Ready, Steady, Cook

We had a wonderful day in school last Monday with a KS2 ready steady cook competition in the morning and fitness and smoothie sessions for Reception and KS1 in the afternoon. The children learned about balanced meals and including all of the food groups to ensure that our bodies have enough vitamins and minerals to function properly. The teams created two delicious dishes tandoori Salmon, pilau rice and sag aloo and parmesan chicken, spring onion pasta and chunky saucey salad. They meals were quick and easy to cook and absolutely fantastic. If you would like to create these dishes at home we will post the recipes for you to try out.  

Year 1 Tea Party

Thank you to all the parents, friends and family who were able to attend the Y1 Tea Parties. The children had a great time preparing the food, writing the invitations and then hosting the event. It was also fantastic to listen to the conversations it stimulated.

It is hard to believe that we have almost reached the end of the year with this cohort - it seems only moments ago that they were completing their transition from Reception to KS1.

This project has really given the children a very practical opportunity to apply their skills. Working together to make the cakes and organise the event - reciprocity. Working hard to get the tables laid and ready for the event - resilience. Best of all was listening to the children talking about the experience before, during and after the event. Without such fantastic support it wouldn't have had this impact - so thank you to all the parents.
Miss Chappel - Year 1 Lead

Shine On Saturday Project 2016

A huge thank you to Bancrofts Independent School who once again invited some of our More Able pupils to attend their Shine on Saturdays project.

The 10 week event is held each Saturday for 3 hours and allows our pupils to be immersed in a rich learning environment. In the sessions they benefit from being with other More Able pupils from schools across North and East London. They have access to fantastic facilities that we are unable to provide: science labs, photography studios, music rooms and kitchens.

This week they were able to welcome their families to come and share in the learning that they had been experiencing and show them some of the projects which they had completed!

Showing my parents around the school was great. It is just like Hogwarts with the chapel and courtyard. I felt so proud that I got to come here for 10 weeks
Jacob

One of my favourite activities was the photography project. We had to explore the grounds of the school, take lots of pictures and then learn how to edit and improve them. 
Arhann

In the Science labs we got to create our own DNA necklace. First we took swabs from our mouths and then analyzed it. In another lesson we also had the chance to create a volcano using yeast. It has been great fun.
Sienna

Who funds the projects?

Since August 2000, SHINE has invested more than £24.5 million in projects helping more than 280,000 children from 5,000 schools. Each year we give over £2 million in grants to programmes that provide extra educational support to broaden children’s opportunities.

Why do we take part?

“Many of our pupils may be very able, but they can suffer from a lack of aspirations. They may not have family members who have professional careers, or who have attended University. This project has helped to ensure that families can look to the future with a greater sense of purpose and consider different possibilities for secondary school - maybe the 11+ or possibly applying for a scholarship. Certainly it means the pupils are more likely to take STEM subjects in the future."

Malcolm Drakes - Executive Headteacher

100% of pupils agreed it had given them a positive experience of STEM subjects

100% of parents agreed it had raised their awareness of their child's potential

Y5 Pizza Workshop

This week pupils in Y5 were transported to Italy where they got to experience making real pizzas as part of their topic work.

I didn't realise that we were going to be making the pizzas from scratch! To start with we had to create dough and knead it into shape. Then we had to choose and chop up all of our ingredients. Normally we order pizza, we don't get to cook it in a real wood burning oven!
Grace

The oven was so hot. I put my pizza in and it was cooked in less than four minutes!
Shane

What recipe did they use?
Day Before Cooking:

• Pour water in a mixing bowl.
• Add salt, and dissolve in water.
• Add yeast to water and dissolve.
• Slowly add the flour to the water and mix by hand until a ball is formed.
• Remove from the bowl and place on your work bench, knead by hand for approx 10 mins.
• Dough should be a nice spongy texture-not too sticky or hard, add extra flour if necessary.
• Cover the dough with a plastic wrap, or coat dough with olive oil. Rest for 10 to 15 mins.
• Portion dough into approx 200g to 250g and round into balls.
• Place the balls into an air tight container and refrigerate overnight.

