What does country music, the birth of a pizza empire and High School Musical have in common? The answer may just surprise you!
Let me set the scene…it was a Friday night and my typical end of the working week involves a quick bite to eat and an evening hanging out with the wonderful people at Ignite Youth right here at our PCS Hall. But this was a Friday night like no other. We were still in a school hall but instead of the screams of winning and the chatter of the Bible we were able to listen to the songs of the 2006 classic High School Musical sung slightly off pitch but filled with gusto and that was just Mr Ballantyne during setup!
Now, I didn’t get to enjoy all of this glorious movie that had students up on their feet dancing the night away and quoting famous lines such as “It’s called crime and punishment, Bolton. Besides, proximity to the arts is cleansing for the soul.” I found myself caught up in the chaos of the kitchen. Through this experience I got to see something more beautiful than Troy and Gabriella’s love story.
When I arrived at the brand new pop up pizza shop at PCS I saw several students who, under the direction of Mrs Lynn, had begun the process of making their own pizza dough. Country music was creating a vibe and Bella was mastering the Thermomix, a challenge for a first time user. Nick was weighing and rolling each pizza base to perfection and by the end of the night had grown a beautiful italian mustache and had adopted the role of Head Chef. Mitchell was playing trusty sidekick to his brother and keeping the ovens warm at all times to crisp up pizzas to perfection. Jordan was in charge of the assembly line and created the most beautiful looking pizzas in the biz! Popping in and out delivering these beautiful creations and offering assistance throughout the night were Marcus, Bethany, Luke, Matilda and Leilani who rounded out Team Kitchen!
How wonderful was it seeing this team of amazing students create something beautiful out of chaos! The reason I mention this group and wanted to share in detail about their extraordinary night is because what they created in that kitchen is the centre of what we do here at PCS. Seeing students equipped with kitchen skills is one thing but seeing them come together and support one another, have a laugh and create a joyful place to serve is truly amazing! A great example of where education lines up with building character and exactly what we are all about here at PCS!
This is just one example of our students stepping up, taking charge and creating memories! It is so wonderful to see this happen each and every day in my role here at PCS! A joyful experience and an encouragement to everyone to get involved behind the scenes because obviously that is where the fun is at!
Hollie