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"Yarrawonga Primary School Canteen Manager Glenda Smith has
initiated many positive outcomes through her ability to effectively,
creatively and efficiently manage our school canteen. Not
only does Glenda make every effort to provide students with
healthy, interesting food choices for recess and lunch, she
has extended the canteen to also provide healthy breakfast
cereals, fruit and toast for students. All students at Yarrawonga
Primary School are able to have breakfast at school two mornings
a week if they wish to. Glenda has ensured that on the days
that breakfast isn't openly available that students who have
not had breakfast at home are provided with breakfast as a
way to encourage a good start to a student's day.
There are also occasions where Glenda runs special canteen
days where students are offered special food choices. Some
of these include hot dog days, healthy milkshake days, fruit
slush puppies, baked potato days, homemade soup days and fruit
salad days. Special meal deals that incorporate healthy eating
choices are offered regularly. For example, hot dog meal which
included an apple and a 'prima', whereas normally we wouldn't
sell 200 apples in the canteen on one day.
In doing so, Glenda has created opportunities for students
to work alongside herself and her colleagues to provide healthy
food for students at Yarrawonga Primary School. On occasions
when there has been a needy family, the canteen will run cooking
sessions with the help from volunteers and students from our
Community Workshop and the end result is food will go home
to these families. To reduce wastage, every effort is made
to ensure that food that is nearing end date or in excess
is distributed to those in need.
In the every day to day running of the canteen, students
are learning basic food preparation and hygiene skills and
every day to day life skills. Students are also supervised
with cash handling and learn simple money transactions.
The canteen offers students who have special needs or need
space from the normal day to day activities to refocus their
energies into positive assistance in the canteen. For example
basic cooking skills, folding boxes, restocking shelves and
general maintenance of the canteen.
…Without Glenda's dedication, these opportunities and healthy
meal styles would not be experienced by staff and students
at Yarrawonga Primary School."
- Michelle Klowss, Welfare Officer
"I am a mother of 6 grown up children. I have always loved
children…
I started doing canteen duty in the early 90's and this continued
for many years until I took the unpaid position for 1 year
and then it became a paid position. A job I have been doing
since 1999. I enjoy my job and love walking through the playground
and having the children all call out to me. And when I arrive
on Tuesday mornings loaded up with bread for the free breakfast
and everything else I am trying to carry on one trip from
the car, you can hear the scream of 'Glenda's here' and the
children rush to greet me and help to carry my load. By the
time I get to the canteen door, I am usually empty handed
and they are asking for the key around my neck so they can
unlock the shutter for me. And then it's 'Can I help? Can
I help?' The older ones are allowed to help load the toaster
until the other adult help arrives. [In 2004, Glenda raised
funds and community donations to purchase a conveyor toaster
for the canteen that cooks at least 150 slices per hour.]
I work in the canteen on Monday, Tuesday and Fridays and
the other two days of the week at a child care centre. It's
hard to choose between the two and if I could I would work
at both full time as I love walking in the gates at both places,
there's only 1 of me and I think I am lucky that both my jobs
are involved with helping children.
My philosophy is if you want to be good at what you do, you
need to love it and that's what I do. I believe all children
need to be treated with respect and made to feel special.
When a child comes with no lunch, make them feel special,
don't make them think they are a burden because you have to
make them a sandwich. I always say 'Hey, how hungry are you?
Would you like two?' Nobody knows what their day was like
before they came to school. Late lunch orders it's usually
'Right, you're on dishes - see you at recess.' They look and
then I say, 'No, just joking.'
I see the canteen as playing an important role in schools
but I think that there is too much emphasis on us and more
responsibility needs to go back to the parents."
- Glenda Smith, Canteen Manager
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