By Megan Joyce, Staff Writer
April 27, 2023
ROCKLAND - Every Friday at each lunch, the Dog Depot is open where the Pathways students and their helpers hand out delicious treats.
Emma Cameron, a senior and one of the helpers at the Dog Depot, explained how the Depot gets ready for Fridays.
“The students prepare for the Dog Depot starting on Thursday. They cook on Thursday so everything is ready for Friday. Then on Friday morning, they decide who will be working each lunch. [Then] third block the class makes their way down to the cafeteria to set up and get ready for first lunch,” Cameron said.
In addition, the class kick starts planning by deciding the month ahead what will be made each week.
They base the menu on what is available in the cooking room and the amount of time they have to prepare the food.
Savannah Milso, a sophomore helper in the Dog Depot, said the students usually choose between sundaes or baked goods, like cupcakes and brownies.
Davonne Wilson, one of the Pathways students, says his favorite food to serve is ice cream sundaes.
Wilson said he helps prep by making the cookies and pretzel bites.
Also according to Mr. Jacob Leahy, a Pathways teacher, on Fridays ,the students make final preparations like frosting the cupcakes and bagging the pretzel bites.
The Dog Depot is always open to suggestions and feedback from its customers.
Faith Henry, another Pathways student, says her favorite part of working at the Dog Depot is, “getting ready for sundaes [by] chopping up the Oreos and putting the candies in dishes.”
Henry's favorite food to serve is cupcakes which are also her favorite to prepare, especially frosting.
Furthermore, Cameron explained that the Dog Depot won't be changing much next year but might be welcoming some new workers behind the counter.
Also, students involved in Unified Gym help run the Dog Depot. Unified Gym is a recently added gym class option where students share a gym class with the pathways students. In order to take the class you must have permission from your guidance counselor.
Savannah Milso, who got involved through the Unified Gym class, described that “[the Depot] is important for the Pathway kids because it shows them social skills and integrates them into the [school] community.”
Mr. Leahy explained that the money, “goes to our classroom curriculum, and we also use some of what we make to keep supplying what we need for The Depot.”