SIMI VALLEY : A Lesson in Manners Proves Easy to Digest

Jessica Nguyen cleared away her guest’s plate at an early Thanksgiving meal at Katherine Elementary School in Simi Valley on Wednesday. It seemed a remarkable gesture in itself for a 9-year-old.

Then she shook hands with Brent Bailey, the adult she invited to the lunch, and finished the afternoon by politely responding, “It was nice to meet you too.”

Bailey, who runs a printing press for the school district, called Jessica “a great hostess.” Jessica had never spoken with Bailey before.

“I didn’t know him, but I became friends with him,” she said.

Nguyen’s polite style was not an oddity at the eighth annual holiday feast put on by Joan Breggins’ fourth-grade class. Learning the formalities of hosting a guest was the lesson of the day.

“I told them your guest cannot sit alone or talk with another adult,” Breggins said. “You must entertain your guest.”

The students served up turkey and the trimmings for a few dozen school employees and parents invited to join in the fun. The guests included Ventura County schools Supt. Charles Weis.

Colleen D’Agostino, 9, extended an invitation to Weis and two others at the suggestion of her teacher. She had much to remember about how to behave, Colleen said.

“We had to serve our guest and be nice to them, and not put our elbows on the table,” Colleen said.

Colleen’s mom, Terri D’Agostino, helped with other parents and some of the children to prepare the food. She smiled at her daughter’s recollection of the important points of etiquette.

“It’s a good social learning situation,” D’Agostino said.