FOOD SAMPLING STUDY WITH ATU

In early 2022, after doing a few workshops with forensic studies students in ATU, I worked with Maria Dermiki (PHd) on a panel tasting experiment in which a panel of tasters sampled 2 different types of steak cooked in 2 different ways. 

This experience was very useful for me in understanding more about the Maillard reaction, and how people taste products differently depending on temperature, and other various factors, which was something that I was very interested in at the time.

 After working with Dr. Maria Dermiki, I received wonderful feedback on my enthusiasm, describing me as “More driven and independent than her 2nd year students”

POP UP CAFE

Cooking has been a passion of mine since I was a child, and that passion has been supported and developed by the environment that I have been in at Sudbury.

I learned a huge amount about food and catering while taking part in Pop Up Cafe at school. PUC is a club at school that gets together a few times a year to set up a cafe in school for the day. 

There is a lot of work involved in designing a menu, creating a shopping list, structuring prep times, and in general, the organisation of the project. I greatly enjoyed doing PUC and learned a huge amount about teamwork and working in a kitchen, which was at times very stressful.

UNEDUCATED 

When I was 15/16, I sang and played drums in a rock band in school, consisting of my peer group.

This band taught me a massive amount about working with people, especially working with musicians. I learned how and why some people clash and argue, and how to get the best out of people.

I learned that in order for a band like that to function, everyone must pull their weight, and how to set goals in terms of "what to learn" and "how much to learn". These are lessons that have taught me skills that I use today in my Jazz band.

Although Uneducated eventually disbanded, there are fantastic memories and experiences that we all had.

FRIDAY FOOTBALL

Friday Football is an initiative that I started in September 2022 as my community involvement activity for my Gaisce Bronze award.

The initiative was to create a safe space for students of all ages to come and play/learn how to play football. In essence it was a way for me to share my passion of football with students at school. The goal was to create a larger footballing culture at school.

18 months on, and Friday Football is probably the most popular and age/gender diverse "official" school activity. Friday Football lasts for two hours every Friday morning, and includes three groups, based on skill level. This means that all players have a respective group that they are able to play in competitively. I have watched students who had never previously played football before joining in the sessions, improve massively, and even more importantly, find the love for the game.

OTHELLO

My most recent project - Learning and acting certain scenes from a Shakespearean play.

I studied the play "Othello" in my IGCSE English Literature curriculum. Along with another student that I studied the play with, we proposed trying to prepare a performance of selected scenes. Troy, one of our staff members, who has experience in dramatic productions offered to help.

Since September 2023, we have been meeting multiple times a week and learning the final act of the play. Since the new year, we've been acting certain scenes out, and learning lines. Drama is something that I do not have much experience with, and my only reason for getting involved with this project was my pure love for the play that I studied, but I'm glad that I did get involved, and grateful that I've been able to do so at Sudbury.

We look forward to performing this in June.