Students at Arawang Primary School will soon learn about healthy home-style cooking and growing fresh produce in a new hospitality learning space as part of a push to promote healthy choices in ACT schools.
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The new $560,000 learning space consists of a cafe, canteen and teaching kitchen, and was officially opened on Tuesday.
Arawang Primary School principal Jeni Page said the space would promote "authentic or experiential learning" and healthy lifestyles by encouraging students from a tender age to grow fresh produce and practise healthy home-style cooking.
"The students will not only learn about their usual curriculum, but work in teams with chefs to absorb kitchen etiquettes, the science behind sustainable healthy cooking and lifestyle as well. Everybody eats but not all of them eat healthy food," she said.
The official opening of the facility – which is supported by the Stephanie Alexander Garden Initiative – was an exciting event for students such as 11-year-old Lucinda Drabsch,who is in year 6.
"This initiative is very special to us as you are learning to do the maths, measuring things, reading recipes, know about growing plants and so much more," she said.
"And this might just inspire us to participate in competitions like as learning from a young age will make us pretty good."
Education and Training Minister Joy Burch said it was rewarding for children to be around a garden, cultivate and nurture produce, to cook it in a kitchen then share the meal with a friend.
"These spaces are part of a range of initiatives to improve health and wellbeing in our schools," she said.
"Our attitudes toward food are formed during childhood so it makes sense that once a child begins school, the school environment plays a role in influencing healthy choices."
Ms Burch said students in year 3 to 6 would be able to harvest produce from the Stephanie Alexander garden, engage in cooking in the new kitchen and enhance their literacy, numeracy, science and social skills while interacting and learning in the new Bluebell Cafe.
The opening of the new facility at Arawang Primary School came as a new healthy-eating pyramid was released by Nutrition Australia after more than 15 years.
Vegetables feature at the bottom of the pyramid with less focus on carbohydrates but discretionary foods, of which Aussies get more than 30 per cent of their calories from every day, have been completely dropped.