Buninyong PS Newsletter

Principal's Report

Scholarship update 

In last week’s newsletter, we featured the work of our 2024 Photography Scholarship Team and this week we’d like to give you an update on the Master Chef Scholarship Program. 

 

There was significant interest from students in this scholarship program, and in the end we decided to offer 2 groups (total of 16 students), one coming together on Monday afternoons, the other on Wednesday afternoons. 

 

The two Master Chef groups, under the guidance of Emily Gilliland, have been cooking something different each week and are proving themselves to be very capable. This program is not just about the cooking, over the past few months her budding chefs have been learning:

  • Food Hygiene – why we need it in the kitchen.
  • Clean Kitchen Premises.
  • Knife Skills & Safety, Kitchen Equipment.
  • Preparing food to meet special dietary requirements.
  • How to read recipe.

Emily also has a focus on being organised in the kitchen, which includes the cleaning-up side of things.  The kids are certainly stepping up to the mark and are impressing at every turn.

 

Emily organises a weekly menu which focuses on teaching her budding young chefs the art of creating amazing, yet super easy & tasty dishes that we can all enjoy at school or to take home to show off to their families.

 

Emily is an advocate for student’s voice with a passion for teaching students the life skill of cooking. At the end of each class, she likes to ask the young chefs what they would like to cook the following week.  This enables the students to learn new skills each week, whilst running a program that is designed for them.

 

Emily is open for parents/carers to volunteer their time to come along & participate in special events that may arise in the coming terms.

 

Like the other scholarship programs, Emily is keeping an eye out for potential excursions.  For next term, Emily is exploring an opportunity to visit a working kitchen at Federation University Tafe where they offer Certificate 3 in Commercial Cookery (apprentice chef) along with many more Tafe courses. 

 

Towards the end of the year, the Master Chef Scholarship students will join the other 3 scholarship teams for a night of celebration.  The Master Chef Team will have an important role on that night, as they will be preparing and serving delicious food. 

 

There is also a plan for the students to compile a Buninyong Primary Schools Master Chef Scholarship Cookbook to sell at the end of the year.  This cookbook will be jam packed & feature all our favourite recipes we have made throughout the year & also some of the students’ recipes they like to cook with their families, it is sure going to be tasty!!!

 

This is all very exciting. Well done to Emily and the students involved. Lastly, of course, thank you to Noel and Pam Coxall, who have made this and the other scholarship programs possible through their generous donation.

 

Thank you to the Buninyong Community Bank and Buninyong & Mount Helen Lions Club 

A few weeks ago, we told you about the Buninyong Community Bank committing funds to help us with 2 projects, those being:

  • Funding an energy audit of the gym.
  • Helping us fund the construction of a gardening/STEM shed at Scotsburn.  The Buninyong & Mt Helen Lions Club is contributing to this project as well.

Yesterday we received the exciting news that the Buninyong Community Bank is combining with the Buninyong and Mt Helens Lions Club to fund a third project, which is to construct an EBT (Energy Breakthrough) shed at our Buninyong Campus.

 

To be part of EBT is a brilliant opportunity for students, and after last year’s event, we decided to commit for an extended period….the kids just get so much out of being involved in this event. 

 

Each year we have 2 teams (24 students in total) take part in Energy Breakthrough (EBT).  This is a major event that takes place in Maryborough, with entrants from a large number of primary and secondary schools across the state competing in a range of events.  The event aims to build understanding of sustainable living.  We enter the pedal cart event, which involves:

  • Students learning about the working of the bikes and learning the skills required to maintain them.  Each team has a pit crew who focus on this side of things.
  • Students training to race their bikes in an 8-hour event.  As you’d expect, students rotate through the cart throughout the race. Each team has allocated riders.
  • Each team develops a project with a focus on sustainability and their learnings through involvement in EBT.  These projects are presented to judges on the day before the race and are scored.

To continue being involved in this event, we need a space to store the bikes that doubles as a workshop for students to work on the bikes.  Unfortunately, this is something we’re unable to fund ourselves, so we are super appreciative of the community bank and the Buninyong and Mt Helen Lions Club for helping out.  We expect to see the shed go up in September.