On March 20, Albany Senior High School (ASHS) held its annual Whānau Food Truck evening, an opportunity for ākonga (students) and their parents/whānau to meet their ASHS kaiako (tutors and specialist subject teachers) in an informal setting.

Attended by over 150 kaimahi (staff), ākonga, and whānau members, the event was held in ASHS’s beautiful plaza area in sunny warm conditions. Food Truck vendors Jay’s Kitchen, Manila Eats, and Mr Whippy all returned to the 2025 event after experiencing immense success at the 2024 event. Alongside them were our ‘Street Eats’ Impact Hub ākonga who prepared and provided delicious kai to help fundraise for various Impact Projects. Also fundraising were our ‘Let’s Go!’ Hub who got busy washing cars and held an Edible Blooms raffle.

Musical performances were provided throughout by our Music hub ākonga – a mix of acoustic and rock sets with original and cover songs, kept the vibes high all evening. 

Philippa Wintle, Acting Deputy Principal at ASHS, says that whānau partnerships are crucial in young people and their whānau feeling a sense of belonging and connection to school.

“The Whānau Food Truck evening is a new initiative that allows students and whānau to visit our school and meet teachers informally ahead of Learning Dialogues [meetings between whānau, ākonga, and their tutor]”, says Wintle. “The event was hugely successful this year and last and this year it was fantastic to have more of our fabulous young people performing and offering goods and services as a part of authentic learning experiences, both through Impact Projects and their Specialist Subjects.”

A big thank you to all vendors, ākonga, kaimahi and whānau members for making it a fun night, and we look forward to the next one!