Issue 30 - Belfast Education & Library Board

ISSUE 30 - June 2012
Message From the Catering Manager
As yet another busy year for the School Catering Service comes to a close I would like to thank
everybody for all hard work and commitment.
The first ever Northern Ireland School Meals Week seems to have been a success and I was
delighted that so many schools took part by choosing one of the 4 themes:
Titanic Olympics
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Come Dine with Me (at school)
This special edition of teamtalk captures some of the activities during the week which brought benefits of
bringing the school and the service together to have some fun.
nutritional standards
These standards should now be a way of life for the service. The Department of Education has once again
allocated earmarked funding for this financial year to ensure the standards can be maintained. The new regional
recipe book was launched at Stormont on 29th May 2012 and I’m pleased that 2 of our supervisors (Kathleen
Elliott and Gerry McKenna) were involved.
Christine Cairnduff and Kate Carvill (Nutritional standards coordinators) were also there to meet the two
Ministers. The recipe book is a culmination of a lot of hard work by the coordinators group over a number of
years. Training for the recipe book will take place at the end of the summer.
school amalgamations
The programme of school amalgamations will have an impact on the service over the next 12 months. St Aiden’s
and St Bernadette’s schools will amalgamate in September 2013. Edmund Rice and Star of the Sea have made a
similar announcement for 2013.
NISCA awards ceremony
I look forward to seeing your entries to the competition this
year.
Please don’t forget the Management and Supplier award.

school meals week
The Northern Ireland School Caterer’s Association (NISCA) planned and organised ‘School Meals Week’
commencing 28th May 2012. Primary and post primary schools across all five education boards participated
in an action-packed week of fun activities and community events based around 3 key themes:
The Titanic The London Olympics
The main aims of School Meals Week were to:
• Promote a Whole School Approach to the catering provided to pupils
• Promote the uptake to school meals both free and paid
• Reinforce the impact of lifestyle change through diet and exercise
The Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee
This is the first time that NISCA has coordinated a ‘School Meals Week’ across the province and in preparation
for the event, schools received special promotion packs comprising a number of resources for their chosen
theme day including: specially themed menus, colouring competitions, prizes and advice on how to decorate
the dining area.
St Aidan’s PS, Belfast pupil Kevin Tate and
Thomas McBride and Demi Rea and Ben
Denny from Tullycarnet PS helped launch
the NI School Caterers’ Association School
Meals Week at the Titanic Building in
Belfast. Atlantic record breaking rower
Kate Richardson and Captain Smith aka St
Aidan’s PS Principal Raymond Hunter also
attended.
Schools will be hosting events and
competitions throughout the week under
a number of themes – the Titanic, the
Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics – and a
number of schools are hosting ‘Come Dine
with Me’ events in the school dinner hall
for family members. “The purpose of the week is to highlight the positives of the school meals service
throughout Northern Ireland and to promote school meals as part of a healthy school lifestyle,” said
NISCA Chairperson Janet McAlister.

St Matthew’s
St Michael’s
titanic theme day
St Aidan’s
Holy Rosary

olympics theme day
Olympics Menu
Olympic Burger in Bap
Swim like A Fish (Fish Fingers)
Beans
Tossed Salad / Coleslaw
Golden Chips
Gold Shortbread
Celebration Fruit Salad
Winners Ice Lolly

jubilee theme day
Come & celebrate
The Queens Diamond Jubilee
with an extra special
school meal on
_______ May 2012
Menu
Royal Turkey Crown
Banger & Mash
Britannia Beans
Royal Mint Peas
Windsor Roast Potatoes
Potato Royal
Street Party Salad
Queen of Puddings
Crown Shortcake
Balmoral Sauce

ecipe book launch
Stormont was the venue for the
launch of the new recipe book
and was planned to coincide
with Northern Ireland’s School Meals
Week. The event was attended
by Government Ministers and
representatives from the school meals
service. The book – ‘Stop, Look, Cook!’
– has been produced by the Public
Health Agency (PHA) in partnership
with the Department of Health, Social
Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
and the Department of Education
(DE).
Education Minister John O’Dowd
Catering Supervisors Kathleen Elliot and Gerry McKenna
Nutritional Coordinators Christine Cairnduff and Kate Carvill
Chief Executive of the PHA Dr Eddie Rooney
Health Minister Edwin Poots,
For the last year recipes have been
collected from school caterers across
Northern Ireland. The recipes have been
checked to ensure that they are compliant with the nutritional standards for school lunches and, if required, they
were tested in schools for taste and suitability. All the recipes have been analysed using a nutritional software package
with a particular focus on fat, salt and sugar. The recipe book provides approximately 280 recipes, giving schools
more choice for menus. It also contains useful advice for dealing with food allergies and supplying alternative meals
for multicultural pupils.
parents come to lunch at fane street
The Olympics came to Fane St at the end of May when
we had themed Olympic day. Parents were invited
to have lunch and join in the celebrations as part of
the schools special theme day to celebrate the Olympics.
The schools catchment area includes people from many
different cultures and whom would have different dietary
requirements.
However the school meals staff were able to provide
all types of dishes suitable for all tastes and cultures.
Around 50 parents supported the event and children
came dressed in sports kits as participants representing
all sports in the Olympic games. Principal Stephen Orr
said,“The canteen staff put great effort into ensuring that the dining room hall was suitably decorated
and the food was up to the usual high standard. Pupils and parents fairly enjoyed their lunch and many of
the parents were asking if they could buy some of the lovely dishes to take away. First prize must go to
the school meals staff for all their effort to ensure that this was a day to remember”.

