Did you know that VicHealth and the Heart Foundation have launched the Don't trust your taste buds campaign to inform consumers about how much salt they are adding to their diets when they go grocery shopping? You may be surprised by which foods are high in salt as a new survey reveals many Victorians struggle to identify high-salt foods, especially when it comes to items like breakfast cereals and sweets. 

Check out the new Don’t Trust Your Tastebuds website which provides recipes, nutritional information and other resources to help you decrease your salt intake.

On Friday 6 May, HEIA(Tas) Committee of Management (COM) members Kellie Adams, Rita Cawley, Julie Creed, Emily Dobson, Karen Weitnauer and Mary Williams along with presenters, Marie Phillips, Department of Education Tasmania, and Dr Janet Reynolds (HEIA[Qld]) were involved in a very successful two-day professional learning event at Rydges Hotel in Hobart. 

Following the welcome by Rita, our patron Frances Underwood, gave her support to the professional learning day by advocating for our teachers to come together to share and learn from each other. Frances is also particularly keen to assist in promoting the important work of practical teachers like home economists within the University of Tasmania and the Department of Education.

The morning of day one of the conference focused on understanding the links between food and fibre production as compulsory areas of study within the Design  and Technologies curriculum for students from Kindergarten to Year 8. Teachers engaged attentively with Marie and Janet as they both gave relevant and significant examples on how schools can make links to agriculture, food and fibre production, as well as utilising the cross curricula priorities of sustainable and ethical outcomes. Marie provided pages of links, including digital tours of farms or food production and she also encouraged student questioning such as ‘How were my clothes made?’ and ‘Who grew my burger?’ as starters for learning.

Three teachers shared the work they had undertaken in their respective schools for Years 7 and 8, based on the Australian Curriculum.  Jenny Cooper from Oatlands District High School shared an innovative program she has developed for senior students using a local version of ‘paddock to plate’, focusing on the Design and Technologies context Food specialisation.

After morning tea, teachers co-planned units of work, with Marie and Jan assisting by ‘table hopping’. Having the experts in the room, discussing and strengthening the objectives of the Australian Curriculum were part of the genesis of the idea for the day. Teachers found this support essential to move forward with their ideas.

In the afternoon, Jane Milburn, from Textile Beat presented a thought-provoking account of how we use and waste resources in relation to Textiles. Her up–cycling workshop followed on day two of the program.  However, on Day One we had the opportunity to hear about some of the ethical questions relating to global textile use, consumption and/or waste. The notion of cheap clothing and fabric production cannot be understated in our global economy.

The COM members hosted Jane and some fellow ‘out of towners’ to dinner on Friday night in the nearby North Hobart restaurant strip and then day two got underway at the Ogilvie High School Home Economics facility.

Chefs, Stephen Lunn, Paul Foreman and Eloise Emmett, delighted and entertained us with practical cookery demonstrations based on chosen Tasmanian ‘hero’ ingredients. Six recipes, two from each chef, were prepared, plated and tastings shared, before lunch. The hero ingredient concept proved to be a great success and the following foods were selected as the ‘hero’ ingredients to be used in the recipes:

• Tasmanian apples, garden beetroot, blackberries, honey, saffron, quinoa, quail and mussels.

Following are the recipes prepared by the chefs:

Stephen Lunn, Australian VET Teacher of the Year and Years 11 and 12 teacher:

• Caramelised beetroot tarte tatin
• Beetroot relish

Paul Foreman, Executive chef Kalis group:

• Creamy quinoa saffron risotto with poached pear and cracked hazelnuts
• Spring Bay mussels, saffron and fennel soup

Eloise Emmett, Food writer, chef and author

• Apple and blackberry pie
• Grilled quail, honey and mustard dressing

The chefs happily shared their recipes and cookery tips with the audience - it was a great morning! After a sumptuous lunch prepared by local caterers, Basil Catering, the group moved to the Textiles suite for a hands-on workshop with Jane Milburn. Jane spoke about her journey with textiles, initially by making garments as a child and for her family, then much later working with ‘found’ or recycled natural fabrics.

Jane shared her slow clothing manifesto:

Ten ways to reduce your material footprint

think: make thoughtful, ethical, informed choices

natural: treasure fibres from nature and limit synthetics

quality buy well once, quality remains after price is forgotten

local: support local makers, those with good stories and fair trade

care: mend, patch, sort, sponge, wash less, use cold water, line dry

few: live with less, capsule wardrobe, have one best style, unfollow

make: embrace home sewing as a life skill, value DIY and handmade

adapt: refashion, eco-dye, create new from old to suit yourself

revive: enjoy vintage, exchange, op shop and swap

salvage: donate, pass on, rag, weave, recycle, compost

Jane discussed her garment history and then we set about refashioning some items and personalising some recycled t–shirts into jewellery.

The two day event was a resounding success for the small committee and our thanks also go to the presenters, the King and Amy O’Malley Trust, Neredith Comrie representing the HEIA/McCormick Flavour Forecast Recipe Challenge, Donna Walker from Birchalls Books Hobart, Tom Tilsley from Fullers Bookshop Hobart, the HEIA Conference Committee and HEIA(Tas) COM,  Ruth Mainsbridge Teacher Recognition Award for their assistance, additional resources and satchel information.

