Civano Community School
17 September 2019
New Chef. New Kitchen. New Menu.
Hello everyone! I am excited to join the Civano K-8 family as your new chef! I know you’re curious about the future of our lunch program and I hope this letter will address many of your concerns. So first, the obligatory “about me”…
My name is Erik Plank and I’ve been cooking since I was a teenager, earned a degree in culinary arts and have over twenty years’ professional experience as a cook and chef in the restaurant industry. I 'retired' from cooking professionally several years ago in order to spend more time with my family (few chefs ever get nights, weekends or holidays off). Though most of my career was spent working in fine dining, I am personally most fond of barbecue, sandwiches and tacos! Mmmm… tacos! I loathe green bell peppers, raw onions and cilantro, yet I love roasted red peppers, sautéed onions and coriander (i.e. cilantro seed).
I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and lived there all my life until moving to Vail three years ago with my wife and daughter, who will be joining us in the Civano Youngers class this fall. (Yes, we will both be eating a school lunch!) I’m really just a big kid at heart: I enjoy board games; jokes; trivia; fantastic fiction about magic and dragons and fairies; I’m a giant Star Wars fan; and I love nature hikes, clouds, monsoons, and old bridges and train tracks.
I hope you’re as excited as I am for this new adventure. I’ll be doing everything I can with the available resources to make this a great program for everyone. Though I know pleasing all of the people all of the time is not realistic, I do hope that I’ll be able to please most of the people most of the time. Please be patient with me; there’s certain to be some growing pains for all, but by working together I know we can make this a success, because teamwork makes the dream work!
Erik Plank
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And now for a little bit about our plans for the future of the Civano Lunch Program...
Civano K-8 Lunch Program Prospectus 2019-20
We aim to implement a fiscally-responsible lunch program that embraces many of the Civano Community School’s values by: offering an approachable menu that will also satisfy a sense of adventure and discovery; providing healthy and balanced meals; promoting ecological responsibility; and contributing education to culinary-curious minds.
Approachable Menu
Self-discovery through exploration is a principle concept of the Civano Community School and we want to extend this into the lunch program as well; we hope to broaden students’ experiences by offering diversity and variety. At the same time, however, children (particularly younger children) are comfortable with routine. Our menu schedule will attempt to combine these two concepts by offering a routine menu foundation while providing greater diversity through menu details. For Example: Pizza Party may by a semi-regular occurrence, but the specific pizza being offered will not be the same every time. With consideration for seasonal items and special events, the expectation is that the menu will eventually repeat, but not so often that it becomes tedious.
Healthy Meals
It’s important to all of us that we offer healthy and balanced meals; it helps everyone focus, study, learn, play and grow. Our primary method of offering healthy foods will be to focus on the quality of approachable ingredients. By targeting fresh organic produce, free-range proteins and complex carbohydrates we can attempt to prepare healthy meals that children want to eat (a kale and quinoa salad isn’t good for anyone if it goes uneaten). We will also take advantage of Stealth Health, which is ‘sneaking’ vegetables into foods. Finally, while our limited resources will necessitate the use of processed foods, these are tertiary options and ones where we can look to limit added chemicals and unnecessary sugars. Though fiscal reality will not permit us to use organic, free-range and all-natural products all of the time, it is our intention to do so as often as the budget allows.
Ecological Responsibility
Using whole, fresh produce and unprocessed foods will reduce the amount of packaging and material waste we use. Using product that is locally grown and raised reduces the carbon footprint caused by transportation. We also hope to be able to provide either the school Garden Club or Civano Community Garden with some great organic waste for composting (perhaps in exchange for fresh herbs!)
Education
In time, if there is enough student interest, we would like to begin an extracurricular club where students can learn some fundamentals of professional culinary arts such as: Safety & Sanitation; Knife Skills; Mise en Place; Roasting; Braising; Sautéing, etc. We would also like to bring student volunteers into the kitchen and allow them to help with prep-ahead items.
Civano Rocks an A on "Niche" Reviews!
Civano received an A rating on Niche! We would love to get your feedback on our school. Please use the link above to submit a review of Civano Community School.
Congrats to Vince Sebastian!
Make a Difference Day -- Oct 26
We have a number of projects slated for that day to clean, paint, install, and beautify our campus! Be on the lookout (soon!) for a sign-up genius for the projects. We also welcome help from community organizations and local churches on this day. If you know of any scout troops, service clubs, or faith-based groups available to help, please ask them to email Jennifer Hopek (jenhopek@gmail.com) with their contact info. We will follow-up over break as information is finalized.
Notes from CPA....
The library at the lower school is being moved from the office area into the classrooms. We need volunteers to help with this project! If you are available to help move and reshelve books on Thursday, October 10 at 10:00 a.m. please contact Christina Hardcastle at (404) 654.0227 or Christina.Hardcastle@gmail.com.
As part of the Harvest Hop on Friday, October 25, we will have a Silent Auction. Each classroom will have a basket in the auction. Please donate any items you can to contribute to your classroom basket. Items can be put in the box in your child's classroom by Friday, September 20. Fliers with details are attached to this newsletter.
- BJ's Class: Lego basket
- Joy's Class: Camping basket
- Hope's Class: Family Fun Night basket
- Upper School: Love of Reading basket
Vail Pride Day 2020!
Tax Credits Make Civano Special
Tax Credits Support our School!
AZ Tax Credits help to support our school -- art, drama, field trips, artist in residence, and more!
Tax Credits can also be used to join an after school activity that is fee-based (STEM Scouts, Strings, Sports, etc.).
Your family and neighbors can help support us through tax credits as well. Please share this link with them! Vail Tax Credits
Civano Calendar
Sept 19 -- Lunch orders and payments DUE
Sept 20 - Talent Show - 9am
Sept 20 - 22 - Civano Family Camping Trip on Mt. Lemmon
Sept 21 - Oct 13 - FALL BREAK -- no school
Oct 10 -- Library Reshelving Project (see CPA notes)
Oct 14 - Second Quarter Begins
Oct 15 - Be Kind Club
Oct 21 - Cupcake Parade
Oct 23 - SHAC Wellness Meeting 3-4pm
Oct 24 - School Pictures (information to go home in Oct 15 Purple Folders)
Oct 25 - Harvest Hop
Oct 26 - Make A Difference Day (information to be published SOON!)
Civano Community School
School Coordinator
Email: crainl@vailschooldistrict.org
Location: 10625 E Drexel Rd, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: 520-879-1718
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CIVK8/