Pupils get breakfast boost

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It was spaghetti on toast for more than 300 pupils at Arataki Primary School this morning as the Kick Start Club officially launched its breakfast programme.

The club is a spin-off to the government-funded KickStart initiative that provides children in low decile schools with a daily serving of Weet-bix and milk five days a week.

Arataki School pupil Courtney Thompson, 5, with her breakfast. Photos: Tracy Hardy.

Steamers player Jesse Acton signing a Steamers poster for Renata Rawiri-Mongo, 5.

Deputy principal Shelley Blakey, who came up with the idea for the club, says the school hall will be open from 8am every weekday for children to come in and get a healthy breakfast to start the day.

'Along with providing a healthy breakfast, there will be teachers and adults available to help with home reading or homework – or if the students just want to come along and have a milo and chat with each other.”

On hand to launch the club this morning was Bay of Plenty Steamers Jesse Acton and Jono Kitto, and Waikato/Bay of Plenty Kia Magic coach Noeline Taurua who served up spaghetti and toast to the 340 pupils.

Tauranga Police and Bunnings Warehouse staff also helped out at the opening.

Shelley says the aim of the club is to give pupils the best possible start.

'We're committed to making sure that the kids have a nutritious and stress free start to the day. It's all about having the best start to the day.”

Not only does the club encourage pupils to arrive at school on time, Shelley says it also encourages positive interactions with peers and helps parents interact with teachers.

'It's really important that children come in to the classroom and they've eaten the right food that's going to sustain concentration and focus.

'It's also a really nice way for our staff to stop and interact with our students.”

Arataki School has been signed up to the government's KickStart programme for about two years.

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4 comments

If you cannot feed,

Posted on 24-07-2014 05:03 | By Sambo Returns

your children, why have them, ooops silly me.... pop them out, get more subsidies, and let them become someone elses problem, while this support is great for the unfortunate children, it does reek of the"ambulance at the bottom of the cliff" syndrome, fix the major problem first!!!!


what next

Posted on 24-07-2014 08:12 | By dave4u

Lunch tea and a bed for the night? What happened to parenting, rearing and feeding your young ..even rabbits do that.


Sambo Returns

Posted on 24-07-2014 10:02 | By expatAucklander

Initiatives like these operate on the premise that it is not the child's fault for being born into a low income family (any more than you did anything to deserve being born into the family that you did). Feeding hungry kids so that they can focus at school and improve their educational outcomes is hardly an ambulance/cliff example. Having a snarky rant at the parents is an ignorant approach to a wider problem. Fantastic scheme to help the real victims on inequality, good on the businesses involved.


get a grip

Posted on 24-07-2014 10:31 | By alc74

omg, good on this school for recognising and addressing a countrywide issue, Sambo 5 years ago when alot of these kids were born bread, milk, petrol in fact everything was alot cheaper, not a case of pop them out get more more subsidies. Good on these adfults for being positive role models and not whinny snobs


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