The SRC have been up and running through Semester 2 and despite lockdowns, we have been able to do some leadership workshops, establish what we love about the school and also work out what we want to see improved and how we might help make that happen. Many ideas have been discussed such as dress code, student events, classroom comfort, better signage and wellbeing services. Small actions have been taken to help make sure students' voices are heard and supported. One issue we discussed was the number of students coming to school without breakfast. The solution — Breakfast Club!
We canvassed teachers that had experienced breakfast clubs at other schools to find out what worked and what didn’t. The SRC developed a survey which was filled in by over 70 students. The results surprised everyone. On that particular day, we found that just under half of our students were coming to school without breakfast. The reasons ranged from having to leave too early for the bus, to making them feel sick on the winding road to school, through to being in too much of a hurry, forgetting or just not feeling like it first thing. Some were getting something at school if they had time but many buses arrived too late to go to the canteen and some students didn’t have money with them. That very afternoon, after tallying up the surveys, we heard that due to staff shortages, the canteen would not be opening the next day. Breakfast Club (and now Lunch Club) were going to have to happen very quickly!
We purchased supplies that afternoon and had some basics ready to go at 8.30am the next day. Toast, tea, cereal and fruit were all on the menu. At lunchtime, the cooking elective baked some sausage rolls and pasties we were able to give out to those who were hungry or hadn’t brought lunch. We managed to do this for each of the three days the canteen was not able to open. Over 100 students accessed the service each day and overall it seemed a great success.
The SRC would like to thank James and all the teachers and students who supported them to make this idea a reality in such a short timeframe. The canteen will be open every day between now and the end of term and the SRC will take on board all that was learnt from the trial and see if it’s something they will propose in some form next year. In the meantime, it’s a good reminder to make sure students are coming to school with food in their bellies ready to learn, and with enough food to last them for the day. We are lucky to have such a wonderful canteen and thank Steve and the crew for the wholesome and affordable options they provide every day.
Sarah Ndiaye and the SRC