We have our oldest (8 y.o.) in a Catholic school (pre-K through 6th), and I can assure you that they are allowed to talk during lunch (I volunteer to do recess duty once a week). When the bells rings to end lunch, everyone must get quiet. Then they are dismissed to quietly dispose of their trays and line up for recess (where I can assure all FReepers, they are allowed to play things like dodgeball and swing and slide and climb monkey bars like we used to do as kids). If they break the silence rule after the bell ending lunch rings, they get to wipe down the tables :)
I know to some FReepers, anything but homeschooling is unacceptable, but the school we have chosen for our daughter (after 3 years of homeschooling) is quite firm on discipline, but the kids are happy and well-taught. Their test scores prove this, and the parental involvement is very high at this school (when you're shelling out thousands of dollars a year on top of paying your taxes, you have a huge stake in what happens at the school).
As a kid growing up in Catholic schools, we were never made to keep silent at lunch. We were not disallowed from playing dodgeball, kickball, football, or any of those other 'dangerous' games. I received a top notch education with good discipline.
Bottom line...this school is nuts!!!!
My only criticism of the school is that it is somewhat a victim of its own success as the upper level classes are huge! One 5th grade class had 38 kids in it! The school has since instituted class limits and preference to those at the church (parish?) and class sizes for K-2 are closer to 25.
Had I not been pleased with the local public school, I wouldn't have hesitated to send my kids there. It's a sweet school with a lovely spirit. I've heard many good things about Catholic schools in general.