News
Central School looks for Lunch Buddy participants
Scott Wagar
12/13/2011
With the success of the Lunch Buddy program at Bottineau’s Central School, the school district has decided to offer the program for the spring term and is looking for local volunteers who would be willing to become a Lunch Buddy to the elementary students.
“The Lunch Buddy program is designed to help students with their reading and comprehension skills,” said Lori Erickson, second grade teacher at Central School, who is the director of the school’s Lunch Buddy program. “Lunch Buddy volunteers come into the school once a month, the second Wednesday, to eat lunch with the students and then return to the classroom for a short reading time. Either the Lunch Buddy reads to the students, or the students read to the Lunch Buddy.”
Erickson stated that the students will learn what types of occupations people have, share stories with their lunch buddies, and learn how to interact socially with community members.
“We think Lunch Buddies is a great opportunity for our students to learn about our community and the people living here,” she said.
Erickson also said the school is looking for a wide range of community members, which can include local residents, senior citizens, college students, business people, law enforcement, educators and so on. If individuals have a tight time schedule, Erickson added the event only takes about half an hour to participate in.
Lunch Buddies need to pay for their noon meal, which is $3 a month. Lunch times are staggered at 11:05 a.m., 11:25 a.m. and noon, so people can sign up for a time which works best for them.
Central School is presently accepting new applicants for the Lunch Buddy program, which begins in January. The deadline to register is January 5, 2012.
“The students look forward to Lunch Buddy Day each month,” Erickson said. “We have also received wonderful comments from our Lunch Buddy volunteers. It’s a win-win situation.”
Individuals will be randomly assigned a student. If individuals can’t make one of the dates, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement, so no child is left without a lunch buddy for the day.
Individuals interested in the Lunch Buddy program can call Bottineau Central School at 228-3014 or Erickson at 228-3847.