KickStart Breakfast

KickStart Breakfast clubs right throughout New Zealand are packed full of Breakfast Champions who are making an impact on their own lives and or the lives of others simply by attending KickStart Breakfast.

Beatrice loves meeting these people, be they the students themselves making personal developments or taking on leadership roles, or the staff and volunteers that passionately contribute to the success of the breakfast club.

Beatrice visits clubs all over New Zealand recognising those KickStart club members who have become champions in their own right.  She is right at home at the club breakfast table chatting with the children over a bowl of Weet-Bix and Anchor milk and a true inspiration to the whole club.  

KickStart Breakfast has some wonderful friends that help Beatrice get around the country to inspire the club members.  Toyota helps Beatrice get around locally in her fully branded breakfast mobile.  Air New Zealand Groups fly Beatrice to those harder to reach clubs throughout New Zealand, and Millennium and Accor Hotels put her up for the night when she is on official KickStart Breakfast club visiting duties.  

Sharing your KickStart Breakfast story with the local community is a great way to pay homage to the children that are excelling and the dedicated people that run your club.  Plus it helps to raise the profile of the school and the local paper love these kinds of stories.  We’ve put together a quick guide for you.

Before you call the media

• Check to see if you need to permission from parents to publish names and pictures.
• Decide who your spokesperson will be. It is always good for the media to have one point of contact so the person making the call should be the same person to send any follow up information and/ or answer any general questions the journalist may have.
• Make yourself a script and decide what you are going to say.

Making contact with the media

To find out who your local reporter is you can ring the paper’s main line and ask who the right person to speak with is.  It is as simple as that!

If one paper does not want to attend, don’t be put off.  Try other local and even regional press.

What makes good news?

A good news story is one that engages with the local community on a personal level. It makes the reader feel positive about your school.

Key media messages

• Focus on the benefits that KickStart Breakfast club is providing:
  • Have the children been excelling academically, behaviourally or are student leaders developing.
  • Is there a champion that deserves to be recognised, a parent, volunteer, teacher or even a student.
  • Have you reached a milestone?
  • Check out the KickStart Breakfast fact sheet for more hints.

Do's and Don'ts

• Don't be afraid to admit that you don't know the answer to a question but instead offer to find the answer and get back to the reporter before their deadline. Never respond to questions based on unfamiliar facts.
• Be yourself. Talk in your natural language.
• Project enthusiasm for your messages. That attitude is contagious. And if you're not excited about your message, the reporter and audience never will be.
• Don't be rushed into answering. Don't feel obliged to fill "dead air" after a tricky question. Just pause, think... and then answer.
• Finally... you don't need to wait for the media to come looking for you. Reach out to them with story ideas, professional commentary and fresh ideas.

Make it fun for the kids, even base a school lesson on reporting.  Ask the kids to make their own posters – there are KickStart Breakfast logos and ‘Ed’ charters available on your school profile under "Media." 

If you or the local reporter require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us either via the email address [email protected] or phone Tia Wylie on 09 374 9168

Your Fonterra KickStart Breakfast Team has won the ‘Best New Sustainability Initiative’ category of the prestigious ‘This is Fonterra’ awards! Up against other top Fonterra initiatives the inaugural awards celebrate and recognise success.

The judges including CEO Andrew Ferrier were particularly impressed by KickStart Breakfast’s community partnership model. Where Fonterra and Sanitarium provide the food and the school communities deliver this to the students.

KickStart Breakfast School Lincoln Heights hosted a cultural exchange with representatives from the Soong Ching Ling Foundation recently. Representatives including Vice President Zhang Wenkang were greeted by the children with a traditional maori performance consisting of a Karanga (Maori greeting) and Haka as well as a song about the school.

The Foundation members then sat with the children at the breakfast tables and experienced a nutritious breakfast of Weet-Bix and Anchor Mega Milk whilst talking to the children.

Debbie Waikato, Principal at Lincoln Heights School, speaks with pride about their KickStart Breakfast Programme saying “the KickStart Breakfast Programme has made a big difference to our school. Staff have noticed that those who attend breakfast club regularly are absent less, are happier, more settled in class and switched on to their learning”.

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation was established in 1982 in memory of Soong Ching Ling (Madame Sun Yat-sen, 1893-1981) late Honorary President of the People's Republic of China. The Foundation aims to carry forward the spirit of love for children and concern for their healthy growth in body and mind and to contribute to the cause of children's culture, education, scientific knowledge and welfare.

KickStart Breakfast club attendees at Putaruru Primary had a very special first day of term last week with Fonterra Chairman Sir Henry Van de Heyden and Breakfast Ambassador Beatrice Faumuina coming for breakfast.

After sitting down with the 40 students and enjoying KickStart Breakfast’s of Anchor Mega Milk and Weet-Bix, Beatrice addressed the students about the benefits of getting a good start to the day, and Sir Henry acknowledged and thanked the dedicated volunteers, calling for a round of applause.

Every week breakfast club co-ordinator Lynne Richards volunteers her time to run the club. Lynne values and appreciates the contribution that KickStart Breakfast is making to their breakfast club, commenting on the marked improvements in concentration levels and energy levels in-class as well as an improvement in overall behaviour.

A great morning had by all, congratulations to Connor who managed to eat 10 Weet-Bix and the Putaruru primary students who proved that Beatrice and Sir Henry were no match to their hoola hooping skills.