Kitchen & Garden Program

In 2010, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen was created. The creation of the kitchen has paved the way for innovation within the school curriculum, allowing the students to be taught an important life skill –cooking! Using fresh produce from the school garden, the junior and senior classes have the opportunity to participate in preparing food, cleaning up afterwards, serving the food, and engaging in a conversation around food & healthy eating.

Students are invited to participate in the maintenance of the garden; watering plants, nurturing growth, and picking fresh produce for the kitchen. This enables the students to practically understand the cycle of growth & change, and how fresh produce can then be used for consumption. The school has chickens whose fresh eggs are used in the kitchen and distributed to the wider community.

Introducing cooking classes into the curriculum is innovative in terms of Primary Education. It has many benefits such as teaching the students independence, enhancing gross & fine motor skills, and measuring quantities & how to read instruction. There is a firm place for cooking within the Mathematics, English, Health and Technologies curriculums.