College cooks up a healthy future

HERITAGE College in Narre Warren South recently held a week of health-related activities to challenge students and the community to be more proactive in developing positive health habits.
Activities included two restaurant meals, a Sanitarium community breakfast, a lifestyle seminar and a mini-fete.
Parents, invited guests and staff were treated to a feast over two nights at the Centre Road school. Qualified chef Margy Barons, wife of school principal Stuart Barons, coordinated the food preparation along with students and parents.
Mrs Barons also launched her new cookbook during the week’s activities.
Former Heritage College teacher Pam Wiwsyk also returned for the week’s events and took charge of the table settings and waiting.
Mr Barons said the program was the first run in the college’s new facilities and opened opportunities for college students to be exposed to the challenges of hospitality.
Mr Barons said community response to the program had been positive and the 245 students in attendance enthusiastically received the student-focused events.
“All were encouraged to make each week a ‘Healthy Heritage’ week so that they can be proactive in developing a healthy lifestyle so as to minimise the societal trends of obesity and diet-related illnesses,” he said.
During the week’s activities the students were also involved in a house competition to see which could accumulate most circuits around the 500-metre course. The circuits were than translated into kilometres and students could see how far they could theoretically run around the City of Casey.
Collectively students ran 1046 kilometres and the leading house was Elliot, which ran 331 kilometres, the equivalent of nearly three circuits around the city.
A student and staff soccer match was also held and won 2-0 by the staff.
The win gave the teachers a strong feeling of satisfaction after the students won the staff-student cricket match last year by just one run.
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of Mrs Barons’ cookbook can contact Heritage College on 9796 0100. The cost is $7.50.