Kai for Kids

All that is Jaz McCully

Growing up on my parent’s sheep and cropping farm in Cheviot I attended St Margaret’s College as a boarder in the 4th Form in 1993. My name is Jasmine (Jaz) McCully nee Horrell and SMC holds many dear memories for me.

After SMC I went to Teachers College in Christchurch and my first teaching position was at Ashburton Netherby School as the New Entrant teacher. I was 21 years old and full of enthusiasm and energy. My classroom was my paradise and my five-year-olds were my passion and, coincidentally they still are. You see, I have taught these gorgeous new entrants for most of my career.

I get up in the morning and I absolutely love going to school so when I caught Covid-19 and had to self-isolate, I missed my students so much I wanted to cry! These children bounce into the classroom every morning with big smiles on their faces and full of chatter. Charles, my son, visited my class last year and he turned around and said to me, “Mum, I can see why you love your job!”.

Another passion I have is the SMC Old Girls Association. In Ashburton we meet twice a year at an Old Girl’s house. The Old Girls range in age from 30 to over 90 years old. It is fascinating and entertaining listening to these ladies share memories of their SMC days.

You may have heard of an initiative called Kai for Kids Charitable Trust based in Ashburton of which I am a trustee along with our founder, Jo Taylor, who also has a daughter, Kate, boarding at SMC in Year 9. At Kai for Kids we provide freshly cooked and nutritious free lunch meals for school children during the school term. Our aim is to provide nourishing lunch meals to help children learn with a full belly and to give them a lifetime of health benefits from great wholesome food. Our simple vision is that no child in Mid Canterbury should go hungry. Ashburton Community Foundation and together with many other generous donors and a handful of volunteers, we cooked lunch every day in a commercial kitchen and served it in the school hall on plates. We learnt a lot and still are. The old saying, “If we knew back then what we know now” is very relevant. It was a big learning curve for us all – myself, Jo and our two other fabulous trustees, Michelle Parkin and Fiona Ward. We now employ eight staff during the school term making over 600 lunches each day. Last year we produced just over 100,000 lunches. We cater for all of the possible dietary requirements along with cultural requirements such as Halal. During the pandemic with a lot of our students isolating at home we have been providing meals to those families to help out in this tough time. The Kai for Kids team has been busy preparing a Family Kai pack of fresh and frozen meals, fresh fruit and some baking, which is delivered to their doorstep.

We receive many messages of thanks from families –“Kia Ora Kai for Kids, I have been meaning to message and express my absolute gratitude to this charitable initiative you have operating at Netherby School. Every single day my two children come home excited to tell me what they had for lunch! They are really enjoying all the food and I am loving the exposure they get to try new foods that are healthy and kid friendly. The best part is it has now freed up my already hectic mornings and I am saving a fortune on lunchbox stuff. I can now spend that bit extra on buying fresh healthy vegetables for dinners. We as a whānau are just so happy that you are doing this and hope to see it roll out over some of the other schools in the district. Well done Kai for Kids.” I was always going to work with children or food and now I get to work with both!

Follow us on our Kai for Kids Charitable Trust Facebook page.