7 things to know about 'please bring a plate'

7 Things to know about 'please bring a plate'

It had been a quiet couple of days with the school diary, particularly as it was the third week back of the last term, which can often be a ‘busy note’ time. There were no random pieces of paper scrumpled up and no emails had come through.

There I was, the day before my scheduled colonoscopy, looking through my school kid’s diary, which is an A4 envelope looking bag, when I saw an edge of something between the maths homework book and the spelling homework book.

I pulled at the paper and out it came – a wonderful note from the drama teacher inviting school moms, school dads and everyone else know about a forthcoming show she was organising for the class.

I read it with real delight as it was easy to read and in big font. There were clearly outlined times of when we had to be there with just the right amount of text. It was a 9.30am show followed by tea and coffee until 10.30am. How lovely I thought. A morning tea put on for the parents – how totally lovely not to have to do anything for it.

This was a first, and it was my sixth year as a school mum. Plus it wasn’t for three weeks which meant that I had received it in time to plan for it.

I placed it onto the fridge under a holiday magnet - the sort that has the mini barometer that is too small to read but makes you feel good anyway! The next day was the colonoscopy so needless to say I had other things on my mind.

It wasn’t until the day after my procedure, while I was making school lunches, that I looked again at the pale green piece of paper stuck on the fridge. It reminded me to remind school dad again to book it in his diary for 9.30am. This meant that to have that time off work, he would need to start work much earlier that morning. I had mentioned it to him earlier but you knew that it had not sunk in.

"Ahh" I said to school dad. “This teacher is amazing. I love how she has sent us this piece of paper with all of details. It’s easy to read, we have time to plan it, and the most amazing part – she is organising the costumes. How incredible is she?”

School dad listened and didn’t say anything as I knew he couldn’t really see what the big fuss about the fact that she was organising the costumes. Seriously!

I was so thrilled by this piece of paper but so surprised that school dad couldn’t see how amazing this paper. I took the note off the fridge to show school dad. “Look see what I mean, and look she has even written something on the back." This was the bit I had not read fully. And so now I did.

“Look it says when we need to be there. It’s like a written version of the dot points on the other side and..." And then I stopped as I read a line I had sooooo missed earlier. It was highlighted in bold half way down the letter.

It turned out that I had quickly looked at the letter, turned it over and then focused on the dot point summary which had the essential information I wanted – dates, times, and costumes organised by the teacher. That had been enough for me.

My reading out aloud to school dad came to a grinding quiet. My school kid had come out of the bathroom from cleaning her teeth. I had kept reading to myself in silence as I fully digested and grappled with what I read… “it would be greatly appreciated if your daughter could bring a plate of food.”

Ohhhhhh I love this teacher dearly but why the plate of food, anything but that.

Before my exhausted eyes flashed the Year 1 memory of what it took to take a plate of food for a school play, and the uproar of so much gluten amongst school moms.

But for me the most burning question of all – what on earth do I take this time?

And here’s the thing… when it says bring a plate – there is so much to it.

Here are 7 things to know about 'please bring a plate'

1 First of all there is the actual plate – what do you put the food on?

What do you carry it in – it is throw away or is it plastic? Is it a plate that will need washing? Is it a plate that you need to have returned home, do you need to put your name on it? The school is now fully recyclable and I know that the plastic plates in my cupboard may not have the correct recycling number on it as I bought them discounted at a discount shop.

2 If it is a plate, who carries it to school?

Is it your school kids? Are they able to carry a ‘plate of something’ while navigating stairs and carrying a backpack that weighs a small tonne, and possibly juggling carrying a musical instrument at the same time.

3 There is the health concern

Will there be a fridge? Usually there isn’t, so it needs to be food that can withstand being left out in the air, sitting in a possibly warm corner of a classroom for up to 3 hours before it is actually eaten.

4 And there are the multitude of eating intolerances

Nuts, gluten and fodmop are some of the intolerance. And now there are the teeth of school kids to consider – expanders and braces - which means some school kids can eat some things and some cannot.

5 School guidelines for food are part of the mix too – some have them, some don’t.

Some ask for healthy, some ask for sealed only packets and some say whatever you want.

6 The most important issue of all – you want to take something that will be eaten.

This is the quintessential dilemma of every school mom – the desire to take something healthy but filled with the bigger desire that you want your plate to be delicious and eaten, and not left filled with no-one going near it as it looks too healthy. How can a plate of fruit compete with a plate of cupcakes?

7 Finally there is the actual time of school mom it takes to make – who has time to organise ‘a plate?’

I said to school dad "Are school dads asked to take a plate?" As I read this part out aloud, I made a joke and said to him “So what plate are you taking?” He looked at me blankly. He thought I could be serious – and I was! "Do you need to bake something? Do you need to buy something? What though? It’s for 10am." He kept looking at me blankly!

While I processed all of these dot points in my head about 'bringing a plate', I continued to make school lunches. I thought wouldn't it be wonderful if I could give the teacher $5. I am sure all of the other school moms would feel the same and the school canteen could bake muffins.

Then your school brain got really carried away and you started thinking 'what if we didn’t even have to pay and the school canteen supplied mini muffins for the school moms and dads – almost like a donation!

Back to reality you came… “Darling I think it’s easier if Mama keeps it simple and you can take a bag of popcorn.” “NOOO I don’t eat popcorn” says school kid. Of course she couldn't as she had an expander and was not allowed popcorn which I had forgotten. “I want crisps” “No” you say, “Darling that’s a party food, this is a morning tea.” “It’s a type of party” says your school kid. You hear yourself say “we’ll have to think about this.”

And onto my shoulders it was added - as well as onto my list of things to do.

Did school dad put it onto his list of things to do? I don’t think so – he doesn’t even have a list!

Ps What did I end up taking? For the first time ever I took a store-bought packet of biscuits, in fact I took two!