Issue 30 - Belfast Education & Library Board
Issue 30 - Belfast Education & Library Board
Issue 30 - Belfast Education & Library Board
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ISSUE <strong>30</strong> - June 2012<br />
Message From the Catering Manager<br />
As yet another busy year for the School Catering Service comes to a close I would like to thank<br />
everybody for all hard work and commitment.<br />
The first ever Northern Ireland School Meals Week seems to have been a success and I was<br />
delighted that so many schools took part by choosing one of the 4 themes:<br />
Titanic Olympics<br />
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Come Dine with Me (at school)<br />
This special edition of teamtalk captures some of the activities during the week which brought benefits of<br />
bringing the school and the service together to have some fun.<br />
nutritional standards<br />
These standards should now be a way of life for the service. The Department of <strong>Education</strong> has once again<br />
allocated earmarked funding for this financial year to ensure the standards can be maintained. The new regional<br />
recipe book was launched at Stormont on 29th May 2012 and I’m pleased that 2 of our supervisors (Kathleen<br />
Elliott and Gerry McKenna) were involved.<br />
Christine Cairnduff and Kate Carvill (Nutritional standards coordinators) were also there to meet the two<br />
Ministers. The recipe book is a culmination of a lot of hard work by the coordinators group over a number of<br />
years. Training for the recipe book will take place at the end of the summer.<br />
school amalgamations<br />
The programme of school amalgamations will have an impact on the service over the next 12 months. St Aiden’s<br />
and St Bernadette’s schools will amalgamate in September 2013. Edmund Rice and Star of the Sea have made a<br />
similar announcement for 2013.<br />
NISCA awards ceremony<br />
I look forward to seeing your entries to the competition this<br />
year.<br />
Please don’t forget the Management and Supplier award.
school meals week<br />
The Northern Ireland School Caterer’s Association (NISCA) planned and organised ‘School Meals Week’<br />
commencing 28th May 2012. Primary and post primary schools across all five education boards participated<br />
in an action-packed week of fun activities and community events based around 3 key themes:<br />
The Titanic The London Olympics<br />
The main aims of School Meals Week were to:<br />
• Promote a Whole School Approach to the catering provided to pupils<br />
• Promote the uptake to school meals both free and paid<br />
• Reinforce the impact of lifestyle change through diet and exercise<br />
The Queen’s Diamond<br />
Jubilee<br />
This is the first time that NISCA has coordinated a ‘School Meals Week’ across the province and in preparation<br />
for the event, schools received special promotion packs comprising a number of resources for their chosen<br />
theme day including: specially themed menus, colouring competitions, prizes and advice on how to decorate<br />
the dining area.<br />
St Aidan’s PS, <strong>Belfast</strong> pupil Kevin Tate and<br />
Thomas McBride and Demi Rea and Ben<br />
Denny from Tullycarnet PS helped launch<br />
the NI School Caterers’ Association School<br />
Meals Week at the Titanic Building in<br />
<strong>Belfast</strong>. Atlantic record breaking rower<br />
Kate Richardson and Captain Smith aka St<br />
Aidan’s PS Principal Raymond Hunter also<br />
attended.<br />
Schools will be hosting events and<br />
competitions throughout the week under<br />
a number of themes – the Titanic, the<br />
Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics – and a<br />
number of schools are hosting ‘Come Dine<br />
with Me’ events in the school dinner hall<br />
for family members. “The purpose of the week is to highlight the positives of the school meals service<br />
throughout Northern Ireland and to promote school meals as part of a healthy school lifestyle,” said<br />
NISCA Chairperson Janet McAlister.
St Matthew’s<br />
St Michael’s<br />
titanic theme day<br />
St Aidan’s<br />
Holy Rosary
olympics theme day<br />
Olympics Menu<br />
Olympic Burger in Bap<br />
Swim like A Fish (Fish Fingers)<br />
Beans<br />
Tossed Salad / Coleslaw<br />
Golden Chips<br />
Gold Shortbread<br />
Celebration Fruit Salad<br />
Winners Ice Lolly
jubilee theme day<br />
Come & celebrate<br />
The Queens Diamond Jubilee<br />
with an extra special<br />
school meal on<br />
_______ May 2012<br />
Menu<br />
Royal Turkey Crown<br />
Banger & Mash<br />
Britannia Beans<br />
Royal Mint Peas<br />
Windsor Roast Potatoes<br />
Potato Royal<br />
Street Party Salad<br />
Queen of Puddings<br />
Crown Shortcake<br />
Balmoral Sauce
ecipe book launch<br />
Stormont was the venue for the<br />
launch of the new recipe book<br />
and was planned to coincide<br />
with Northern Ireland’s School Meals<br />
Week. The event was attended<br />
by Government Ministers and<br />
representatives from the school meals<br />
service. The book – ‘Stop, Look, Cook!’<br />
– has been produced by the Public<br />
Health Agency (PHA) in partnership<br />
with the Department of Health, Social<br />
Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)<br />
and the Department of <strong>Education</strong><br />
(DE).<br />
<strong>Education</strong> Minister John O’Dowd<br />
Catering Supervisors Kathleen Elliot and Gerry McKenna<br />
Nutritional Coordinators Christine Cairnduff and Kate Carvill<br />
Chief Executive of the PHA Dr Eddie Rooney<br />
Health Minister Edwin Poots,<br />
For the last year recipes have been<br />
collected from school caterers across<br />
Northern Ireland. The recipes have been<br />
checked to ensure that they are compliant with the nutritional standards for school lunches and, if required, they<br />
were tested in schools for taste and suitability. All the recipes have been analysed using a nutritional software package<br />
with a particular focus on fat, salt and sugar. The recipe book provides approximately 280 recipes, giving schools<br />
more choice for menus. It also contains useful advice for dealing with food allergies and supplying alternative meals<br />
for multicultural pupils.<br />
parents come to lunch at fane street<br />
The Olympics came to Fane St at the end of May when<br />
