event one big potluck. This year’s hard work paid off because the setup was perfect, the food was amazing, and everyone enjoyed themselves. The volunteers paid very close attention to detail in the décor, the serving size, and they even acted like waiters when serving drinks. As part of tradition, seniors got the long tables and got served first.  

On usual school days, the lunch periods are split, with juniors and seniors at the first lunch period, and freshmen and sophomores at the second one. This means juniors and seniors do not see the underclassmen for lunch. It also means underclassmen eat later. As a freshman, I remember counting minutes until lunch because it was so late in the day that grumbling stomachs were the only thing heard in quiet classrooms. Being able to have everyone together at the same time at our Thanksgiving Luncheon allows our classes to mingle and get to know more about each other. And our teachers and IWA staff members join the students at the tables, so it's fun to learn new things about them outside the classroom.  

Another thing that made this year's luncheon so special is the fact that it has not been done since 2019 because of the pandemic. Having the chance to have this luncheon with the whole school community was a true joy and prize for everyone. Because of the successful luncheon, there were no more stomachs grumbling after Nov. 19.