John Dodig: Health order will “completely change how we do business at Staples High School.” WestportNow.com photoWith limited exceptions, the days of students snacking on foods in hallways and teachers celebrating special days in the classroom by bringing in food are over at Westport’s Staples High School.
In an announcement to students and an e-mail message to parents today, Staples principal John Dodig outlined a strict “no-food-outside-of-the-cafeteria” policy. He said it would “completely change how we do business at Staples High School.”
Dodig said the policy was in response to an order from the Westport/Weston Health Department aimed at ridding the school of vermin.
“Recently, Staples High School was issued an order from Judy Nelson, Health Director of the Westport/Weston Health Department, requiring us to cease consuming food in unauthorized areas of the building,” he told parents in the e-mail.
“Understanding that food consumption in the pre-school, life skills, culinary arts, nurses suite (for medicinal purposes only), and the community room in the new building are logical exceptions, permission was granted.
“She also allowed teachers who voluntarily give up a lunch period to help a student while eating at their office desk to continue to do so during regularly scheduled lunch periods.”
Dodig added, “What this order really means is that we must completely change how we do business at Staples High School.
“Teachers will no longer be able to reward, or motivate students by bringing in food. Teachers will no longer be able to eat with their colleagues in department offices.
“Celebrating Bastille Day in our World Languages Department, for example, will now have to be done in the cafeteria. Food plays a very important part of everything we do here. We will have to change our behavior radically.
“What this means for students is that they must consume food in the cafeteria only. Students may no longer leave the cafeteria with muffins, bagels, chips, and whole meals.
“They will be stopped and asked to return to the cafeteria. I informed all students this morning on the public address system.”
He said the message will appear on the school’s communication bulletin for the next two Tuesdays.
“If returning to the cafeteria means that they will be late to class, that is what it means,” Dodig said. “There can be no exceptions. We must comply with this order.”
Dodig said that “in the long run, I know that this change in how we do business will be good for our school.”
He said that generations of students and hundreds of adults have lived at Staples High with vermin. “The only way to rid this school of these pests is to deprive them of their food source,” Dodig said.
“This new way of living will help. Please support us in our efforts to comply with this order and make Staples High School a healthier place to learn and teach.”
What a great idea. After all of the money spent on the school, why ruin it with disgusting pests?
Judy Nelson says the schools are dirty and filled with vermin. Is there a mention of improving custodial management? Nooo! Is there an effort to let the kids start a campaign to improve things? Nooo! Instead, let’s simply punish the kids. Cut them off. Establish the FOOD POLICE and expel anyone caught with a candy bar or a bag of chips. Kids have snacked in school since time immemorial. They used to have candy stores where the kids could purchase snacks. Will this policy be expanded to all of the schools? Sounds to me like an abuse of power from both the health department and the school administration. Administrators with an urge to vent their power should first look at real problems like drugs and alcohol.
just wait…another reason for lawsuits…students and teachers with low blood sugar, diabetics and the like will have a picnic and then those with food allergies will get loud when someone sneaks a peanut into a no-food zone.
hey – I’m a Staples kid, so lemme say something to all you parents who think you know what you’re talking about.. your kids are pigs – you need to start being parents and teach them how to behave and act like normal human beings, not monkeys, and you can start by teaching them to pick up after themselves – there are no maids at Staples, although that’s what some kids may like to think the custodians are. There is absolutely no problem with the custodial staff at Staples – they put up with such crap (literally), I’m surprised they haven’t gone on strike or something by now..
The solution to the problem is not to completely ban all food outside of those stupid designated areas – that’s dealing with the symptoms, not the problem. The problem is that the kids are ungreatful slobs, who need to be set straight. the lesson starts at home, and although many “parents” around here aren’t even home half the time in order to even pretend to be parents, someone needs to start teaching them some manners.
And what about all the food that students make in Culinary Arts? until now, we’ve been allowed to bring it to our other classes and eat it there, but now, thanks to this stupid rule, it has to be thrown out if it’s not eaten immediately – I know how much people around here love to waste, but the good kids shouldn’t have to be punished and have one of their few perks taken away because of a few slobs.
so thank your messy kids for the rat problem!
I completely agree! The custodians aren’t our maids, and they should not have to pick up after everyone. Garbage cans are everywhere, but these kids can’t be bothered to walk 10 ft to throw away their trash. The custodians shouldn’t be reprimanded for the laziness of the students. Any adult who thinks the custodians should simply work harder should go into the Staples cafeteria at the end of lunch and see what your kids do (or rather don’t do by not throwing away their trash). They are the reason why us other students have to be educated in a building where 6 lb rats have been found. I do however think the new policy is a good idea because I for one do not want to continue spending 7 hours a day in a building where there are rats. I think we have been spoiled until now by being able to snack in class on occasion. Classrooms were built for learning, and the cafeteria was built for eating.
I also have to agree. I rarely eat in the cafe area. I try my best to eat in my study skills class, I can never find a table with people who I’m semi-friendly with, without having to put up with spilled milk a student neglected to clean up, or a french frie container filled with napkins and other rubbish. Most of these kids are set for life and don’t have to worry about cleaning up after themselves, but the middle-class kids are not going to be set for life and students have to realize that they won’t always be somone there to pick up after them. Our custodians are not maids. After breakfast in the cafe, it alrady looks like a pack of kindergarteners came in and raided the vending machines. Only kindergarteners have the decency to pick up after themselves.
Totally. I’m so sick of the filthy caf. I hadn’t eaten in there ONCE before this stupid rule, though. I’d eat in the fourbuilding, and we would keep it clean so the rats wouldn’t come out. Now I can’t eat in there, and I usually end up skipping lunch becuase all the noise gives me a headache and the gross messes people leave are always in my way. If it’s an empty bag or something, I’ll throw it out, but really, some of te stuff is gross. My western teacher is annoyed because now she has to go down the two flights of stairs and around- and she was totally clean. I think they should at least let the teachers eat in their offices so they don’t have to go all the way to the caf.
I’ve seen some of these Staple kids. They could do with a few less candy bars, chips, and muffins.
I am so happy to see the students tell it like it is!!! The Custodians,Teachers and Vice Principals go around cleaning tables up. When you ask students to clean up at the table they just eat at, the comment is “it’s not my mess” Well it is your school so tell your friends to take care of their mess. I am very happy to see that the Principal and the Health Director address this, it is very embarrassing to have people visit our school and see it in the way of I DON’T CARE ATTITUDE!