we had themed Olympic day. Parents were invited<br />
to have lunch and join in the celebrations as part of<br />
the schools special theme day to celebrate the Olympics.<br />
The schools catchment area includes people from many<br />
different cultures and whom would have different dietary<br />
requirements.<br />
However the school meals staff were able to provide<br />
all types of dishes suitable for all tastes and cultures.<br />
Around 50 parents supported the event and children<br />
came dressed in sports kits as participants representing<br />
all sports in the Olympic games. Principal Stephen Orr<br />
said,“The canteen staff put great effort into ensuring that the dining room hall was suitably decorated<br />
and the food was up to the usual high standard. Pupils and parents fairly enjoyed their lunch and many of<br />
the parents were asking if they could buy some of the lovely dishes to take away. First prize must go to<br />
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<br />
Families from the local community were invited to attend the Families and Schools Together Programme<br />
(FAST) at St Clare’s Primary School on Wednesday 6th June. This is an experiential eight-week curriculum<br />
to build relationships between parents and children, parents and schools, and parents and other parents<br />
within the local community in order to improve outcomes for children aged 3 to 8 who are living in poverty in<br />
the UK. The programme is run and supported by the Save the Children an organisation focussed on tackling child<br />
poverty.<br />
Save the children believe no child should be born without a chance to fulfil their potential. They deliver<br />
programmes which provide direct support to children and families in poverty, and campaign for government<br />
action to improve the life chances of the poorest children. All parents want the best for their child, no matter<br />
what their background or income may be. However, research shows that parents are unable to access the kind<br />
of community-based preventative support known to make a difference and to which they should be entitled,<br />
therefore the organization that aims to:<br />
• Improves parents’ confidence to support their children<br />
• Builds strong support networks for families in their community<br />
• Improves children’s success at school<br />
Thirty four families were involved in the scheme at St Clare’s where they worked closely with teaching staff in 3<br />
main groups or hubs over the 8 weeks. Part of the curriculum involved a sit down meal with the family and each<br />
week 2 members of the hub took responsibility to provide a home cooked meal. Catering Supervisor, Dolores<br />
Murray was on hand to provide help and support on recipes, reheating meals and providing cookware.<br />
“Having taught this child since Year 2, I have seen huge changes in her<br />
social & emotional development”<br />
Teacher, Black Mountain P.S<br />
“I’ve noticed a big difference in her. I could hardly get her to sit still half the time.<br />
Now, she listens more when I talk and I listen more to her too.”<br />
Parent St. Bernadette’s P.S<br />
“It's brilliant to see something like this happen in the school.<br />
It's so important for the kids to see that we're taking an interest in their lives”<br />
Parent Sacred Heart P.S
double celebrations at nettlefield primary<br />
Nettlefield primary invited the wider<br />
community into the school grounds for<br />
double diamond celebrations as Their 75th<br />
Anniversary coincided with the Queen’s Jubilee. The<br />
school is situated behind small, terraced housing<br />
bounded by Cherryville Street, Sherwood Street,<br />
Lawnmount Street and Radnor Street in East <strong>Belfast</strong>.<br />
It was designed by the renowned architect Reginald<br />
Sherman Wilshere at a cost of £<strong>30</strong>,000 and opened it’s<br />
doors in 1936.<br />
The school also has noticeably many windows (Around<br />
2000). Tuberculosis (TB) was common around this time<br />
and many people including children fell victim to the<br />
deadly illness and windows ensured good ventilation<br />
thereby limiting the spread of the disease. Many pupils<br />
past and present have went through it’s doors over it’s 75 year history including the footballer George Best and Miss<br />
Northern Ireland Diana Sayers.<br />
go wild in the west kathleen has left the building<br />
Supervisor Mary McGann and her team at St John the<br />
Baptist primary planned a massive Wild West theme<br />
day for all the pupils including her exporting schools.<br />
The team used the ‘Wild West’ theme kit provided by<br />
school catering to dress up and decorate the dining room.<br />
Staff made an extra special effort and get into the spirit<br />
of things by customizing some of their own clothing and<br />
purchasing some additional items that added to the event.<br />
Mary McGann said “The children really enjoyed the day<br />
but they were disappointed they never got to dress up like<br />
us. But not to worry because we plan to have more theme<br />
days in the near future and involve the children more”<br />
food in schools website<br />
On 31st May 2012 Kathleen Elliott, Catering<br />
Supervisor walked out of the doors of Glenwood<br />
school meals kitchen for the last time after 40<br />
years service. As was reported in the last issue of Teamtalk,<br />
Kathleen had just recently celebrated 40 years service<br />
on 14th February 2012 (St Valentine’s day) for it was on<br />
that same day she began work back in 1972. Friends and<br />
colleagues gathered at Cliftonville school meals canteen<br />
to wish her all the best for the future and present her with<br />
flowers and a gift in appreciation for her hard work and<br />
dedication over her long and distinguished service.<br />
The Department of <strong>Education</strong> (DE) has launched a new web site. The site includes a section on school meals which provides<br />
useful links to information and documents on nutritional standards and food in schools. It’s a great step in providing<br />
schools with support in relation to food in schools and can be accesses through the link:<br />
http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/support-and-development-2/5-schools_meals/schools_-_meals-nisca-pg.htm