Kitchen and Garden & Sustainability News

Threatened Species Bake Off

This fortnight we have our Surfside Threatened Species Bake Off.  Our Grade 3 and 5's were very creative and decorated cookies as Koalas, Kangaroo Island Echidnas, Green Turtles and Southern Bent-Wing Bat designs.  This an annual event that aligns with National Threatened Species Day on the 7th September and is held to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction.  We learnt today that this date commemorates the death of the last known thylacine (or Tasmanian tiger) in 1936.

Our guest judges will be choosing the winner of the Grade 3 and 5 teams and they will be announced at assembly tomorrow.  These teams will be awarded the Surfside Threatened Species Trophy and have their cookie design submitted to the Australian Geographic Threatened Species Bake Off Competition.

Good luck Grade 3's and 5s!

Grade 3

Grade 5

Garden News

Year 3s have been busy honing their garden skills! Last week they learnt all about our compost system and how it supports our garden and school community. They did a fabulous job identifying a healthy compost bin versus a not so healthy and by the end of it were all confident they could work in the compost :)

This week our year 5s will be busy gardening and helping with some fair plantings and painting signs.

Surfside Recycling Station

An exciting new addition has been made to the Surfside Recycling Station! Surfside now offers recycling for old felt-tip pens, markers, highlighters, liquid paper and correction pens, fountain pens plus ink cartridges, pen lids, and mechanicals pencils. 

There is a box at our recycling station where you can now drop off these items. 

Every year, Australians purchase around 140 million marker pens contributing to 700 tonnes of plastic land fill once they’ve been used.

Officeworks offer a Pen and Marker Recycling Program to all Victorian Schools where pens and other items are collected and cleaned, then melted down and turned into recycled hard plastics which can be used in things such as playgrounds, outdoor furniture, storage tubs, and even athletics tracks.

Each time a collection box is filled with old pens at Surfside, it will be taken to Officeworks in Geelong, and as a bonus, our school will go into the running for a prize.  So, please check all your old stationary tubs, cupboards, and pencil cases at home and bring in any of the items listed so we can fill up our boxes and help reduce plastic waste. 

To read more, please visit Recycling at Officeworks | Pen, Cartridge & Computer Recycling.

Happy Recycling, Surfside! 

Please bring your other recyclable items to our recycling station located at the main building entrance, down the garden end (near the library).  Batteries and phones will be collected in the kitchen (for safety reasons) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. 

Here is our list of items we are collecting:

Plastic Bottle Lids (cleaned please)

Plastic Bread Tags

Blister Packs

Oral Care (toothbrushes, toothpaste containers, dental floss)

Batteries (in kitchen)

Phones (in kitchen)

Pens and Markers (coming soon)

Thank you for helping us redirect waste and repurposing these items.

Food Scrap Fridays

So far for 2024 we have raised a massive total of 3,391.4 kg saved from landfill! 

The crew will continue to collect food scraps during the school holidays on both Fridays at 9am, and they definitely need some more volunteers and compost bins.

For those already bringing their scraps -  please lay off the bread, rice, doughnuts, onions and lemons and remove those fruits stickers!

Our food scrap team will be in the garden at 9am on Fridays to collect your fruit & veg scraps.

You can use any bucket, but if you would like one of ours, 

come by and we can give you one.

Well done to all the families and classrooms for your massive effort so far

What's Accepted:

Fresh and cooked fruit and veg scraps

What's Not Accepted:

Meat, dairy, plastics, including sticketrs, tea bags, bread, citrus and onions

Jam and Chutney Crew

We would love to start up a Preserving team who is available to come in a couple of times a term to whip up some jam or chutney at times of high harvest. 

If you are interested in being part of this group, we would love to hear from you!

Please emailfleur.kilpatrick@education.vic.gov.au or clancey.mckenzie2@education.vic.gov.au

GARDEN WATERING HELP NEEDED

We are in need of some garden helpers please. You don't need to be a gardener you just need to want to help and have a spare hour or half hour to help. The weather has encouraged the weeds to grow and also patches of the garden are a little dry where the sprinklers don't quite reach.

Please contact me if you can help in any way! 

 clancey.mckenzie2@education.vic.gov .au 

Volunteer Information

We would love more volunteers in our classes.  It is such a help as it greatly assists our students in their Kitchen Garden experience.  

Either email Fleur (kitchen) or Clancey (garden) or just show up on the day.  

There are a few things that need to be ticked off before volunteering:

• Have your Working With Children Check  https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1
• Complete a quick induction at the office prior to starting (around 5 mins) https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1
• Please read our Child Safety Induction for Volunteers and attachments (either email Fleur or Clancey for these documents or have a look over on the day).