Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

R.I. School Bans Talking at Lunch (WHAT'S NEXT....BREATHING???!!!)
The Associated Press / http://www.saintroseschool.com/ ^ | 1/25/07 | JUSTIN M. NORTON

Posted on 01/25/2007 5:45:29 PM PST by paulat

R.I. School Bans Talking at Lunch

Jan 25 6:22 PM US/Eastern

By JUSTIN M. NORTON Associated Press Writer

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) -- Class, from now on there will be no talking at lunch. A Roman Catholic elementary school adopted new lunchroom rules this week requiring students to remain silent while eating. The move comes after three recent choking incidents in the cafeteria.

No one was hurt, but the principal of St. Rose of Lima School explained in a letter to parents that if the lunchroom is loud, staff members cannot hear a child choking.

Christine Lamoureux, whose 12-year-old is a sixth-grader at the school, said she respects the safety issue but thinks the rule is a bad idea.

"They are silent all day," she said. "They have to get some type of release." She suggested quiet conversation be allowed during lunch.

Another mother, Thina Paone, does not mind the silent lunches, noting that the cafeteria "can be very crazy" at the suburban school south of Providence.

Principal Jeannine Fuller did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but a spokesman for the Diocese of Providence described the silence rule as a temporary safety measure.

Spokesman Michael Guilfoyle said the school does not expect complete silence but enough quiet to keep students safe.

Lori Healey, a teacher at the school who also has a son in third grade, said "silent lunch" means students can whisper.

"They know it's not for punishment," she said. "It's for safety, and they'll be the first ones to tell you."

Stacey Wildenhain, a teacher's assistant at St. Rose, said her 7-year- old son does not mind the policy. He told her: "The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get out to play," she said.

Amanda Karhuse, of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said that students should not run wild during lunch, but that they also should not have to remain silent.

"It seems kind of ridiculous in our opinion," she said. "Kids need that social time, and they just need time to be kids at that age."

The principal's letter also spelled out other new lunch rules, including requiring students to stay in their seats and limiting them to one trip to the trash can. Any child who breaks the rules will serve detention the next day.

Paone's 6-year-old son, Joey, said he accepts the changes, but some of his classmates were having trouble obeying the rules.

Kara Casali, who also has a 6-year-old son at the school, said the rules against talking will be tough to enforce.

"I can't imagine having a silent lunch," she said.

___

On the Net:

St. Rose School: http://www.saintroseschool.com/


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Rhode Island
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-88 next last

1 posted on 01/25/2007 5:45:31 PM PST by paulat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: paulat
the principal of St. Rose of Lima School explained in a letter to parents that if the lunchroom is loud, staff members cannot hear a child choking.

I am BESIDE myself....

2 posted on 01/25/2007 5:47:03 PM PST by paulat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

If that could only be done in the Senate...


3 posted on 01/25/2007 5:47:47 PM PST by Russ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat
Sounds like they need to teach the Heimlich maneuver and common sense
4 posted on 01/25/2007 5:48:40 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat
The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get out to play

But not dodge ball or tag.

5 posted on 01/25/2007 5:48:48 PM PST by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat
But I thought school was to socialize kids.....
6 posted on 01/25/2007 5:49:01 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (I am the Cat who Walks by Himself and all places are alike to me!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

That school sure sounds like fun.


7 posted on 01/25/2007 5:50:29 PM PST by Dog Gone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat
They need happier Nuns...


8 posted on 01/25/2007 5:50:36 PM PST by Dallas59 (HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

Can you still throw food in the cafateria? All done, of course, in complete silence.


9 posted on 01/25/2007 5:50:37 PM PST by Herford Turley (Conservatism will save America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Herford Turley
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
10 posted on 01/25/2007 5:51:54 PM PST by paulat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: paulat

My kids went to a new public school last year for 3rd grade, and they were allowed to talk during lunch. In fact, my daughter said that some of the boys would talk about sex at lunch.

The kids were noisy and it was always chaotic.

For numerous reasons, we put my daughters in a small private Christian school for 4th grade.

For lunch, the kids sit at their desks and the teachers read a book to them. After 15 minutes, the kids get to go run around outside. My daughters like this much better than last year.


11 posted on 01/25/2007 5:52:49 PM PST by luckystarmom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Herford Turley
Can you still throw food in the cafateria? All done, of course, in complete silence.

Any child caught showing the slightest signs of life will be put on large courses of Prozac immediately, followed by daily counseling sessions.

12 posted on 01/25/2007 5:52:56 PM PST by Disturbin (Get back to work -- millions of people on welfare are counting on you!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: metmom; DaveLoneRanger

This is absurd and appalling.

Schools are more and more resesmbling prisons.


13 posted on 01/25/2007 5:53:02 PM PST by Clintonfatigued (If the GOP were to stop worshiping Free Trade as if it were a religion, they'd win every election)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

I can already see the Parents of a tourette syndrome kid suing the school


14 posted on 01/25/2007 5:53:49 PM PST by Cinnamon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat
her 7-year- old son does not mind the policy.

Hitler Youth?

15 posted on 01/25/2007 5:53:57 PM PST by bannie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

They won't ban breathing; they'll simply tax it.


16 posted on 01/25/2007 5:54:14 PM PST by Salvey (ancest)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulat

No talking during lunch still beats the public school mandate,no shooting during lunch !!!


17 posted on 01/25/2007 5:54:19 PM PST by Obie Wan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Clintonfatigued
Schools are more and more resesmbling prisons.

I guess we need to have fat, silent kids....

18 posted on 01/25/2007 5:55:04 PM PST by paulat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Clintonfatigued
Did you notice that this is a Catholic school? I would have thought this would have always been the rule. Thought Catholic schools were pretty strict on the kids all the time, even at lunch.

Go figure

19 posted on 01/25/2007 5:55:34 PM PST by SoftballMominVA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: paulat
I am BESIDE myself....

Me, too.

There is a word for this: it's eleven letters long and it starts with a "ch" and ends with an "it".

Even St. Rose of Lima would be astounded at the absence of common sense exhibited by this school's administration.

20 posted on 01/25/2007 5:56:07 PM PST by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: IGNORANCE ON PARADE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-88 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson