The Massey High School Hospitality Team to compete at the annual Waikato Culinary Fare, left on Wednesday of the last week of Term 2 and returned on the Friday of that week. They were a team of just under twenty students who are dedicated to the culinary arts and have been practising their skills during terms one and two this year under the tutelage of their Hospitality tutors. They performed exceptionally well and came away with two gold, six silver and three bronze medals plus other certificates. Many thanks go to the staff who accompanied them, Ms Hanson, Ms Palmer, Ms Douglas and Mr Vaigalu and well done to our students for participating in the prestigious event.

Wintec has proudly held the Waikato Culinary Fare, in partnership with Cater Plus, since its conception in 2004. It has seen an increase in involvement from secondary schools, tertiary providers, and the hospitality industry, both in Waikato, Auckland and across New Zealand.

The Waikato Culinary Fare has grown to become the largest regional competition of its type in New Zealand. This is made possible by the support of the event sponsors and the wider hospitality industry. This event allows our emerging hospitality stars to compete, gaining valuable skills and experience through participation.

It is also an opportunity for the hospitality industry to come together under one roof, celebrating the sector at our leading-edge training facility at the Rotokauri Campus of Wintec.

Nick Hackett

Results

Construction and Automotive Academy Students Recognised for their Great Attendance.

The following students have had excellent attendance so far this year with attendance at 95% or better. This shows their commitment to their learning and bodes well for their future careers.

Carpentry and Building

• Cruz Creswell
• Sepu Leaupepe
• Sam Paauwe
• Jagger Katoa-Hansen
• Tamati Allen
• Reign Nepe
• Levitacus Smith-Lai
• Jonathan Stevens

Automotive Level 2

• Brady Allan
• Isaac Anothai
• Katie Clay
• Dylan Douglas
• Aston Dunnick
• Tanner Keeley
• Simon Merigildo
• Joshua Naidu
• Tyler Saelman-Linn
• Melissa Toe
• Isaac Wales

Automotive Level 3

• James Andrew
• Rhain Mercer-Barnes
• Joaqx Job Magpantay
• Rishal Naiker
• Kiran Whyte

We have had 2 groups working with Massey Primary, 1 with West Harbour, 1 with Colwill and 1 with Taupaki as well teams working on our own school site and 1 with Give a Kid a Blanket.

Our students spoke confidently and with humour. It was a delight to sit through each and every one of them.

Tourism Plus Academy Community Projects Up and Running.

Below is a summary of some of the projects our students are running within the local community. Some photos of the events are below.

On Monday 20th May, 4 of our Level 3 Tourism Plus Academy students visited Massey Primary to undertake their Eco-Tourism Project. Their focus was looking at how seeds taken directly from a vegetable can be replanted to grow additional plants and (hopefully) more vegetables. This group planted capsicum seeds. The Massey Primary students enjoyed getting their hands dirty and learning about plant lifecycles. We look forward to hearing about your future harvests. Fantastic work Jeshrel Ramos, Bea Lagat, Dia Reyes and Jenner Princena.

On Wednesday 22nd May Year 13 Tourism Plus Academy students Jaedah Taumatauka and Ella Fletcher visited Colwill Primary to work with some Year 8 students to make Beeswax Sandwich wraps. The girls gave a lesson on not only how to make the wraps but also why they were a better alternative to single use glad wrap and plastic bags. Each of the students was also provided with a card which gave them instructions on how the clean the wraps after use and how to maintain them to keep them going for even longer. Thank you for having us Colwill Primary, we hope your students are making good use of their wraps.

On Friday 24th May, our Level 3 Tourism Plus Academy known as “The Hive” visited Taupaki Primary to work with some of their year 3 & 4 students to make Beeswax Sandwich Wraps. Our team of Sarah Pettyjohn, Tara Cain, Cypress Brewerton, Breena Parshotam, Nitisha Chand and Calais Hemi-Wharekawa assisted students in making over 40 wraps. This staggering effort formed part of their Level 3 Eco-Tourism standard where students work in our community to educate on the concepts of the Tiaki Promise – Keep NZ Green and Protect Nature. We hope that these lucky Taupaki Students not only have the tools to help them achieve this but also have a greater understanding about better eco-friendly choices for their lunchboxes.

