Newland Electorate

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:18): I would like to acknowledge today in the house Banksia Park School R-6, one of the beautiful schools in my electorate of Newland. I would particularly like to acknowledge the work of Krys and Katie at the school, who run the very popular Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Many members would be familiar with the program. Basically, it is run by trained garden and kitchen specialists to give students the opportunity to grow, cook and share healthy meals with other students in their classes.

At Banksia Park, all students from reception to year 6 partake in the kitchen garden. They grow veggies, they care for the chickens in the chicken coop, they follow recipes, set the table, wash dishes and eat at the table together, practising their table manners. I have had the great pleasure of volunteering in the kitchen garden at Banksia Park on three separate occasions now and we have made a variety of recipes. We made an Asian noodle salad, we made focaccias, we made nasi goreng, and last week with the reception class we made cold rolls and healthy choc chip banana muffins.

Each group is split into kitchens with adult helpers. They take turns cutting the veggies or stirring the ingredients, and I have given some of my students who have been with me the role of 'recipe master' where they get the opportunity to direct the group and let them know what they have to do next. They all get excited, and I love the way they share recipes from home and they share different skills they have learned from their mums and dads and grandparents in the kitchen with their friends.

They are also expected to try new things. There was one little boy I was sitting with who really wanted a second muffin but who had not had a cold roll yet. I told him he had to have some more cold rolls before he went into the muffins. Originally he said no, saying he did not like it, but a few minutes later I came back and he was onto his second cold roll, had not touched the muffins and had found a new food that he enjoyed.

I think it is a really good experience for the students. They obviously get to learn how to grow things and cook things but also how to relate to one another, how to make their own food, how to be safe and kind to each other in the kitchen, and I think it is a really wonderful program.

At the end, they also thank the volunteers in Auslan, which is another important aspect of what they do at Banksia Park school, and they teach their volunteers how to thank the kitchen staff as well. I would like to say for the record a special thanks to Krys and Katie again and all the volunteers who make the Banksia Park kitchen garden the successful project that it is.

It would be remiss of me today, dressed in a mustard colour, to stand in this place and not acknowledge the mighty, mighty Modbury Hawks football club. For most of the season, not all but most, the Modbury Hawks have been undefeated and Modbury have shown time and time again in every division that they are a force to be reckoned with.

The mighty Hawkettes played Loreto in the grand final a few weeks ago and, although they were unsuccessful, they put up a brilliant fight. I really want to commend the women's side who have gone from strength to strength since winning the grand final in their first year a few years ago. I would also like to acknowledge Meagan, from my office, who played a very good game and broke her foot in three places. Unfortunately, they did not take home the win and I do not envy her hubby, Reece, who is also the coach, who has to make the decision as to whether she returns to football next year. But it was a really great season for the girls and I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Hawkettes at the Modbury Hawks football club in the last few months particularly.

We were also welcomed on Sponsors Day at Modbury on Sunday. I went along with the member for Wright and the member for King, and I would like to thank the volunteers who put on that day—Gorby, Buddha, Tania, Sandy, Daren and so many others who made it an awesome environment as always. We well and truly feel like we are family at the Hawks and I think that they have shown us the true community spirit that they have, not just for their members and their players but for the community around us.

This weekend there are qualifying finals for the A, B, C and D sides at the Modbury Hawks and I do want to wish them all the best of luck. We very much look forward to joining them and seeing lots of their teams in the big dances in weeks to come. I would like to again acknowledge the players, the coaches and the volunteers who make this club such an awesome place and thank them for bringing us into their communities and into their lives as part of their own, so thank you.