What next?
In 2006, Tararua Chocolates will be done in partnership with the Tararua District Council again, who came back on board very keen and with a bigger budget for projects such as this. The Council is planning an outdoor festival in October, so the 2006 unit may focus on producing chocolates for this, or perhaps on different chocolates for different occasions.
In 2005 the Year 11 Food Technology class did Tararua Chocolates first then a Special Baking unit. The 2006 group will finish Tararua Chocolates by week 7 of term 2 and will then go on to Special Baking. Those who are not able to cope will have another attempt at the given brief taught in Year 10 last year called Batters in a Bottle.
Diana looks to have established a routine where she develops one new technology unit per year and re-uses her other ones with minor 'tweaking'. 2007 will see Tararua Chocolates drop down to the Year 10 programme.
Diana Eagle:
Having the Food and Materials Technology classes work together means students learn off each other. The boys give the girls confidence in using the machinery, which often they're not too keen on - I've had boys in my class at times and they've definitely helped the girls with this. And the girls help with their finer design skills.
Another change in 2006 is the involvement of Year 11 Materials Technology students. This has been a natural evolution - over the years students had been making the chocolate moulds as part of their Design Technology classes, using the materials room. The two classes have been timetabled together, starting with 38 students which dropped to a more manageable 30 in total, so they can be put in one space and work across the two rooms.
"This year the assessment focus will be on Achievement Standard 1.2 (90046 v2) rather than on the ongoing production. Achievement Standard 1.4 (90048 v2) can be brought in for the students that are up to it," says Diana.
The school is now moving in the senior levels to just senior technology. Diana comments that Tararua Chocolates is more of a general technology unit, that there is not a lot of specific 'food' knowledge.
"This theme will continue, in that Year 12/13 students can focus on either Food, Materials Technology (which now includes Textiles) or Information and Communications Technology or any combinations of these," she says.
