West Warwick Schools

At Your Service

• Menus and Service Hours
  
• Catering Services

Special Info

• District Calendar
• District Web Site
• Model Nutrition Policy
• Community Resources

WINTER/HOLIDAY NOTES – 2010 – 2011

We are in the midst of the season for which New England is celebrated around the world – the season for harvesting and for giving. 

And in this lovely spirit, Sodexo is proud to bring you up to date on recent accomplishments and to break some news:

ITEM – Rhode Island’s senior U.S. Senator Jack Reed toured the Wakefield Hills kitchen and cafeteria and spoke with students.  West Warwick was singled out by Senator Reed as a living example of his commitment to “giving our children healthier choices and ensuring that students have access to nutritious food.”  Senator Reed is using our success to support his child nutrition bill, the so-called Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was passed in the Senate in August.  This legislation will increase funding for school meal programs so that more kids will have access to stable sources of nutritious food.  First Lady Michelle Obama has made full passage of the bill the centerpiece of her “Let’s Move” campaign.  And West Warwick is front-and-center in our nation’s capital.

ITEM – West Warwick students participated in Harvest Day.  Local farm-to-school vegetables were served.

ITEM – Sodexo hosted “All Rhode Island Local Day,” when West Warwick students enjoyed the many flavors of the Ocean State.

ITEM – A new approach to food service was piloted this past year at the High School. Sodexo worked with a student panel throughout the school year.  Students for Students, a small mix of students from each class, met with the Food Service Manager and the kitchen lead on a regular base to discuss the food service program.  Getting the students involved in the process ensures that they bring to our attention any concerns about the program and voice their likes, dislikes, and suggestions for new and improved activities.

ITEM – “Grab-n-Go” stations incorporate student preferences into wellness offerings – including additional meat-free choices.

ITEM – Our annual 2nd Annual Back to School Celebration took place in August at Wakefield Hills Elementary.  Many informational partners of West Warwick Public schools were present to ease the process of entering a new school year.  In addition students who attended with a parent received a back pack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies.

ITEM – We have completed our 10th Year of display cooking at the secondary schools. Display cooking offers students the experience of picking exactly what they would like on their main entrée, which is then cooked to order.  This is done quarterly throughout the year and features many fresh, healthy and unique options. 

ITEM – Once again Sodexo participated in the Family Resource Fair.  This event is open to everyone in the community and presents information from finance to self defense.  Sodexo’s missions there are to educate the students and families on Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements, explain what a meal is, and discuss the process for participation in the lunch program.  The district profited by increased participation and by giving students more of a voice in their program.

ITEM – As a member of the district Wellness Group Sodexo gives full attention to ensuring that our students and staff are provided with meals that meet the RINR.  Sodexo has exceeded some of the RINR by purchasing many local fresh fruits and vegetables.

ITEM – On May 19th West Warwick Public Schools was awarded Worksite Wellness Award.

ITEM – West Warwick was the first district in Rhode Island to serve fresh Asparagus.

The Sodexo Difference for 2009/10

There can be no tradition without innovation. 
—Earle Hitchner

If you’ll all take your seats, we’ll begin.

Welcome back, one and all, to another school year and all its challenges, promises, and rewards.  Once again we renew our commitments to expand our knowledge of the world around us, to understand the past and prepare for the future, and to enliven our minds, fortify our bodies, and enrich our spirits.

All of us at Sodexo are honored that you’ve chosen us once again to prepare and serve the meals that will nourish our children during the school day. 

What’s more, we accept the responsibility to meet the economic challenges of our time by implementing a three-part service strategy that encompasses

• Global Resources
• Statewide Efficiency
• Local Control

Think of it this way: Sodexo’s global presence brings nearly unlimited human and financial resources to the most efficient statewide purchase and distribution of products and services that always will be controlled by the local districts we ultimately serve.

Here is a small sampling of what’s new for West Warwick AND what we’ve accomplished to date for the West Warwick district:

Beginning in September, students may purchase Grab and Go meals – specialty salads, sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, etc. – from kiosks located outside cafeteria perimeters.  Kiosks will remain open at the end of the day for students participating in after-school programs.

In addition, West Warwick has been awarded two grants, for installations of a new dishwasher (Maise Quinn) and reach-in refrigerator (Horgan) respectively.  And another grant, for help with the implementation of and education about the new Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements (see below), is pending.

But wait, there’s more:

• Sodexo serves one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools and a Catholic in West Warwick.
• We served more than 445,000 meals in the 2007 – 2008 school year and we’re on target to beat that figure for this year.
• We serve approximately 424 students at breakfast and 1833 at lunch.
• We were instrumental in establishing one of Rhode Island’s first school breakfast programs.
• We provide food service to students at an off-site apartment and in the West Bay Project to assist their entry into mainstream programs.
• Sodexo initiated an after-school snack program at the middle school.

In short, we’ll work together to preserve and expand our tradition of excellence – one that is founded upon the relentless pursuit of innovation.

And speaking of innovation, we are very pleased indeed to welcome you to our newly re-conceived website, www.sodexori.com.

These pages represent what we like to think of as a work in and about progress.  Over the school year we’ll be offering a blend of tried-and-true functions and all new, cutting-edge applications.

Our website already serves as your primary source for essential information about menu selections, nutrition, community resources, calendar events, and a full range of municipal services and happenings.  And that’s just for starters.

This will be a truly interactive and educational website.  We expect lively contributions of ideas and content from administrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents.  Thanks to the Internet’s global reach, the people, places, histories, and values of the cities and towns served by Sodexo will become familiar to people from the farthest corners of the world.

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When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is not “I’ll start tomorrow.”  Tomorrow is a disease.  – V. L. Allineare

Let’s get the ball rolling.  As some of you may know, Rhode Island has implemented new nutrition requirements (RINR) for all public schools.  Sodexo applauds these standards, and we remain committed to meeting and even exceeding them.

Here’s what to expect: 

A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
—George Bernard Shaw

It’s time to get to work.  So we’ll conclude this Welcome Back message by recalling what we believe is the most revealing aspect of our service to the community.

Sodexo did not come into our state.  Sodexo comes out of Rhode Island.

 This inescapable truth may be expressed simply:

• The overwhelming majority of Sodexo employees live where they work.
• Most were born where they work.
• Most own or rent homes where they work.
• And most have children enrolled in the schools where they work.

Sodexo has called Rhode Island home for close to 20 years.  When our partnership began, no one could have predicted with any degree of certainty the social, economic, and cultural changes that would impact our lives so powerfully over the next two decades.  All we could know with confidence then was that significant, systemic change would take place and that, working together, we would spare no effort or expense to guide our youth and indeed our communities safely through whatever lay in store.

Our hands are on the helm.  Our course is true.

Let the work – and the fun – continue!