Young Cooks Serve Up a Tasty Mexican Treat
There’s no time for siesta when it’s time for fiesta – that was the message to invited guests for a tasty Mexican feast created by young chefs from Ramsgate Arts Primary.
The Year 6 catering crew prepared, cooked and served a number of nutritious tasty dishes to family and friends in a celebration of a week-long intensive cookery course.
Linking in with their latest classroom topic Mexico: Then and Now, the
children worked under the expert guidance of Newington Community Chef Mike Spackman in the kitchens at the town’s Royal Harbour Academy.
The girls and boys explored basic cooking skills, recipes and menus of traditional food. They were taught knife skills (including the bridge and claw grips), preparation techniques and how to use equipment such as food processors, hobs and ovens.
After each day, the pupils shared their latest creations and discussed what went well and what they had enjoyed. After the Thursday session, they voted for their favourite dishes to create a mouth-watering menu for Friday's feast.
Year 6 teachers Jon Williams and Andrew Beraet were impressed at the way the pupils embraced the cookery challenge and engaged with new skills in the kitchen.
They said: “A wonderful meal was served that included a range of dishes from across the week: chilli con carne, mini chicken fajitas, taco salad, pork koftas, spicy potatoes and stuffed peppers.
“Thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who were able to come and
enjoy the cuisine of offer - it made the whole project worthwhile.”
Mike Spackman oversaw a range of kitchen rules and skills including food preparation skills, safety and hygiene, following recipe instructions accurately and understanding recipe language, accurate use of measuring equipment, cookery, serving and presentation skills.
He said: “Over a full school week all children, without exception, have grown in both confidence and enthusiasm.
“In the main, they have been willing and eager to explore new flavours and textures. Ingredients that were a mystery at first have now become far more familiar.
“They have all overcome some demanding challenges and produced some truly great tasting food. We clearly have some ‘chefs in the making’.”
Head of School Nick Budge said: “This was a fantastic success that served up well cooked tasty food as part of our celebration of Mexican heritage and culture.
“The children were the stars of the show but huge thanks go to our Year 6 teachers, Mike Spackman for his enthusiasm and encouragement, and to Tom Boughton and Simon Pullen for allowing us to use the excellent facilities at Royal Harbour Academy.
*Mike Spackman is BBC Food and Farming Awards Cook of the Year 2017, B.Ed. Hons Primary, Certificate in Professional Cookery; Project manager of The Community Chef Project (Swale) since 2008, currently on a two-year secondment to Newington Big Local in Ramsgate.
Ramsgate Arts Primary School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate, and Upton Junior School, Broadstairs.
For more information contact Head of School Nick Budge on 01843 582847
The relentless responsibilities of being a parent are being experienced by children at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
Year group teachers Jon Williams and Andrew Beraet said: “Nevertheless, the requirement to keep their baby with them at all times and keep it safe gave an insight into 'parenthood'. For some of the children it became a real struggle to juggle their learning tasks with the supervision of their 'offspring'.”
experiment our ‘parents’ were generally very successful and, apart from three 'deaths' (split bags), the children cared for their babies remarkably well.
even waking their children to 'feed' or 'care for' their ‘offspring’ in the night.”
“I know that it meant our boys and girls re-evaluated just how much their parents do for them, each day, every day, unconditionally.
Young creatives at Ramsgate Arts Primary have been displaying their collective imaginative skills for a competition run by the world famous National Gallery in London.
pupils for the 2022/2023 challenge.
Head of School Nick Budge said: “This dramatic seascape certainly inspired all our year groups to create thought-provoking artwork that focuses on many parts of the story.
As a result, RAPS entries were displayed at the National Gallery as part of a virtual tour at the start of pandemic lockdown, and they also saw their work featured on digital billboards in major cities across the UK.
Picture venture is very high - they worked very hard with their teachers and the result is a fabulous showcase of their skills.”
The lives of the invaders and settlers who changed the face of Britain are being explored by children at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
have also created a Saxon-style brooch using an embossing technique. They embossed tin foil over cardboard and then coloured it using permanent markers to make it look like metal and jewels. The patterns they created were symmetrical to look at and as authentic in detail as possible.”
“As well as expanding their knowledge, it will develop our children’s critical thinking skills.”
Everyone was a winner as Ramsgate Arts Primary children took to the stage for a special talent show.
“After watching the acts, the judges went off to deliberate and had a difficult time choosing their top three spots. Third was Sienna and Phoebe from Year 6 with their rendition of Fight Song; runner up singer Raph from Year5; and the winner was Eva from year 3 with her astounding magic tricks.
“Our talented girls and boys were of a high standard for their age ranges and they gave all of us in the audience a smashing treat.”
Jubilee fever gripped Ramsgate Arts Primary as children of all ages celebrated the Queen’s marvellous milestone.
The little ones also joined the rest of the school in a special assembly where they took part in a quiz and sang the national anthem while waving their flags.
Early Years Foundation Studies lead Sophie Spurrier said: “They little ones were excited and were really engaged with all the activities they took part in. It was a wonderful atmosphere and they certainly celebrated in style.”
The magic of life has been witnessed first-hand by little children at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
feathered friends.
“It gave us the chance to discuss life cycles, learn how to care for the chicks, discuss how animals change as they grow. One of the chicks sadly died but was very poorly from being born, and the children were great at dealing with this and understanding it as part of the life cycle.
Ramsgate Arts Primary School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Upton Junior School at Broadstairs and Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate.
Enjoying the world of nature is an important part of their learning adventure for children in their first year at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
A big favourite was meeting some of the centre’s animals at the petting barn including baby goats, calves and rabbits where they found out how they are cared for and what they eat.
A mini adventure has led young explorers from Ramsgate Arts Primary to experience the amazing world of wildlife at first hand.
“They were keen to look out for what food they were eating and to know the name of the animal. The children also enjoyed reading the information signs for the different animals to learn more about them and expand their knowledge.
Wingham Wildlife Park covers an area of 26 acres and features hundreds of species covering fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and birds. Find out more online at www.winghamwildlifepark.co.uk.
A lively and creative week exploring the Arts with The Lion King as a main inspiration has been a roaring success at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
broadening existing ones.
And children aged seven to eleven years old then enjoyed the spectacular musical live on stage with a special trip to the Lyceum Theatre in London to witness the production that left them ’excited and overawed’. Younger classes also got the chance to see The Lion King film at a screening in school.
with keen young actors, while stop-motion animation and green screen workshops with Mike Brown were very popular. Specially-written lion-themed tales were enjoyed in storytelling sessions.
“It was important to be able to offer such a range of first class opportunities to our children to work with visiting performers and educators alongside our talented staff.
Children at Ramsgate Arts Primary packed their bags for an imaginary journey around the island of St Lucia.
activities. It was wonderful to see them so immersed in their learning and they were talking about this experience for days.”