Some new faces and canteen news

New Roles at Castlemaine Secondary College

Literacy Liaison

Louise Olsen is a registered teacher specialising in English, Art and Music. She has recently moved to Castlemaine from Katherine in the Northern Territory, and has spent most of her career living and working in schools in remote indigenous communities, Katherine and Darwin in the NT, giving her the opportunity to work with a range of students, communities and cultures. Louise is committed to providing support to students to enable them to achieve their goals and develop their confidence at school.  Louise is currently teaching VCAL/FLO literacy at Castlemaine Secondary College.

If you feel your child needs a literacy tutor please contact Louise on:

olsen.louise.v@edumail.vic.gov.au

Numeracy Liaison

Graeme Lipback has been teaching for 30 years teaching experience in Secondary Schools.  Mathematics 7-12, Science 7-10, Electronics 8-10, and Technology 11-12.Taught in schools in Melbourne, country Victoria, Perth, Cairns, Hobart, Darwin and overseas in Canada.  I have always worked in disadvantaged schools and worked for a short period with refugee children in Perth. My background is a trained Electronics Engineer working as a Technical Officer in Telecommunication for 10 years before moving into my teaching career.

He has been currently tutoring in Numeracy and Castlemaine Secondary College for over a year.

If you feel your child needs a numeracy tutor please contact Graeme on: lipback.graeme.w@edumail.vic.gov.au

Garden Project Co-ordinator

David Nicholson and family moved to Castlemaine from Melbourne twelve months ago. And has been volunteering at Castlemaine Secondary College this year.  He is a qualified Cabinetmaker who has been teaching Certificate II in Building and Construction for eleven years.    David’s practical work is influenced by creating visually aesthetic surroundings.

“I feel fortunate to continue the work started by Kathryn Coff and I’m excited to create a garden space that can be enjoyed by the school community.” David Nicholson  

David is looking forward to working with the many stakeholders that have contributed to the garden area. Interested volunteers or people who can donate garden material please contact David on nicholson.david.j1@edumail.vic.gov.au

Canteen

Canteen Update It is hard to believe we are already half way through the school year. We have all settled into our new kitchen at our combined campus. The new surrounds have allowed The Growing Abundance Project to expand our Primary School Lunch Program to four more Mt Alexander Primary Schools this year. With the continued support of CSC we aim to include even more schools before the year has ended.

Last month Grade 6 students from all over the shire attended Experience Day at CSC. It is so heartwarming to see their enthusiasm for the canteen. It seems a big part of Experience Day is the Canteen experience! As I filled out their lunch orders I saw many familiar names from our lunch order program.

July was Plastic Free Month, we thought this would be a great opportunity to remove bottled water from the canteen. The sale of bottled water has never sat well with The Growing Abundance Project. Each time we have tried to remove it from the menu it has been brought back due to popular demand. It has been fabulous to receive such a positive response to plastic free month. Perhaps the tide is turning. Could this become part of our long term approach to helping reduce landfill?

Also in July the CSC Youth Parliament Team presented their bill: Environmental Footprint of Edible Consumables Classification to the YMCA Youth Parliament in Parliament House in Melbourne. The objective of this Bill is to create a general label and infographic to appear on all consumer packaged edibles in Victoria that indicates the specific environmental effects engendered by the production and transportation of food products; specifically water usage, food miles, and greenhouse gas release associated with that product. The canteen was happy to act as a test case for this bill. Our menu scored highly. The results and our score are now displayed alongside our menu at the canteen. It’s great to see students reading it and thinking about where their food comes from.

If you are interested in volunteering in the canteen please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Deb Taylor: debbietaylor@usethings.com.au

It is a great way to be involved in our school.

Feedback and suggestions for how we can serve the students and staff of CSC is always welcome. Please drop us a line at canteen@growingabundance.org.au

Mary Macintyre, Canteen Coordinator