Third & Fourth Grades

Fifth & Sixth Grades

Seventh & Eighth Grades

Student Support Services

Nurse

Specials

Meal Program

Co-Curriculars

Meal program

Nourishing Bodies, Nourishing Minds

Access to a healthy breakfast, lunch and snack each day helps ensure our students have the energy they need to fuel their learning.

Breakfast Kick Starts the Academic Day

Students begin arriving at CJA at 7:30 AM each day. After they check in for the day in our atrium, they head to the cafeteria where they join grade-level tables for quiet study or reading and a pre-plated, healthy breakfast. Students are free to eat and chat with their classmates for 20 minutes. Then students have time wrap up their study and reading time before dismissing to their classrooms at 7:50 AM.

Lunch Fuels Camaraderie

During lunch, our students sit at mixed grade-level tables so they can get to know their larger CJA community. Lunch is served family style, with 8th Graders acting as table captains and overseeing the serving of food and cleanup after the meal.

Our 3rd and 4th graders eat pre-plated meals, as things can get a bit messy otherwise!

Nutritious Snacks Keep Students Going

Nutritious snacks are served any day that students remain at school beyond 3:00 PM. For the 2023-2024 school year that is every day except Friday. Examples of snacks served include: cheese and crackers, orange slices and a muffin, or apple slices and pretzels. As with breakfast and lunch, all snacks are nut free.

Our Partnership with Gourmet Gorilla

Through our partnership with Gourmet Gorilla, our students receive two full meals and a snack each day. During a typical school year, Gourmet Gorilla cooks breakfast and lunch from scratch and strives to obtain 70% of its ingredients from local, sustainable and organic sources. They also work with dietitians and nutritionists when creating meals for students they serve.

Monthly Menus

Frequently Asked Questions

If your student has food allergies or intolerances, please contact the school nurse, Pamela Kiefer, at [email protected] or (773) 783-0513.  CJA is a NUT-AWARE school.  We do not allow any outside food to be brought in for meals.  The meals served at CJA do not contain peanuts, tree nuts, or shellfish.

No outside food is allowed at CJA due to food allergies and sensitivities that many students have.  A healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack is provided daily.  If your child has food allergies or intolerances, please contact Pamela Kiefer, CJA’s school nurse at [email protected] or (773) 783-0513.

CJA is partnered with Blessings in a Backpack.  Each Friday, students receive healthy, shelf-stable food to take home and enjoy over the weekend.  Families also receive “The Wednesday Weekly” newsletter via email.  It contains information and links for many community resources.