WELCOME
The Coogee Canteen is operated by our P&C with the aim of providing high quality, allergy aware healthy snacks and lunchtime meals to students and staff at reasonable cost.
We meet and exceed the requirements of the NSW Healthy Canteen Strategy 2017. We avoid colourings and preservatives where possible. We also aim to minimise waste and work with the school’s waste, recycling and composting programs. We also grow and use a few herbs in our own garden!
Click on the image above to watch our Healthy Canteen video!
How we keep getting better & better …
Where possible, we endeavour to source organic and free range produce. We hand-make and prepare a range of snack and lunchtime menu items in the canteen each day.
We rely heavily on the support of parent volunteers (keep scrolling down for the link to volunteer).
As a P&C activity, the Canteen belongs to the parent body and is always looking to improve and reflect the wishes and needs of parents, so feedback is most welcome.
Parent and volunteers suggestions are welcome and we will add items to our menu based on this feedback . In 2020 a parent offered to make new items for the canteen
We love student suggestions and we have made changes to our menu base on these suggestions, recently the focus has been providing more vegetarian options and also lactose free, gluten free and vegan options
You can also follow our Healthy Canteen Facebook page to keep up to date with all our latest news!
Look what we’ve contributed to …
By choosing compostable packaging, we’ve made a big impact by reducing our waste! So far, our school has …
Offest 1,124kg of carbon
Avoided 339kg of plastic
Supported rainforest rescue
VOLUNTEERING AT THE CANTEEN
The Canteen is fun and you can do just a couple of hours a month - or more if you wish! Some volunteers come in more often while others come in once a term or even once a year. We are very flexible.
A typical shift would be either between 9-11 am or 11-1 pm on your preferred weekday, every 4 weeks.
All are welcome … we have Mums and Dads, (pre-school siblings welcome Tuesdays) aunts and uncles and grandparents on our roster. Students love to see a loved face in the canteen. Any help is much appreciated!
Another fun way to give the Canteen a try is to talk to your Class Parent about signing up for a class volunteer day - this is when a few parents from the same class help out at the canteen on the same day - and earn their kids class an ice treat each as a reward! Win win!
“We are so happy to welcome volunteers back to the Canteen”
CANTEEN FAQs
HOW TO ORDER
Our Canteen uses Flexischools on-line ordering system for all lunch and recess orders.
Orders can be reviewed/edited/cancelled online until 8.45am on the day and cancelled by calling the Canteen before 9.30am on the day of the order.
In an Emergency, after 8.45am you can call the Canteen on 93157255 ext 106.
You can order well in advance and even set recurring orders!
CASH AT THE CANTEEN
This was suspended due to COVID but then we saw the benefits of no cash. Parents & students can still buy ice treats on-line but get served in a fraction of the time and have so much more time to play and enjoy the lunch break, so we kept it that way, no cash more play.
CANTEEN FOR KINDIES
Kindies can order anything from the Canteen menu from the day they commence school - however it does help some children to settle into their daily routine by bringing a packed lunch from home. Kindy students do not go to the canteen to collect any orders, they are collected by school staff and taken to each Kindy class. This includes Ice treats which are collected when lunch is eaten in playtime.
YEARS 1 - 6
From year 1, two students from each class collect all canteen orders in a basket and take them to be distributed to their classmates. For Ice treats, at the start of the year 1 Teachers arrange for two students to collect all the year 1 Ice treats and they are given out in the playground. As the year progresses, Year 1 will start to collect from the Canteen windows after 2nd Bell (1.10pm).
CRUNCH ‘N’ SIP 10AM
The Canteen does not provide crunch ‘n’ sip, so if you are ordering from the canteen it’s important that you still remember to pack a small container with fresh fruit / vegetables - especially for the younger years.
RECESS 11 - 11:35AM
Choose from HOT food like corn on the cob, or cheese melts. Make your own fruit salad or veggie cup, or choose individual fresh or frozen fruit pieces. For something crunchy, there’s popcorn, breadsticks or potato chips. Or try a 100% fruit strap, gingerbread, or one of our muffins, bliss bombs, coconut shortbread, Anzac biscuit or banana bread - all baked in the Canteen.