st clare’s primary school provide support to parents
Families from the local community were invited to attend the Families and Schools Together Programme
(FAST) at St Clare’s Primary School on Wednesday 6th June. This is an experiential eight-week curriculum
to build relationships between parents and children, parents and schools, and parents and other parents
within the local community in order to improve outcomes for children aged 3 to 8 who are living in poverty in
the UK. The programme is run and supported by the Save the Children an organisation focussed on tackling child
poverty.
Save the children believe no child should be born without a chance to fulfil their potential. They deliver
programmes which provide direct support to children and families in poverty, and campaign for government
action to improve the life chances of the poorest children. All parents want the best for their child, no matter
what their background or income may be. However, research shows that parents are unable to access the kind
of community-based preventative support known to make a difference and to which they should be entitled,
therefore the organization that aims to:
• Improves parents’ confidence to support their children
• Builds strong support networks for families in their community
• Improves children’s success at school
Thirty four families were involved in the scheme at St Clare’s where they worked closely with teaching staff in 3
main groups or hubs over the 8 weeks. Part of the curriculum involved a sit down meal with the family and each
week 2 members of the hub took responsibility to provide a home cooked meal. Catering Supervisor, Dolores
Murray was on hand to provide help and support on recipes, reheating meals and providing cookware.
“Having taught this child since Year 2, I have seen huge changes in her
social & emotional development”
Teacher, Black Mountain P.S
“I’ve noticed a big difference in her. I could hardly get her to sit still half the time.
Now, she listens more when I talk and I listen more to her too.”
Parent St. Bernadette’s P.S
“It's brilliant to see something like this happen in the school.
It's so important for the kids to see that we're taking an interest in their lives”
Parent Sacred Heart P.S

double celebrations at nettlefield primary
Nettlefield primary invited the wider
community into the school grounds for
double diamond celebrations as Their 75th
Anniversary coincided with the Queen’s Jubilee. The
school is situated behind small, terraced housing
bounded by Cherryville Street, Sherwood Street,
Lawnmount Street and Radnor Street in East Belfast.
It was designed by the renowned architect Reginald
Sherman Wilshere at a cost of £30,000 and opened it’s
doors in 1936.
The school also has noticeably many windows (Around
2000). Tuberculosis (TB) was common around this time
and many people including children fell victim to the
deadly illness and windows ensured good ventilation
thereby limiting the spread of the disease. Many pupils
past and present have went through it’s doors over it’s 75 year history including the footballer George Best and Miss
Northern Ireland Diana Sayers.
go wild in the west kathleen has left the building
Supervisor Mary McGann and her team at St John the
Baptist primary planned a massive Wild West theme
day for all the pupils including her exporting schools.
The team used the ‘Wild West’ theme kit provided by
school catering to dress up and decorate the dining room.
Staff made an extra special effort and get into the spirit
of things by customizing some of their own clothing and
purchasing some additional items that added to the event.
Mary McGann said “The children really enjoyed the day
but they were disappointed they never got to dress up like
us. But not to worry because we plan to have more theme
days in the near future and involve the children more”
food in schools website
On 31st May 2012 Kathleen Elliott, Catering
Supervisor walked out of the doors of Glenwood
school meals kitchen for the last time after 40
years service. As was reported in the last issue of Teamtalk,
Kathleen had just recently celebrated 40 years service
on 14th February 2012 (St Valentine’s day) for it was on
that same day she began work back in 1972. Friends and
colleagues gathered at Cliftonville school meals canteen
to wish her all the best for the future and present her with
flowers and a gift in appreciation for her hard work and
dedication over her long and distinguished service.
The Department of Education (DE) has launched a new web site. The site includes a section on school meals which provides
useful links to information and documents on nutritional standards and food in schools. It’s a great step in providing
schools with support in relation to food in schools and can be accesses through the link:
http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/support-and-development-2/5-schools_meals/schools_-_meals-nisca-pg.htm