07 May 2025
South Island Round Up
In the last week of term 1, Ross, our South Island based Relationship Manager, embarked on trip to visit some of our KickStart Breakfast schools located in North Otago and Lower Canterbury. Blessed with three stunning days of clear blue skies and perfect conditions for traveling, it was a perfect opportunity to connect with school staff and support with their KickStart Breakfast programme.
The focus of the trip was quite specific to support schools who were at various stages of their involvement with the programme:
- New Participants: Some schools were just about to join the KickStart Breakfast programme providing a chance to connect and share how they might start with the programme next term.
- Recent Participants: Others had only been in the programme for a short time but had seen growth in the number of tamariki and rangatahi accessing the programme.
- Long-term Participants: A few schools that hadn't had a visit from our team for some time.
Journey Highlights
Each school visited over the three days presented the KickStart Breakfast programme in its unique way, reflecting the diverse environments and communities they serve. This trip highlighted our exceptional Anchor milk teams who make sure Anchor UHT Lite milk is seamlessly delivered to out-of-the-way places like Maniototo Area School.
Alpine Milk, Anchor Franchisee based in Queenstown always ensures the Area School is stocked up and ready to go.
Great KickStart Breakfast catch up at St Brigid's School, Dunedin
Impact on Students
Meeting with staff to hear their stories about how they came to be involved in KickStart Breakfast and the positive improvements they notice among their students as a result. Many teachers, teacher-aides, and principals have observed tamariki becoming more settled at the start of the day and easing into the school day more naturally.
Creative Solutions
Some schools are creatively grappling with the questions of ‘Where?’, ‘How?’, and ‘When?’ to run their KickStart Breakfast programme. It’s been wonderful to see how different minds approach the matter with the careful balancing the availability of staff and volunteers with the structure of the school day. Generally speaking, many schools are seeing more tamariki and rangatahi attending their breakfast club which comes from a blend of student needs and the annual journey into the cooler terms in autumn and winter. ‘Breakfast’ may be being served at different times of the day which works best for each school and their individual needs. Our programme wants to empower schools to think how their KickStart Breakfast club can be flexible and adapt to the needs of their students.
This trip was a testament to the dedication and creativity of school staff in implementing the KickStart Breakfast programme. The positive impact on students is evident, and the commitment to education in these communities is truly inspiring. Thank you to all schools for your warm welcome and for sharing your experiences.