LUNCH 12:45 - 1:35PM
Lots of HOT options include beef burgers, cheese melts, sausage or spinach rolls, beef or veggie nachos, choices of pizza, pastas and lasagna. You can choose your own fruit or veggie salad, create your own sandwiches or wraps or choose from our popular sushi options. Snacks, water and ice treats / frozen yoghurt are also available. On Fridays, we also have a menu from Barzura, with proceeds going to a children’s charity in Tanzania (see below for more details). “Eat” time is from 12.45 to 1.10pm, then playtime is 1.10pm to 1.35pm, this is when Ice treats can be collected from the canteen.
PSSA SPORT / UPSIDE DOWN FRIDAYS
If your child is in a PSSA sports team, we have set up a system to ensure that your child’s lunch is ready (and at the right temperature) for when they return to school
Select the PSSA FRIDAY MENU on Flexischools (instead of the regular lunch menu).
Select SPORT, then click & select options
Add food items & confirm
UPSIDE DOWN FRIDAYS
On FRIDAYS during TERM ONE and TERM 4, lunch and recess times are swapped to accommodate PSSA sport (Lunch is at 11.00am - 11.55am and Recess is at 1.10pm - 1.35pm). This means that on these days, what you order from the canteen for recess will be delivered at 1.10pm - and what you order for lunch will be delivered at 11am.
ALLERGIES
We have many students at Coogee Public School with a number of allergies and ask that parents are aware of this when packing lunches. High-risk allergens that we ask you not to pack in your child’s lunch are sesame, all nuts and nut products, whole eggs and milk as we have students with life threatening allergies. It is particularly important to note that messy products (e.g. hummus, tahini, peanut butter and yoghurt) containing these allergens can be the most dangerous as they can be spread easily and unknowingly.
If your child suffers from allergies that could cause anaphylaxis, please select this option on the menu - your child’s order will be signed of by a second staff member before it is sent out.
(Please also ensure that you have completed all the required paperwork with the office)
FORGOTTEN LUNCH?
Yes, it happens - that’s life. But of course we won’t let any kids go hungry … children who forget their lunch and report this to their teacher will be given a vegemite or cheese sandwich ($3-$5) from the Canteen. A note will be handed to the child to take home requesting payment via IOU (see below) or parent/carer can pay by on Flexischools IOU
NEED TO PAY AN IOU?
In the Flexischools app - go to Food and swipe left till you get to Canteen IOUs. Select a canteen amount and add it up till you have reached the amount owed and finalise your order as normal.
On a Desktop - start an order and then you will see the IOU service. Select a canteen amount and add it up till you have reached the amount owed and finalise your order as normal.
ACCOMMODATING NEEDS
We are proud to offer the following options within our menu:
Different sizes for different appetites | Vegetarian | Gluten Free
WATER
Water is available from the Canteen, however it is recommended that your child bring their own water in a reusable drink bottle with their name on it. Student are able to refill their water bottles during the day. Hydration is very important.
COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTS
CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY AT SCHOOL
In our “Ice treats” section, you are able to order any of our ice treats (quelch. moosies or jucies) or twisted yogurts for the whole class. You need to check with your teacher how many kids are in the class and order for all (plus one for the teacher).
They are collected at a time suiting the teacher, from 11.20 am or after lunch by the birthday child and helper and given out in class.
“Thank you to all the parents who use our service, students who love our service, staff who use our service and volunteers who contribute their time to make our amazing canteen work so well.”
— Alison Kyling, Canteen Manager
GIVING BACK
As part of our fabulous & varied Healthy Canteen menu, on Fridays we offer Nasi Goreng, Penne Bolognaise and Penne & Italian Tomato Sauce from Barzura.
When you purchase these dishes from our canteen, Barzura donate 100% from the sale of these dishes to Communities Assist to feed the 30 orphaned and vulnerable children at Rainbow Ridge in Tanzania.
This initiative has been successfully running at Coogee Public School since 2012 - and since then our contribution has reached just over $40,000!!
