It's 8 a.m. on a windy, rainy Wednesday morning. The gym at General Currie elementary is buzzing with the happy chatter and laughter of more than 120 children.
Welcome to the Breakfast Club - a new, weekly program offering much more than just a nutritious and tasty meal for any student who wants to come. It's a social gathering.
Initially, the idea was to offer a meal to kids who otherwise wouldn't have breakfast, but staff decided kids might not come if they felt singledout. So, they opened it up to any child who wanted to attend. And come they did.
"We thought maybe 20 kids would show up the first time and 80 showed up - we had to move it out of the multi-purpose room and into the gym," said student council member, Tegan Syho, 13, a volunteer at the club. "When the idea for the breakfast club came up, we all agreed it was a great one."
On this day, Grade 7 students help kindergartners get their breakfast, while others serve.
Cathy Eakin, volunteer and educational assistant at the school, has been coming ever since the program began in January.
"It's wonderful - it gives such a nice sense of community and it's really fun," said Eakin. "You can see that the kids really enjoy it and for those kids who don't get breakfast at home, it's great."
Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) co-chair Tina Syho is busy operating a toaster.
"The kids mix so well together and it's really nice to see older siblings sitting with their younger brothers or sisters," she added with a smile.
"My kids go to bed early every Tuesday night for this."
Of the 452 students in the school, more than one-third attends every Wednesday.
"At least 150 sign up each week," Syho said.
The idea for the club had been floated earlier, but began taking shape when school resumed in January.
"I always wanted to do this to build a sense of community in our school," said vice principal, Emanuel Adjei-Achampong (Mr. A to his students). "We didn't want to just provide breakfast for those who needed it, but for the whole school community."
Every Tuesday after school, an army of volunteers, including students and retired teacher, sets up tables, chairs and food stations. Wednesday morning, Mr. A is there to greet the children with high-fives and pats on the head as they line up in a surprisingly organized manner. Smiling faces greet them with "good mornings" and offer an array of breakfast choice: healthy cereals and milk, yogurt, juice boxes, fruit and whole-wheat toast with a selection of jams and cheese.
The mood is festive. Adjei-Achampong said one of the surprise side-effects of the club is that lateness has dropped significantly - not only on Wednesday, but all week long.
School secretary, Choo Kwok said that without the support of Terra Nova's Save-On Foods, it would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to run the club.
"We send them a list the day before and its ready for pick up the next morning," said Kwok. "And there is no budget limit to what we can ask for. Save-On Foods really wanted to be part of the community spirit behind the Breakfast Club."
As the clock inches towards 8: 30 a.m., the Breakfast Club All Stars Dancers, four girls ages 10 and 11, get up to perform to the song Freak the Freak Out by Victoria Justice.
As they dance, the crowd cheers and claps, while a table of mischievous boys attempt to mimic the girls' grooving moves.
"The girls practice a new routine every week on their lunch hour," explained Mr. A.
Just a few minutes before the bell rings for the start of another school day, Mr. A asks the kids to clean up, which they do without a groan. This is what the Breakfast Club is all about - friendship, camaraderie and a great start to the day.
