FUTURE GENERATION A GREAT NEW LEARNING FACILITY UNDERWAY FOR MARIST CATHOLIC SCHOOL HERNE BAY On Friday 27 January, Marist Catholic School Herne Bay celebrated the beginning of its new classroom block build with a site blessing and sod-turn ceremony. The blessing was conducted by Monsignor David Tonks and the school was lucky to have the Associate Minister for Education Hon Nikki Kaye attend to turn the sod on her first day back on ministerial duties following time off for cancer treatment. The ceremony was attended by the Vicar of Education for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland Linda McQuade, Director of Education Phil Mahony and Property Managers Michael Stride and Michele Elsmore along with members from the project management team, design team and construction contractors board members. Even though it was the holidays, some of the school whanau also attended. The building project will be complete by the end of the year, with an incredible innovative learning space able to house the equivalent of three classes on the top floor and another three on the bottom floor. Once complete, Marist Catholic School Herne Bay will be in a position to accommodate roll growth, taking their maximum roll to 300 - very exciting times ahead for this fantastic local Catholic school. The Principal, Louise Campbell, says if you are interested in applying for your children to enrol at Marist feel free to give her a call on T: 09 376 7173, or E: principal@ maristschool.co.nz F PN
DENTAL ASSOCIATION SAYS SUGARY DRINK ICON CAN HELP CONFUSION OVER KIDS’ DRINKS Recent research on the sugar content of supermarket-sold beverages in New Zealand shows finding out sugar levels is a confusing area says the New Zealand Dental Association. Sugar is a major contributor to dental decay, and the study showed that some fruit juices have higher sugar levels than fizzy drinks.
“It’s about simplification, and comparing like with like. The teaspoon icon is the way to go,” says Dr Beaglehole.
“We have said in our Consensus Statement on Sugary Drinks, people need a clearer way to know how much sugar is in the drinks they are holding,” said NZDA spokesperson Dr Rob Beaglehole.
“We’ve always said there’s no single measure that can be relied on. This broad approach will benefit not just childhood obesity levels, but type 2 diabetes, as well as dental health.”
“A sugary drink teaspoon icon is much simpler than ‘100ml per serve’, so instead of focusing on the type of drink, customers could look at a label that states ‘contains 16 teaspoons of sugar’.
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A consortium of public health groups is backing a NZDA-led seven-point Consensus Statement on Sugary Drinks. F PN
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