FAIRVIEW school has begun trialling an online canteen menu and so far it has been a success, according to the school’s canteen manager Jodie Pilatti.
If enough students were enrolled on the canteen website by the end of the year then school and uniform shop fees would eventually be paid online, Ms Pilatti said.
Fifty-three students were currently enrolled on the website but numbers were increasing each week.
The numbers started at 14 when the online canteen began on August 1.
“We have about 20 online orders a day and it’s steadily growing,” Ms Pilatti said.
Ms Pilatti said some parents did not feel comfortable sending their children to school with money and that the online canteen was a great alternative for them.
Ms Pilatti said the program made her work easier.
“It’s easier and simpler for me. I print off orders for the day and it gives me everything I need.”
The canteen receives details on what each student orders, and parents can use the website to write down what days they are available to work in the canteen.
Ms Pilatti heard about the online canteen website at an annual canteen conference in Perth two years ago. After hearing positive feedback from schools in Bunbury, the school decided to arrange a trial.
The online canteen would not be available for recess because there were concerns among parents and teachers that students were not learning money handling skills.
However, parents could give students a certain amount of money to spend in a day or week on the website, and this would teach budgeting skills, Ms Pilatti said.
