Students at an elementary school in Waterloo, Que., have to eat in silence for the first 15 minutes of their lunch hour. (École Notre-Dame) Parents at an elementary school in Quebec's Eastern Townships are upset about a new rule that forbids students from talking during part of the lunch hour.

Since the start of the school year, the 150 students at École Notre-Dame in Waterloo, Que., have been eating their lunches in silence in the school gymnasium.

For 15 minutes, the only sound permitted, besides the sound of chewing, is the relaxing music played through the school's sound system.

When the 15 minutes are over, the students are allowed to go outside, where they can stretch their vocal cords as they please.

Parents complain the new rule is heavy-handed, and they have started a petition calling on the school to let their children speak while they eat.

"When the students eat, they don't have the right to talk," said Louise Gagnon, the mother of a seven-year-old student.

She said her son's behaviour has deteriorated since the new rule came into effect.

"When he returned to school, he became hyperactive," Gagnon said. "He would jump on the couch — like a little monster, you might say."

The Val-des-Cerfs School Commission said the policy has brought calm to the boisterous lunch hour.

Commission chair André Messier said the students are calm, happy and eating better.

He noted that the silence rule is only for the first 15 minutes of the lunch hour, which lasts more than an hour.

He said the policy is so successful, the board is considering expanding it to other schools.

Waterloo is 100 kilometres southeast of Montreal.