Upper School Students Launch Device-Free Lunch to Boost Well-Being and Community

The Upper School students' digital leadership group is helping shape St. Margaret’s evolving digital culture as part of a new initiative encouraging a healthier balance between technology use, well-being, and in-person connection. 

The Upper School students' digital leadership group invited students to weigh in on concerns surrounding phones, and tech-life balance which stirred conversations that helped launch a device-free lunch program last week.

The initiative asks students to turn in their phones by 12:30 p.m. in exchange for a device-free meal period focused on real-world community building. Students pick up their phones at 1:00 p.m., with a small treat offered as a thank-you for participating. The program also ties into St. Margaret’s House League with the house with the most phones turned in winning a point.

There were 206 phones turned in, with York House taking top honors in the friendly competition. Beyond the numbers, the Upper School digital leadership group says the qualitative feedback has been the most inspiring. Many students who chose not to check in their phones still spent lunch engaging with peers rather than using their devices. Others, when retrieving their phones, offered spontaneous words of appreciation.

“Thank you for doing this,” several students said, describing feelings of “lightness” and unexpected happiness after spending a midday break fully present with friends.