News Release
1/17/2018
Newmarket, ON – The Personalized Alternative Education Department at Sir William Mulock Secondary School has been spearheading a free breakfast and snack program for students. Some mornings, over 100 people are supported through this program, where students are provided with a full breakfast five times a week and on two days a week volunteer teachers cook a hot meal for the students.
In addition, there are snacks set up in the office, the library and in various classrooms where students can grab a snack of their choosing such as cheese-strings, cereal, muffins or fruit before heading to class. Sir William Mulock S.S. has also made the Student Success Room, penned “The Roost,” an area where students can grab a hot chocolate or tea.
As Sir William Mulock S.S. is an early start school, educators realized that many students were not having breakfast. Department Head of Personalized Alternative Education, Cynthia Crone, initially noticed the need for a breakfast program in the Alternative Education program and then expanded it to the greater school community. “There are still a lot of persons living in Newmarket and in our neighbourhoods who are in need of assistance. We are so grateful for all of the grants we’ve been awarded and all of the community members and students that have helped to make this program a success. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and we are glad to provide students in need a better start to their morning,” said Crone.
Receiving the grant money to run this Food for Learning program has been a team and community effort. Department Head Cynthia Crone has been instrumental in pursuing grants and the team has been able to secure grants from Toonies for Tummies, Peterborough- Kawartha Youth Services, the Optimist Club of Newmarket, and the Green Apple Grant. The program has also received support from the school council and the Newmarket Coffee Klatch group. Local bakeries also donate fresh bread weekly. This year over $4,000 has been raised for the program.
The Food for Learning program started years ago with the Healthy Schools grant and then teamed up with the Personalized Alternative Education program and the Autism and Multiple Exceptionalities students to prepare and deliver the snacks.
York Region District School Board is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 123,000 students in 177 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools. York Region students consistently perform above average in provincial testing and the Board is one of the top achievers in Ontario. For more information about the York Region District School Board, please visit the Board website and follow @YRDSB on Twitter.
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