A Breakfast for Champions
by Dan Mullins
For some Evergreen Elementary students, the first bell of the day means the beginning of Grub Club. Open to all, this cornerstone of the school’s student community supports the school’s excellent education, providing a warm welcome and a moment of calm along with a nutritious meal.
Located in St. Lazare, Evergreen attracts students from across a very large catchment area. After what is, for some, a long ride on a bus full of energetic elementary students, comes the bustling hallways as students from junior kindergarten to grade six get out of snow suits and wet boots. Under these circumstances, having a bit of calm, a friendly word and a bite to eat before entering the classroom can mean the difference between a stressful start and Evergreen’s flourishing and positive learning environment.
“It becomes like a family,” says Lindsay Reid, a resource teacher at Evergreen. Reid, along with John Riley of the Family and School Support and Treatment Team and integration aide Laura Dunbar, devised the Grub Club and ensure it runs smoothly. The club takes place in the school’s Resource Room, and hosts between 25 and 40 students every morning. “They’re always so polite, they say thank you for breakfast and they and they leave and they’re just in a much better state and are more ready to learn,” explains Reid.
Helping out are the school’s “Do-Gooders,” a group of grade six students which came into existence around the same time as the Grub Club. They help with the club, as well as many other activities and events throughout the year, and writing and reading the morning announcements. Another initiative of the resource department, it began when “we started seeing a need to push some students who could really use a little bit of a push in the right direction in terms of leadership,” Reid explained. The Do-Gooders even help with the grocery shopping. These outings, besides procuring the necessary supplies for the club, also provide teachable moments for life skills, and a sense of responsibility and belonging.
The school’s principal, Adam Lambert, calls the program “a truly amazing daily breakfast program,” and his support is appreciated by the resource team. Funded through a specific allocation from the government, Lambert places great trust in the Grub Club team to manage it themselves. “There’s a freedom that that he allows us,” says Riley, “which is great.”
“We get a budget every year,” adds Reid, “we are really fortunate to be working for Adam Lambert because he trusted us right from the get go.”
In addition to the reliable budget provided by the school, the community also supplies a boost. The Home & School Association provided funds for a commercial conveyor toaster, dubbed the “Toastmaster 3000” by the team, while an anonymous donation from a parent helped provide the little extras to make things a bit more special.
By all accounts, Dunbar is a quiet force. Pointing out that the work she does with the Grub Club happens outside of her working hours as an integration aide, Reid insists that “this woman is an Angel straight from heaven. She volunteers.”
The Resource Room at Evergreen is a central place of nurturing and calm. Whether at the Grub Club, as part of the Do-Gooders, or in “Chillville,” a safe space where students can play Lego or sit and read a book, the students of Evergreen have a place to go if they’re ever feeling a bit frazzled or just want to see a friendly face. The atmosphere is one of a casual friendliness, with a good dose of humour as demonstrated in their love for catchy names. “Grub Club,” “Chillville,” “Toastmaster 3000” suggest as much, as does Reid’s winking proposal that people refer to her and Riley as “the King and Queen of the Village of Chillage,” laughingly adding that “it hasn’t caught on.”
“Put that in print!” suggests Riley, “it still might!”
