The Ministry of Education's health school lunch programe begins at LCŌ and all Tamai schools.

Kia ora koutou. Talofa. Kia Orana. Malo e lelei. Bula. Fakaalofa atu. Namaste and Kumusta. Greetings to everyone at LCŌ and our wider LCŌ community.

Nau mai ki te 2021 - Welcome to 2021. Like everyone we hope for an easier year than 2020, a year I am very happy to describe as "a pig of a year."

This is not my usual start-of-year article welcoming our new whānau and learners. I will do this at the end of the week. This is a specific article about our first day of Ka Ora, Ka Ako, the healthy school lunch programme. Your child/children may have talked to you about it.

I am very pleased to say to that the various students whom I spoke with were complimentary about the food. However what none of us enjoyed was the muck up of logistics. The lunches were hours late arriving at school and were not sorted as had been specified. This put at least some strain on many people and a lot of strain on some. I thank everyone for their patience. 

However logistics can be altered as people learn from experience. I am not knocking the company which has been contracted by the Ministry of Education to supply our lunches as, for all I know, they may have been given very late orders by other schools and they were doing their best to fulfil them. Also, I was once in the hospitality industry for five years and have repeatedly experienced what a high-pressure environment it can be. However, we have given our feedback to our supplier and look forward to the positive adjustments. The key thing is, as I have said, is that the kids liked the food.

Below is an edited repetition of an explanation about Ka Ora, Ka Ako that I wrote in December last year. This is for new whānau to LCŌ or if existing whānau want a reminder about what this about.

I will write again at the end of the week about our start to the year generally. Until then -

Ngā mihi ki a koutou -

Richard Edmundson Tumuaki-Principal

                                                    Ka Ora, Ka Ako

Ka Ora, Ka Ako is the healthy school lunch programme, that the Ministry of Education has contracted catering companies to provide to all Tamai schools, and others. These healthy lunches are free to all LCŌ students every single school day for 2021.

The menu changes from day to day and will cater for all our students' requirements including diet, health and cultural needs. The lunches are not compulsory, and whānau can continue to provide their child’s own lunch if they wish.

We have spoken with Rotorua Boys' High School who went into the programme in term 4 2020. RBHS had nothing but praise for the programme and said that the inevitable few teething problems were quickly overcome. We have been receiving regular advice and good support from our local Ministry of Education office.

Whānau receive an order form to ensure each student receives the right lunch for them.

We have joined this programme along with our local Tamai partner primary schools. Together, we, Tamai, have decided to take the Ministry of Education option of a group of schools contracting one external provider to supply the range of required health and nutritious lunches. All suppliers are required to meet New Zealand food safety standards and all packaging is to be environmentally sustainable.

We have accepted this offer because it is the right thing to do, particularly with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we know there are hungry children in every community, we do not always know who they are. Providing a lunch to every child means we do not need to single-out those who need it more than others.

We are working with the Ministry of Education on the best way both to understand and meet the diversity of our students' needs. To do this, later this term we will be seeking ideas, feedback and involvement from you, our whānau, and our wider community.

The programme will run until the end of 2021 and will be evaluated while it is running. This will include feedback from schools, students and suppliers about:

• what the lunches are like?
• how they are delivered?
• if they have an impact on students’ wellbeing and learning and achievement?

This information will help to decide whether to continue beyond 2021, and what an ongoing programme might look like.

Information about the programme is at: www.education.govt.nz/free-and-healthy-school-lunches For further specific queries the Ministry has set up a dedicated address: school.lunches@education.govt.nz