Day of Cooking:

• Remove dough balls from refrigerator 2 to 3 hours prior to making pizzas, allowing dough balls to prove at room temperature. After which the dough balls should be ready to hand stretch into your pizza bases. A smooth surface is required for stretching your pizza base, marble or granite bench-top is ideal. Sprinkle some flour on the bench before stretching.
• Place the pizza base on the flour and add your toppings.
• Use a wide paddle to scoop the pizza off the bench and place it in the oven.
• When the pizza starts to brown it can be turned in a circular motion with a small round pizza peel.
• The pizza should take approx 3 minutes to cook and can be taken out of the oven with the small round pizza peel.

Congratulations!

A huge congratulations to our school cook Michelle Creed who has been nominated for the title of LACA School Chef of the Year. This is the most prestigious title that any school chef across the UK can hold and an exciting year is guaranteed for whoever emerges as the 2017 winner.  We wish Michelle and her team the best of luck for the competition.

 

Year 3 Rationing Workshop

Our Year 3 pupils were learning about WW2 before the half term. As part of their topic, they looked at rationing and were able to try some of the dishes that would have been served during the war and austerity period.

"Last week we also had a visit from Miss Coook's Grandad. He had told us about some of these dishes - things like spam fritters. It was great to be able to taste them. I thought they'd be horrible, but they were actually quite nice."
Jack Peppitt

Why was food rationed in Britain in World War II?
Before the Second World War started Britain imported about 55 million tons of food a year from other countries. After war was declared in September 1939, the British government had to cut down on the amount of food it brought in from abroad as German submarines started attacking British supply ships. There was a worry that this would lead to shortages of food supplies in the shops so the British government decided to introduce a system of rationing.

Rationing made sure that people got an equal amount of food every week. The government was worried that as food became scarcer, prices would rise and poorer people might not be able to afford to eat. There was also a danger that some people might hoard food, leaving none for others.

MacMillan Coffee Morning - £117.04 raised!

Thank you to all the parents, friends and relatives who came to support the Year 6 MacMillan Coffee morning. We are delighted to announce that it raised £117.04 towards this very good cause!

It was so good to see so many members of our school community enjoying a coffee and a piece of cake together. The morning also gave our pupils a chance to meaningfully apply their maths skills and develop their communication and self confidence.

Reciprocity
We had to work in a team to make the cakes. First we were estimating the number of visitors and the portions we would need. Then our team had to decide on the roles: bakers, sellers, advertisers. On the day we had to communicate well with each other: cakes were running out, we needed to get change, helping people in the queue! It was really busy.
Drew Burkett

Maths
Mr Drakes tells us all the time that we need to be quick with our mental recall. Working out the change and handling the money was tough with so many guests. If you didn't calculate quickly and accurately the queue quickly began to grow.
Mason Lepley

Fundraising Efforts: Friday 18th September

Next we will be fundraising for two very worthy causes…
1. Jeans for Genes will mean that the children can wear jeans in to school as part of their uniform on Friday.
2. In addition there will be cakes for the children to buy at break and in class for Brandina, the orphan we sponsor at the Watato Ministry Orphange.

If each family could donate £1 and then bring in 50p for a cake then we would be able to raise a significant amount for two great charities. For more information about both, please see the school blog.

Bannockburn Primary Visit

Following our visit to Bannockburn Primary earlier this year, we were delighted to welcome their pupils back to our school.

Why do we link up with other schools?
We believe that is is important for both our staff and pupils to be aware of schools from different areas and schools where there are some real contrasts to what we typically experience at Broadford.

Differences
Bannockburn is a school in Greenwich (Plumstead) - South London
They have a much larger intake - four forms of entry
Their school is split over two sites
There are a much higher proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language
At both of their sites there is very little open space
Their school buildings are on many different levels - one has four floors!

It was great to show the Bannockburn pupils our outdoor learning areas. We were surprised at how little playground and field space they have... even though they are bigger than us. It was great to take them on the adventure trail and on the field.
Kirsty

At their school we saw that they have a new kitchen area. However we have Mr Borrell who teaches us how to cook. They loved making chicken chow mein with them. To begin with my partner wasn't too sure of how to use the knife safely but I was able to help her. I have been to cookery club twice!
Holly

Hopefully we will be able to continue the link with Bannockburn in the new school year as the pupils clearly hit it off and enjoyed showing each other their schools. Both of us have benefitted from the link. Due to what we saw in Greenwich, we will now be offering LAMDA classes from September. Likewise Bannockburn are now likely to join the Count On Us Challenge!

