Quotidian 1 (December 2009)Linda Duits: Between skipping rope and Eid ul-Fitr: Everyday youth culture in 8th form
Routines and rituals

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Lunchtime

In the Netherlands, most primary schools close for lunch. For children who cannot go home, schools arrange a special lunch programme, known as overblijven (stay on). This programme, carried out by volunteers, exists outside school regulation but nevertheless takes place at school.[8] At the Gunningschool, only two or three 8th form pupils stayed on. Most mothers (and some fathers) stayed at home and had lunch with their children, other pupils spent lunch by themselves. At the Kantlijn, the majority of pupils stayed on at school during lunch. When school ended at twelve, Luck left the pupils in the care of two, semi-permanent overblijfkrachten (stay-on workers). The pupils had their brought in lunch, after which the group went outside. At the renovated school, the pupils used the school’s playground during lunch. In the temporary building, the junior pupils used the schoolyard, and years 7 and 8 usually went to a nearby public playground with a street-football field and playground equipment. During the walk over there, the girls usually hopped, singing either a pop song or a nursery rhyme. Often some pupils refused to go outside, wanting to stay in the classroom to listen to music or hang out. Playing sometimes got out of hand and accidents happened, for instance, one girl broke her arm when she was pushed off the merry-go-round.