Karen Weitnauer

The Royal Agricultural Show Victoria (RASV)'s Art Craft and Cookery Pavilion is once again home to their Yarn Farm - a fun and fuzzy installation of fibreglass, farmyard animals that combine the themes of craft and country in yarn-bombed splendour. 

Victorian schools are invited to ‘adopt’ an animal in the lead-up to show and give them a crafty coat that they can parade during the Royal Melbourne Show 2016.  Teachers can get in touch with artcraftcookery@rasv.com.au and request to pick up a classroom pet for a wonderful group activity.  There are 12 animals of various sizes available cows, rams, pigs, dog, goat, and several hens. Please note that transportation is at the school’s expense and that animals are close to life-size (most can fit easily into the back of a car – except the cows which require special transport).

HEIA(SA) celebrates World Home Economics Day

Narelle Bennett presenting Misty-Lee Pfeiler with ta King and Amy O’Malley Trust scholarship

World Home Economics Day was an exciting celebration of Home Economics in South Australia, held on the Skydeck of Rydges Southpark, with a great view of the Adelaide parklands and surrounds.

This year we had a promotional segment from Jodi Monro of two different student textiles competitions, and two guest speakers from Le Cordon Bleu. Our first speaker was Dr George Ujvary, Managing Director of Olga’s Fine Foods— he is well-known throughout the world for his blog The Foodologist. In 2015, Dr Ujvary delivered a talk at TEDx Flinders University on The future of food; which was the topic that he discussed with us, and one which he has a passionate interest in. The second speaker was Dr. Roger Haden who spoke on tertiary education of gastronomy in South Australia. 

Dr George Ujvary and Julie Taylor

World Home Economics Day also included an acknowledgement of many award recipients from HEIA(SA). This included a King and Amy O’Malley Trust scholar, Misty-Lee Pfeiler. The Resek Scholarship, which is given to the highest performing Home Economics university student in Sout Australia, was awarded to Alex Geue from Tabor Adelaide. The HEIA(SA) Award for Excellence is awarded in recognition of contributions towards Home Economics in South Australia in the previous year. The 2016 winner of this trophy was Jodi Monro. Jodi is a passionate textile enthusiast, who also teaches Home Economics. She has contributed to raising the profile of textiles education in South Australia through student competitions and has been recognised interstate for her knowledge and skill. The HEIA(SA) Executive Committee would like to thank all those who attended and those who contributed to the smooth running of the World Home Economics Day celebration this year, especially Samantha Zimmermann for convening this event and hosting the morning.

2016 HEIA(SA) Executive Committee (L-R) Narelle Bennett, Yvonne Ashton, Robyn Thomas, Sarah Hockey, Carole Holroyd, Fern Hudson, Samantha Zimmermann, Sebastian Bitter and Denise Cotterill.

I am currently working in the Curriculum into the Classroom Project (C2C)in Queensland—she is Curriculum Manager, Health and Physical Education, and has managed the production of units of work aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education. This work involved interpreting the curriculum, and deciding on assessment, example learning experiences and resources to deliver the curriculum.

Kay’s substantive position is as Head of Department, Home Economics and Business at Park Ridge State High School in Queensland. She has been teaching for over 30 years and is passionate about Home Economics and ensuring teachers of Home Economics are empowered to teach their aspects of the curriculum. She has worked with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority as District Panel Chair and has been on advisory committees for various syllabi in Queensland such as Home Economics and Early Childhood. Kay has been involved in HEIA(Q) for four years where she spent a year on the Committee of Management before stepping up as President. During her time at HEIA(Q) she has been an integral part of the professional development program delivering on topics such as differentiation, using Microsoft OneNote and more recently on assessment and the Australian Curriculum, both Health and Physical Education and Design and Technologies, C2C, and planning for the Australian Curriculum. Kay is currently President of HEIA(Q).

Kay has presented at various conferences both national and international such as the HEIA(Q) state conference, 2014 HEIA conference in Perth and the 2015 ACHPER international conference in Adelaide. Kay is also a qualified Genesis Creations instructor and has presented fabric colouring workshops at both the HEIA(Q) and HEIA conferences. In her spare time she enjoys fabric painting, walking and spending time with her husband and children.

On Saturday 5 March, thirteen keen ladies from Canberra took the bus to Cabramatta and were met by Peter Nguyen, a passionate ambassador for Vietnamese culture. Under Peter's expert guidance, we followed him on a wonderful walking tour as he took us through the heart of this vibrant community.

We started our tour at Phu Quac, a small local restaurant where we experienced the authentic taste of Vietnamese iced coffee, made with plenty of chunky ice and condensed milk. After the long trip and on such a hot day, the cool, sweet, refreshing drink was most welcome. We then went on to Vinata's hot bread shop. Peter had organised for trays of delicious rolls to be brought out to us for tasting. Sydney is experiencing a ‘pork roll competition’ and the signs and pictures of the advertising material on the wall of Vinata's screamed out that their rolls were the best! After tasting the delicious filling inside the crisp fresh bread roll, everyone agreed that these were definitely the best pork rolls any of us had ever tasted.

