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/
I am BESIDE myself....
If that could only be done in the Senate...
But not dodge ball or tag.
That school sure sounds like fun.
Can you still throw food in the cafateria? All done, of course, in complete silence.
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.
Any child caught showing the slightest signs of life will be put on large courses of Prozac immediately, followed by daily counseling sessions.
This is absurd and appalling.
Schools are more and more resesmbling prisons.
I can already see the Parents of a tourette syndrome kid suing the school
Hitler Youth?
They won't ban breathing; they'll simply tax it.
No talking during lunch still beats the public school mandate,no shooting during lunch !!!
I guess we need to have fat, silent kids....
Go figure
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.
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