General Lunch Notes

A Parent's Guide to Cost and Menus

Classrooms eat lunch together in the cafeteria on a schedule that varies somewhat with each "track-in". That means that when your child moves to a new classroom after a "track out," he or she may have a new lunchtime! Refer to the website or the teacher's newsletter for schedules.

Students may bring their lunch from home or buy it at school. Students who bring lunch from home may buy milk at school. Menus are updated regularly on the Wake County school site. A printed copy of the planned monthly menus is sent home with students at the beginning of the month and is a link is available from www.wlepta.org.

If your child will buy breakfast, lunch or snacks (including milk) at school, we recommend that you pre-pay for meals and use them as needed, but this is not required. Children who pre-pay are assigned a lunch (meal) number that they use to purchase lunch, breakfast, milk or snacks. Please help your child memorize this number.

There is no problem with a mixture of pre-pays and home-packed meals. The cafeteria staff stamps a reminder on your child's hand on the day that he/she uses the last money in the lunch or breakfast account. Please send in payment the next day that your child plans to buy breakfast, lunch or a snack (including milk) at the school.

To pre-pay meals, send in a check made out to West Lake Elementary (WLE), and note your child's name and lunch number on the check. Your child will give the check to the cafeteria staff. No specific amount of pre-purchase is required, but please note how the money should be divided in the account: options include lunch, breakfast and open (milk, snacks/general). Students cannot purchase snacks such as cakes, cookies or other treats unless there is money in their "open" account. Students may not ask the cafeteria to move money between accounts, but parents can request that the money be moved. The cafeteria will not refund account balances but will transfer money if your student moves to another Wake County School. Returning students may leave money on account for the following year.

Students who forget lunch money may borrow from the office with the expectation that the money will be repaid to the office the next day.

Students enjoy eating lunch with their parents (or other guests). Visitors must sign in at the front office, and may then join the child for lunch or for Lunch Bunch. Please send a note to your child's teacher if you plan to come in for lunch or Lunch Bunch. Guests can purchase meals.