From Vinata's we walked down to the Lions gate at the entrance to Freedom Plaza. On our way ,we passed a multitude of fabric stores and other shops selling Vietnamese goods. When we reached the Lions gate we took the opportunity for a group photo before setting out to visit the fresh fruit and vegetable groceries that abound in this area. We moved through several of the market stands, and Peter showed us the many herbs, fruit and vegetables that make up the majority of fresh foods in Vietnamese cuisine. We had the opportunity to smell and taste a selection of the more popular ones before being taken to experience the Vietnamese Gatorade and a soft green waffle, known as the Kryponite waffle.

Our next visit was to the T & T Supermarket. We wound our way through the streets passing street squatters, elderly ladies who sat on milk crates selling a variety of fresh herbs and vegetables. Some of us made purchases of chopped lemon grass and other goodies from these ladies. Once at the supermarket, Peter gathered us around a table of a range of authentic Vietnamese products. He shared his knowledge about some of the more popular ingredients such as rice paper wrappers, the different grades of fish sauce, chilli sauce and other Vietnamese condiments. After learning about these items, many took the opportunity to purchase some items so we could practise some authentic Vietnamese cooking in our own kitchens.

As our tour came to an end we walked back through the streets of Cabramatta, and took in more of the specialties of Vietnam. We walked through the store that sold Sydney’s ‘best’ dim sims. In the markets we tasted snake fruit, custard apples, rambutan and logans. We were shown lotus stems, many varieties of mangos and a range of Vietnamese herbs grown locally at Badgeries Creek. The grand finale was a delicious meal at the end of our tour back at the Phu Quac restaurant. Thank you to Marg Collins for organising such a fantastic day.

HEIA(Q) was asked to display work from Year 11 and Year 12 Textiles students at the recent Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show held from 17 to 21 March 2016. HEIA(Q) of course jumped at the opportunity when it was offered in December, and then quickly had to put the display together quickly—several schools were approached to give us student work for the display at short notice.

The display garnered a lot of positive interest from the people who attended the display. Comments included ‘Wow, so good, really year 11 and 12 students did this?’ and ‘Nice to see that we are still teaching textiles’.

A big thanks to the schools that supplied work, and also to Delia Stecher, (HEIA[Q]) who coordinated the display. If you want to be involved next year, please let us know as we will be hoping to get wider representation from across Queensland next year.

Kay York, HEIA(Q)

At the December 2015 HEIA Council meeting, I had the pleasure of awarding three HEIA service awards to members. Aileen Lockhart (HEIA[Q]), and Penny McIntyre (HEIA[NT]) and Dr Lyn Peacock (HEIA[Q])  were formally acknowledged for their significant contribution or specific service to the national body of HEIA. Congratulations to Aileen, Lyn and Penny. 

Details are provided below on their contribution and services to HEIA. It should be noted that in addition to their contributions on a national level, Aileen, Lyn and Penny have been heavily involved in their respective HEIA divisions and for this they are also to be congratulated.

(L-R) Peta Craig presenting Aileen Lockhart with her Service Award

Aileen Lockhart

Aileen is a long standing member of HEIA and has been the Queensland representative and Secretary of National Council for ten years. With Aileen’s organisation and attention to detail, she has guided Council through many meetings and recorded discussions with care and accuracy. During her time on Council she has been involved in lengthy discussion on issues such as the constitution, communications, conferences, celebrations and finances. Since 2012, Aileen has also been a member of the HEIA Website Task Group where she has assisted with the redesign of the HEIA website.

Penny McIntyre

Penny has been a member of HEIA for over 15 years and was the Northern Territory representative on the National Council for a number of years. During her time on Council, Penny was the Convenor of the Telecommunications Standing Committee, which included the role of maintaining the HEIA website.  

Penny has a passion for home economics and advocates for the subject on many levels. She has the ability to inspire fellow home economists with her enthusiasm so they too can take on leadership roles within HEIA.

Penny was on the planning committee for the 2009 HEIA conference in Darwin. This planning took 18 months of perseverance, commitment and dedication that resulted in 200 national and international delegates converging on Darwin. The conference was rated as one of the most successful for HEIA.

Dr Lyn Peacock

Lyn has been a member of HEIA since its inception in 1994, and was a member of HEA NSW before this time. In addition to completing approximately ten years as HEIA Membership Secretariat, in 2015 Lyn has contributed the following services to HEIA, which demonstrate in many ways her willingness to serve HEIA:

• co-editor of the first edition of Nutrition - the Inside Story
• reviewer of journal articles for approximately 20 years
• reviewer of conference papers
  
• co-convenor of the academic committee for the 2007 HEIA conference
• reviewer of publications developed by HEIA e.g. Food Choices the IT Way
• convenor of the HEIA Education Standing Committee in 1999
• represented HEIA at the National Education Forum from 1995 to 2000

Peta Craig

President, HEIA