A Guide to School Food Services at Bangkok Patana School 2015/2016 2
Contents: Page Introduction Introduction 4 General Principles 5 Healthy Eating 5 Non-Meat Food 6 Allergies 7 Water 8 Menu 8 Methods of Payment and the Patana Card 9 Catering for Your Children 11 Lunch and Snack Timetable 11 Chopsticks The Noodle Bar 13 The Snack Shop 14 Sports Complex Snack Shop 14 Smoothie Bar 14 Student Feedback 15 Get Involved! 15 Ordering from Us 15 Contact Us 15 The Food Services at Bangkok Patana School are run entirely in-house by Bangkok Patana School staff. With all of our food services, we aim to offer a wide range of healthy, nutritious and attractive food options for the whole Patana community. The purpose of this document is to outline the various services that we offer and hopefully help you understand some of the guidelines that we operate within. Please take the time to read this document and explain it to your child(ren). Patana is a large school with over 2,200 students. Break time and lunch time can be daunting for new pupils, especially if they do not understand the processes involved. Please remember that parents are always welcome to use the food service options available and enjoy lunch or a quick snack whilst at school. We welcome any comments and suggestions that you may have to make our service better. The goal of the Food Services Department is to provide a variety of good, balanced meals using quality produce, which is served in a clean and friendly environment. 3 4
General Principles We have a number of general principles that guide the service that we provide. It is these principles that dictate much of the overall selection and type of food that we supply. Healthy Eating The school has a responsibility to ensure that wherever possible we provide healthy eating choices for all students. In practice, this means that we have taken a number of steps to ensure that we serve the minimum amount of unhealthy options. We regularly work with academic staff to ensure that healthy eating is also promoted within the classroom and children understand the food choices that we give them. We have employed a Nutritionist to work on the menu ensuring a good balance and variety of food. The Nutritionist has been working with the Chef s and has changed some of the way the food is prepared and altered some ingredients within recipes to improve the nutritional content. Work on promoting healthy eating is also taking place through noticeboard displays, articles in the Patana News and plans to work closer with students to ensure increased awareness amongst the student population. As a result of this policy, we will not sell canned fizzy drinks from the regular snack bars. These products are only available to Senior Studies students, who have a vending machine within their common room. We will also not serve ice cream or other high sugar products to Primary students unless they are accompanied by an adult who makes the request. Foods such as chips (French fries), burgers, pizza and other less healthy options are kept on the menu due to popular demand but these are limited and will only be served a maximum of once a week. The Secondary Snack Bars provide a wider range of food selections and students can make more informed snack choices. The Primary Snack Shop does not sell crisps, brownies, icecreams or similar items for students to purchase. No food served at Bangkok Patana should contain MSG. Range of Dishes The school has over 65 nationalities represented within its student body. We offer both Asian and Western dishes on a daily basis and will not favour a particular nationalities eating habits over another. However, some well known Western dishes will need to be altered to allow us to use local ingredients. Non-Meat Food The canteens offer at least two meat-free main meal options plus rice, vegetable and salad side dishes daily. Unfortunately it is not possible for the school to provide strictly vegetarian food, nor to serve Halal or Kosher food from the current kitchens as we do not have the equipment or space to segregate food properly. (The chicken and beef school suppliers do have the Halal approved sticker on the products.) The meat-free dishes are always served with a yellow spoon. The non-meat sandwiches & wraps in the snack bar will have a green sticker on the packaging for ease of identification. Please inform your child(ren) of this colour coding and explain its significance. 5 6
Food Suppliers Ingredients are one of the most important parts of catering. We monitor our suppliers and will only source products from reputable companies. Wherever possible we try and ensure our ingredients are pesticide and additive-free. Allergies and dietary restrictions It is extremely important that you officially inform the school of any allergies or special dietary restrictions associated with your child(ren). You can do this via the Parents Gateway and also by contacting the School Nurse and class teacher/tutor. When applying for the Set Lunch Programme, fill in the details on the form which requests such information. Nuts All meals and snacks served in the Primary Canteen and Primary Snack Bar are nut-free. Chopsticks (the Noodle Bar) and the Secondary Canteen may serve certain food products that contain nuts. These will be clearly labelled. The whole of the Primary School is a nut-free zone and this also extends to the School Transport Service. Water