Celebrating a year since our highly successful inaugural olive oil making event, the St James’ Junior School rallied together once again to embark on another fruitful endeavour. As the curtains closed on Term 1, the Orange Army joined forces to handpick olives from the trees amongst the Junior School. With great care, the harvested olives were transported to Jumanga Olives in Carabooda, where they underwent a meticulous process of sorting, washing, and crushing until they were transformed into a luscious pulp. The oil concealed within the pulp was then extracted and allowed to settle in a large container for a period of four weeks.

Once the oil had undergone its transformation, the responsibility of bottling the liquid gold was entrusted to Junior School Captains, Esme M and Freya K. Under the guidance of Mr Mornement, they skilfully poured the freshly pressed olive oil into glass bottles, securing them with seals, pourers, and lids.

Furthermore, in true Junior School fashion, a label design competition was organised, inviting students to showcase their artistic talents. Among the brilliant submissions, it was Year 4 student, Georgia P, who emerged victorious with her exceptional design. Georgia’s creation was then printed on vinyl labels, which completed the bottles of our locally produced olive oil.

This year, the fruits of our labour have yielded an impressive fourteen bottles. We are thrilled to announce that these exclusive bottles will be available for purchase from our Junior School market stall cart on Friday 2 June. Parents are invited to join us to partake in this opportunity to purchase freshly grown St James’ produce, including an array of vegetables, herbs, and, of course, our coveted olive oil.