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In This Issue

• The Colombia Daily Spectador Front Page
• Spec: Cabinet Secretaries Disappointed With Their Careers
• Spec: Hugs for the Homeless Hopes To Be A Success
• Spec: Unrecommended Student Requests Letters of Recommendation
• Grilled Cheese Honored
• Elliot Spitzer = Sex Machine
• Here's a Fairy Tale That Cracks Us Up
• The Colombia Spec Op-Ed Section
• Spec Op-Ed: Juicy Campus is seriously the Best Thing Ev-ar!
• Spec Op-Ed: I Don't Care About Manhattanville
• Spec Op-Ed: Staff Editorial -- We Have Opinions
• Spec Op-Ed: Letters to the Editor
• They Watch
• The Staff of 23.6

Rachel Freeman

P.S. 165 Robert E. Simon Elementary School, a member of the Teachers College Professional Development School Partnership Program (PDS), participated in the city-wide celebration of National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month when its cafeteria served grilled cheese sandwiches during lunch period last Thursday.

The New York City Department of Education, through its Office of School Food, provided P.S. 165, along with its 628 other public elementary schools, with the necessary products and equipment needed for its cafeteria staff to prepare and serve the sandwich whose origins derive from Ancient Rome.

Students were free to choose among three diff erent types of grilled cheese sandwich: "Fresh Tomato & Mozzarella," "Roast Turkey & American," or "Ham & American." In accordance with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's first-term mandate to improve school nutrition, all sandwiches were made with toasted sliced whole wheat bread and served with a side of broccoli spears. Assorted fresh and canned fruits and assorted milks, normally provided during lunch periods, were also available.

Students who did not observe National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month for religious or other reasons were served a "Taco Pocket Sandwich."

As of press time, it is unknown if The School at Columbia University, a prestigious private K-8 school operated by Columbia, recognized National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month.

About 600 students, from Pre-Kindergarten to 5th Grade, attend P.S. 165, located on 234 West 109th Street. An average of 510 students purchase lunch from the cafeteria during its five lunch periods.

The Professional Development School Partnership (PDS) is a collaboration among Columbia University Teachers College, the New York City Department of Education, and the United Federation of Teachers. One of the goals of the PDS is to "reinvent the traditional school-university relationship in order to enhance the professional development of future teachers, experienced teachers and college faculty working in urban schools."

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month is a relatively new holiday that has recently gained popularity amongst calendar publishers and newspaper columnists. The festival is believed to have been started by Ira Freehof, owner of the Comfort Diner near Madison Square Park, in February 2001.