Year 2 Cookery

As part of their topic of growing vegetables and healthy eating, our Year 2 pupils all got to experience a cookery workshop.

First they had to chop and prepare the vegetables. Then both classes had to slice up the chicken breast... which many found quite slippery! Mr Borrell then showed them how to create their own pasta and the way you make your own tomato based sauce.

Once the ingredients were ready, the children cooked it in a frying pan.

"I was a bit nervous about tasting it as I don't normally eat tomatoes. However it was delicious! I'd like to try this at home with my mum"
Armani

Reciprocity
It really helped having Mr Borrell show us what to do. First he used the pasta machine, told us the steps and then we had a go. It was tricky, but he helped us to get it right.
Jacob

Cedar cook pasta

We had great fun cooking pasta with Mr Borrell. We made our own pasta then added vegetables and sauce. Yummy!

It was really hard rolling out the pasta sheets... it kept breaking!
Timi

I loved getting to do the chopping. The knives were very sharp so we had to be careful!
Caydon

Sip For Stroke Coffee Morning: Friday 10th July @ 9.05am

Fancy a cuppa? Year 4 will be holding a Sip for Stroke events next Friday. These events are a fantastic chance to catch up with friends over your favourite tipple and raise funds to help change the lives of people affected by stroke.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Healthy Eating Week

All of last week the children celebrated Healthy Eating Week. They carried out a range of activities:

Monday - Have a healthy breakfast

Have breakfast every day, including a drink.

http://bit.ly/1GrBXAu

Tuesday - Have 5 A DAY

Have at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day.

http://bit.ly/1F3lRsp

Wednesday - Drink plenty

Have at least 6-8 drinks each day (8-10 if aged 14 and above).

http://bit.ly/1IQV5bq

Thursday - Get active

Get active for at least 60 minutes every day (150 minutes over a week for adults).

http://bit.ly/1SgZyIL

Friday - Try something new

Go on a visit, eat a new food, have a new drink or try a new activity.

http://bit.ly/1PYj3lw

During Healthy Eating Week Cedar class enjoyed making smoothies. They chose their fruit, chopped it, then put it all in the blender watching it change into a liquid. Finally they enjoyed their tasty drinks.

Cookery Club - Chow Mein

Chef Mark Borrell - from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign - has been giving Year 5 pupils at Broadford Primary top tips on how to create the perfect chicken chow mein. In Year 5 the pupils have been looking at how they can help themselves and their families live more healthily: exercise, sensible eating and healthy snacks. It was also a chance to further develop cookery skills which they have built up during the school's cookery workshops and family Learn To Cook days.

 To begin with the children watched a demonstration so that they knew what to do with the ingredients. After that the pupils peeled, chopped and sliced their ingredients.

 "I didn't realise that you could make a dish like this so quickly and cheaply. My family would love this - we normally order chow mein from the take away. Now I can make it myself." 
Mervyn Vumuka - aged 10

This year the children have been given their own growing beds to grow vegetables to use in their cooking activities.

 "We have seen a much greater interest in healthy eating over the last couple of years. Holding these cookery workshops, providing the growing beds and allowing pupils to cook with their families in school have all helped to make cooking much more appealing. The chow mein experience is always the most popular one! Every one comes into the hall to ask for a portion once the aroma starts wafting down the corridor!" 
Georgina Reynolds - Year 5&6 Phase Leader

Love Food Hate Waste Workshops

There is a new exciting project at Havering Council, called Love Food Hate Waste Champions

You might be interested in, as we have run Love Food Hate Waste cookery workshop at our school in the past.

The Love Food Champions are volunteers who would like to help other people in their community to save money and make the most of the food they buy. Free one-off training sessions will be provided for them where they can learn how to run their own workshops on:

Saturday 14/03/2015, 10.30am – 12.30pm, Hornchurch Library,
Thursday 19/03/2015, 5.30pm – 7.30pm, Town Hall, Room TR4/5, Romford (booking required).

Further details or more information can be found at www.havering.gov.uk/lovefood

Cookery Club

In cookery club this week the children were making a vegetable chow mein. With their vegetables chopped up and garlic all pressed, the ingredients sizzled in the woks. By the end they had created a very tasty take away dish that was packed with goodness... delicious!