|
Keirsten Wallace has been canteen manager for eighteen months
at Park Orchards Primary School. Through her work, the canteen
has improved dramatically and is now functioning efficiently,
providing a healthy menu and making a profit.
Keirsten is also a parent of the school and although the
position is a paid position, she does many, many hours over
and above what she is paid.
Since taking over the role, Keirsten has completely revamped
the interior of the canteen by removing, rearranging and replacing
old equipment with more functional equipment, although not
necessarily all new or expensive. She has ensured that the
space is more functional and so has enhanced the efficiency
of the process of preparing and serving food thus making it
a better place to work for the parent volunteers.
Keirsten has also reviewed and streamlined all the processes
of preparation of lunch orders and documented this for parent
volunteers. Recently she developed a flow chart of the steps
in making the new lunch options by taking digital photos of
the steps in the process and displaying these in the canteen
to support the parent volunteers working out the new menu
options.
Keirsten introduced a program of using year six students
this term to help in the canteen at recess time. The whole
process was treated as a vocational exercise with the students
writing an application according to the Duty Statement developed
for canteen assistants. Keirsten and I interviewed the students
and Keirsten took them through a food handling course. This
is proving to be a very successful program both for the students
who are working very responsibly and for the parent helpers
who have some extra hands at recess.
Keirsten has also redeveloped the canteen menu with a focus
on healthy foods including fresh fruits. She has graded the
menu options using the smiley face codes from the Victorian
School Canteen Association standards. The menu has been very
well received by parents, staff and students and in fact,
many children are seriously looking at the healthiest choices
when ordering their lunches.
As a way of increasing the school community's understanding
and awareness of the new menu, Keirsten organised and conducted
a Canteen Expo where all children and parents were invited
to sample and see the new products. This was a very successful
exercise, the children and parents were very positive about
the new products, and in fact Keirsten ran out of frozen oranges
because they were so popular!
The Facilities Sub Committee is currently working on a plan
devised by the canteen manager to redevelop the canteen counter
and windows so the children can better see the new healthy
food products and further enhance the efficiency of the canteen
and the promotion of healthy food.
These innovations which have come from our canteen manager,
Keirsten Wallace, have not only dramatically improved the
efficient operation of the canteen but more importantly have
led to a clear focus on healthy food and healthy eating habits.
- Principal
|