Year 13 Tourism Plus Students at Massey Primary today Friday 17th May 2024. 

Cheyne Celino, Kim Castro, Kharizma Delos Santos and Sean Rodriguez have taken their latest Tourism Plus project to one of our local primary schools.

They started their project by reading the book “The trouble with Dragons” to the class. Then today they made environmental badges for these Eco-ambassadors. The winning design will receive a tree that can be planted either at home or at the school.

Thanks to the Tourism Plus Team and Ms van der Kraaij.

The Hospitality Academy Term 1 2024 - By Daniel Dennis.

Over the past three years the hospitably academy has been a very welcoming place that has offered me unique learning opportunities. I’ve been able to participate in the Wintec 2023 culinary fair in Hamilton where I got gold for my cold desert entry. This opportunity allowed me to express my own creative food ideas whilst also getting hands-on experiences in a timed competition environment.

 I also have been able to help with functions within the school. This involves cooking for a group of people where we provided a lunch or two course meal dinner. Recently I had the opportunity to cook for Philippa Boyens and 26 others where we prepared another two-course meal, which involved a double baked pork belly with a chili lemon sauce and a chocolate mousse dessert.

Opportunities like these that Massey High Schools hospitably academy provides have allowed me to not only developed my own personal culinary skills but also gain a better understanding on what my future hospitably career will look like. For anyone who is looking for a career in hospitably I would recommend this pathway.  

The academy goes from strength to strength with ever increasing student enrolments. So far this year the Automotive Academy has serviced many of the teacher’s vehicles as well as, various services on client vehicles. The students are upskilled in reconditioning brakes, doing a transmission service, and replacing lights and tyres, using one or two of the hoists that we have at MHS in our garage.

The Year 12 and 13 students also complete online unit standards from MITO, the Motor Industry Training Organisation. Mr Thompson the Automotive Tutor, reports that this year virtually all students have completed 80 percent of the required online work and are well on their way to gaining their MITO certification. The standards also supply credits towards the NCEA Levels 2 and 3.

The Year 13 students will also go once a week to Unitec. At Unitec they get further tutoring in using equipment that we do not have at MHS and get some more advanced training. During Term One they disassembled a motor then made improvements and reassembled it.

The Year 12 cohort meanwhile are developing their metal work skills and will be soon getting underway with building their own mini pit bikes.

Our Year 12 and Year 13 Carpentry and Building students at Massey High School have been working hard under the tuition of their tutors and getting three houses underway for completion later in the year. Together there are just over fifty full-time students involved in 2024.

Both the Carpentry and Building students are full time in construction at MHS. The Year 12 students have started the year with some health and safety training and safe tool use training in order to be able to go on to the building site. The Year 13 students have already completed one full year on the building site and this year we are using them to mentor and guide the Year 12 students. However, all our students are of course under the direct supervision of our building tutors who guide the small groups and instruct them in their tasks.

This term the students have prepared the foundations for the houses and over the last two weeks they have been laying down the joists, bearers, and flooring of the three houses that are under construction plus have been putting up the framing and scaffolding. During the current week two houses that were completed at the end of 2023 have been taken off site and trucked away by Craig Walker's house removal company, which has freed up some space here plus will be the new house for a lucky family.

Also, up and running this week we welcome the girls in the carpentry group, GIC, who have started on Mondays. They are a small group of dedicated females who are mainly Year 11 students who every Monday will be involved in building skills on our construction site. This will develop their confidence and skills, plus allow them to see if they wish to continue with this full-time next year when they get to Year 12.

Another group who are starting this week are the Multi Skills group and they will come out every Thursday for half the year to develop their own skills.

All these courses contribute to the NCEA plus allow our students to qualify for various other certificates, such as BCATS, Building Carpentry and Allied Trades training, First Aid, power tool use and also access to some free driving lessons once they have their learner’s driving license.

We wish them all the best for the rest of the year.