LEWISTON — Talk about an early lunch.

The first lunch period at Lewiston High School on Wednesday was 8:53 a.m., the second started at 9:21 a.m., the third at 9:49 a.m., and the fourth at 10:17 a.m.

Principal Shawn Chabot said it was because classes were released two hours early, at noon. The school has about 1,450 students and four lunch periods, each feeding about 350 students.

Lunch was served extra early to accommodate students who take courses at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center, a job skills school that accommodates students from six area high schools. LRTC holds classes in the morning.

While the high school day was shortened, the LRTC schedule could not be altered. Lunch was served early so that Lewiston students could attend their LRTC classes and still eat, then attend Period 4, before being dismissed at noon.

“It’s complicated when you run a school as big as this,” Chabot said. He recognized that lunch before 9 a.m. is early.

“But the kids seemed fine with it,” Chabot said. They weren’t hesitating to chow down at 9 and 10 a.m. “A lot probably went home and ate lunch again.”

In the remaining seven early-release Wednesdays of the school year, Chabot said four more would have the extra-early lunches, the others would have lunch before dismissal.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Bill Webster reported that the first day of early release went well.

One concern was that parents may forget to be at the bus stop two hours early to meet their little ones. If that happened, bus drivers were instructed to return the student back to school so a parent or guardian could be called.

Webster reported he only knew of one “return” late Wednesday.

Webster said he is pleased with the support from parents, “as was every school secretary I spoke to.”