Black Mountain School looking to break ground with cafe to teach work skills
Building the Six Degrees garden cafe and gallery has been a long-term dream for staff and students of Black Mountain School.
The school is close to reaching its fundraising target of $50,000 necessary to cover the build but is waiting to see whether they will be the lucky one of six ACT schools applying for a $5000 CUA Community Care grant.
Deputy principal Lara Coman said with or without the grant the project was a school priority, however receiving the grant money would enable the cafe project to get off the ground sooner.
She said there had been enormous community support for the school's plan to create a place for students with an intellectual disability to learn work and life skills for students.
More than $10,000 was raised last year in a pozible.com campaign and most of the building materials have been donated to the school.
"There has been a lot of 'in kind' support," she said. "We are ready to go and now we just need the cash funds to get the building happening."
Situated between existing work education areas for art and horticulture, the sunny spot will have window benches to sip away at hot drinks as well as an outdoor seated area for customers.
Students in the hospitality program will operate the cafe, art students' handmade silk items, mosaics and other artworks will be exhibited and sold in the space and horticulture and sustainability students will grow fresh produce and colourful potted plants to decorate the area.
Year 11 student Jess Harden is a devoted hot chocolate fan who can't wait for the cafe to be up and running. Schoolmate year 10 student Crystal Owen had ideas about how to use what is grown at the school in the menu.
"We grow lots of vegetables and fruits so maybe some wraps, curries and sandwiches," she said.
After an initial launch with the school community Ms Coman said the plan was to make the cafe open to the public so students can showcase their work skills to the broader community and potential employers.
"We hope community organisations [will come] to see our students in a workplace setting," she said. "Often they think communication will be a barrier but we hope once they see how well they work they will think about how they could employ a person with a disability."
Source: The Canberra Times, Georgina Connery, 9th August 2015
Originally published as: Black Mountain School looking to break ground with cafe to teach work skills
