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Belly full for learning

Breakfast program helps students start their day

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Chesterfield Inlet (Oct 30/02) - A number of students at Victor Sammurtok school in Chesterfield Inlet began starting their days off with a healthy boost earlier this month.

The school's breakfast program was rejuvenated on Oct. 7, much to the delight of about 40 per cent of the student body.

The Chesterfield school has a history of switching back and forth between breakfast and snack programs.

Principal Reed Smith says a snack program was in place last year, but only for students in kindergarten to Grade 6.

This year's staff wanted to offer something for the entire school.

"Hungry kids aren't confined to the elementary classes," says Smith.

"When you look back at the snack program, some younger kids were getting snacks who already had something to eat while some older kids were going hungry.

"We thought we could replace the snack program with something better and that's what we did."

It's well documented that students tend to learn better when they start their day off with a nutritious breakfast.

The breakfast foods are passed out between 8:30 -- 8:47 a.m, which doesn't take away from class time.

Smith says that's an improvement over last year's program, which took place while students were in class.

He says not only does the breakfast program offer more nutritious foods, but it also eliminates most of the garbage and accidental spills that would take place in classrooms during the past school year.

"This year, the kids are offered a piece of fruit (usually a whole orange or an apple), a little juice box and a granola bar.

"To date, between 35 to 45 of the school's 110 students take advantage of the program every morning."

Students also volunteer their time to run the breakfast program.

In fact they often beg for the opportunity to participate, which Smith says the teachers love to see.

"The volunteers come in the morning and cut the fruit into smaller pieces, get the little juice boxes ready and hand out the items to the kids.

"The fruits are placed on a big platter on a table for the students to serve themselves, so our volunteers really do a marvellous job."