Water fountains are located throughout the school. All students are encouraged to drink water regularly. Students in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 (Year1-2) have access to a number of water fountains within the Foundation Stage and will be advised to drink water regularly. Students in the Key Stage 2 (Year 3 to Year 6) may bring a clearly labelled bottle of water into school to keep in their classrooms and drink from during lessons. Secondary students are also encouraged to bring their own water bottles to school for ease of refilling throughout the day and to help assist in minimising the amount of paper cups that are used in school. Menu The weekly school menu can be found on the Bangkok Patana website in the Parents Gateway and is also available on display by the Secondary & Primary canteens. The dishes have symbols beside them to help identify what is the main ingredient in the dish eg. When sending your child to school with snacks or with birthday cakes, please ensure that all products are nut-free. The School Nurse should be informed if your child(ren) have any serious food allergies. The dishes are also written on a blackboard above the buffet lines every day. 7 8
Methods of Payment and the Patana Card There are two ways to purchase meals and snacks on the school campus firstly is the e-purse & e-coupon system and secondly there is the Set Lunch Programme. Patana Card & Set Lunch Programme The Set Lunch Programme is charged on a termly basis in advance. The Set Lunch application form is available from the reception desk or you can apply via the school website (Parents Gateway). The Set Lunch Programme is available for K2 to Year 13 students. The service continues automatically for subsequent terms, unless written notification of cancellation is sent to the Food Services Department. Students in Years 3-6 do not need to activate the set lunch on their card. Their class teacher will be aware of who is and isn t on the set lunch programme. Secondary Students will use their Patana Card to access the buffet in the secondary school by tapping their card at the canteen entrance turnstyles. At the start/end of each term secondary students will need to tap at a special machine to activate the set lunch programme onto their Patana Card. Students are advised about this in advance. Please ensure that your child(ren) look after their Patana Card, you will be charged an THB 350 if it is necessary to issue a replacement card. 2015/16 Set Lunch Programme fees Set Lunch Programme Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 K2 Y2 4,800 3,500 2,500 Y3 Y6 5,600 4,100 2,900 Y7- Y13 7,100 5,300 3,800 Snacks, Noodles, Buffet Lunch, Patana Card & e- purse / e-coupon system The Patana Card can be used for lunch, noodles, smoothies and to purchase items at the snack bars. The cards can be topped up with cash to purchase e-purse credits or e-coupon credits. They can be topped up at the School Shop, the Cashier (at the front of school), near the Primary Snack Bar, the cashier near the noodle bar, and the Secondary Smoothie Bar. E-coupon: E-coupons need to purchased if you are not on the school lunch programme but would like to eat in the canteen on an adhoc basis. You can purchase 1 or more e-coupons at a time for the buffet lunch. Tap your card on entry to the canteen and an e- coupon will be deducted per time. E-purse: You can put cash on your E-purse that can be used to purchase items in the snack bars, smoothie bars and noodle bar. The amount will be deducted at the point of sale. Students can check the remaining balance on the Patana card by tapping the card at a balance check station. Cash Under no circumstances can lunch, noodles, smoothies or snacks be purchased with the use of cash. 9 10
Catering for your children The location in which lunches and snacks are served and the type of food provided is dependent on year group, so for ease of reference, the following information is presented by these year groups. There are two canteens on the campus the Secondary Canteen and the Primary Canteen. All pupils eat in their respective canteens. Lunches are produced every day on site in the two canteens using fresh ingredients. Lunch and snack timetable The teaching day begins at 7.40 and the table below shows the times for First break and Lunch break. Year Group First break Lunch break N K1 Flexible 11.30 K2 Y2 9.10 9.30 11.30 12.30 Y3 Y6 9.50 10.10 12.10 1.00 Y7 Y13 9.10 9.30 12.10 1.00 Foundation Stage Nursery & FS1 Children in Nursery and FS1 are served their morning snack in their classrooms. Plain milk is offered together with a biscuit, or a piece of cake or fruit, depending on the day of the week. (Fruit is served at least twice a week.) A light lunch is served in the classroom before the school day finishes at 11.50 am. A menu for this lunch is available on the Patana website and parents are encouraged to read this and discuss with your child. Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1 FS2 to Year 2 Children in FS2 Year 2 classes are served their morning snack in their classrooms. Plain milk is offered together with a snack, such as a biscuit, a piece of cake or fruit, depending on the day of the week. (Fruit is served at least twice a week.) FS2, Year 1 and Year 2 children eat lunch in the Primary Canteen. The children are accompanied to the Canteen by their teacher or Classroom Assistant, who will remain with them for the duration of their time in the Canteen. There is a choice of Western, Asian and non-meat food each day. There is also a noodle bar and extensive salad bar. The portions served are small to discourage waste but children may go up to the counter as many times as they wish. Water is served with lunch. Children with a packed lunch go with their class to the Canteen and eat with their peer group. Key Stage 2 - Year 3 to Year 6 At the start of the first break, pupils are given plain milk in their classrooms. A snack may either be brought in from home or students can purchase a morning snack from the Primary Snack Bar with their Patana Card. Children in KS2 are not permitted to visit the snack bar during the lunch period, but may still buy a smoothie. Lunch is served in the Primary Canteen. Years 3, 4 and 5 students are served first, followed by Year 6. The students are not accompanied to the Canteen by their class teachers although staff will be in attendance. There is a choice of Western, Asian and non-meat food each day along with the noodle bar and an extensive salad bar. 11 12
The portions served are small to discourage waste but children may go up to the counter as many times as they wish. Water is served with lunch. Students who bring in a packed lunch are asked to eat their lunch at the same time as their year group. Key Stages 3 & 4 Year 7 to Year 13 At the start of the first break plain, chocolate and strawberry flavoured milk is made available at the Secondary Canteen. A snack may either be brought in from home or students can purchase a snack from the Snack Bars with their Patana Card. Secondary School students eat in the Secondary Canteen. The timing of lunch is staggered and changes daily so that year groups can enter the canteen at a different time each day. There is a choice of Western, Asian and nonmeat food each day and a large salad bar. Students are encouraged to not overload their plates which limits food wastage. They may return to the buffet line for more food if they wish. Orange and grape cordial and water are served with lunch. In the Secondary School there is also a Noodle Bar and the Snack Bars that serves sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs, pizza, ice-cream, drinks and many other items. Chopsticks - The Noodle Bar The noodle bar is located in the Secondary School. Noodles can be purchased with e-purse credit on the Patana Card. The cost is 50 baht per bowl of noodles. Parents are also welcome to eat at the noodle bar. It is open from 9.30am 13.30pm The Snack Bars There are three Snack Bars at School. These are situated near the 25m pool in Primary, the Secondary Canteen and the Noodle Bar. Snacks are available for purchase during first break and after school for both Primary and Secondary students and at lunchtime for Secondary students only. Only pupils in Year 3 above are allowed to use the Primary Snack Bar. The Patana Card with pre loaded e-purse credit is used to buy food from the Snack Bars. Prices and the variety of items are subject to change and will be displayed at the Snack Bars. Parents are welcome to buy food from the Snack Bars using their Patana Card. Ice cream is only available in the Secondary Canteen; ice cream will not be sold to any unaccompanied Primary Children. Sports Complex Snack Bar & Sports Hall Snack Bar The Sports Complex Snack Bar is open on Saturdays and Sundays or when big events are being held at the Sports Complex. The Sports Hall Snack Bar is only open when special events are scheduled in the Sports Hall. Both are open according to scheduled events. Patana Card and Coupons can be used here. Smoothie Bar The Smoothie bar is combined with one of the snack bars and is located in the Secondary School near the noodle bar. Smoothies cost 60 baht per smoothie and 45 baht for a smaller bottle. The smaller bottles are available for sale in the Primary Snack Bar only. All smoothies are made onsite from fresh ingredients. 13 14
Student Feedback Student feedback is welcomed and students have the opportunity to do this via their student council representative in Primary and the student rep on the JSRC or SSRC in Secondary. Regular communication with students and academic staff takes place to enable us to listen to student needs and wants. Get Involved! If you share an interest in food and would like to learn more about our catering operations and influence what we provide, we would welcome your participation. If interested please contact the Food Services Manager (contact details below) or the Chair of the PTG. Ordering from us We have a large number of items that can be ordered from our school bakery. If you would like to order products for your function, please contact the Food Services Manager, whose contact details are below, and a menu of available products and price list can be sent to you. Please order at least 3 days in advance, although more notice is preferred. Contact Us If you have a specific query about the School s Food Services, please contact Khun Wichit Aree-oe, Food Services Manager at wiar@patana.ac.th If you would like to raise any other issue please contact Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager, geah@patana.ac.th who is responsible for the complete range of School Services. 643 Lasalle Road, Sukhumvit 105, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 Tel: 02 785 2200 Fax: 02 785 2399 http://www.patana.ac.th 15 16