Rochester Memorial School students just weren’t hungry enough to participate in a school breakfast program, despite the efforts of RMS staff to entice enough kids in order to make the venture viable.
RMS Principal Derek Medeiros told the Rochester School Committee on January 8 that some kids he polled did express interest in having breakfast served at school, but not enough to get the program off the ground.
“It just didn’t reach significant numbers,” said Medeiros. “But it doesn’t mean that the idea is lost.”
Maybe next year, said Medeiros, the school will muster enough participation by varying the breakfast program a bit to include more social interaction and exercise opportunities for students, such as a walking program in the gymnasium in addition to breakfast with a rotating schedule.
Until then, Medeiros and his staff will continue to brainstorm ideas and update the School Committee on their progress.
Also during the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos said Rochester Memorial School will receive $20,000 from the Digital Connections Partnership Schools Grant, a state-funded technology grant aimed at expanding Massachusetts schools’ technology resources.
“Receiving that $20,000 in Rochester is an honor,” said Frangos. “We’re very, very thrilled.”
As Rochester is designated a rural school district, the grant is a 50/50 match grant; in order to collect the state funds, the district will have to put forward $20,000 of its own funds to go towards technology.
Superintendent of Schools Doug White said the funds should be expended by summer 2015, and new purchases will be available when the next school year begins in September.
In other news, Business Manager Patrick Spencer said the pre-school that has been renting space at RMS is now defunct, after the program fell short on enrollment.
Back in December, the School Committee approved renegotiating the pre-school’s lease to delay incremental increases in the monthly rent amount. The program officially shut down on December 31, despite the lease amendment.
“I’m really sorry that it didn’t work out,” said Spencer.
The next scheduled meeting of the Rochester School Committee is February 12 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
