In April 2009 , our Canteen Manager, Mrs Judith Ind, ended a very long association with the school when she decided the time had come to retire. Mrs Ind was a pupil at Stonehouse Secondary School from 1965 –1969 when she was Judith Shill. Later on, her four children, Jason, Gary, Jenny and Robert all attended Maidenhill.
Mrs Ind started as a kitchen assistant in 1988 and worked her way up to Unit Manager in the early 1990s. She was a major influence in the introduction of more healthy menus in the canteen, working with Mr Trippett and chef Robert Rees to provide a more varied and interesting choice for all. Recently she has appreciated the refurbishment of the canteen area and the improvement in the behaviour of the students as they collect and eat their meals. She says she has enjoyed everything about her job for the whole of the 21 years she has been here.

She has had a very busy job, planning the meals for not only the school but also the Meals on Wheels service, which ran from Maidenhill kitchens until this year. She supervised the assistants as they prepared the ingredients, and made sure that the dinners were cooked properly and salads and sandwiches made. She enjoyed seeing her plans work especially on special occasions such as the Christmas dinners and buffets for staff parties. Sometimes things didn’t go quite to plan as on the Multi-Cultural Day when the meals were so popular the food ran out, leaving many pupils disappointed! However this was most unusual for Judy, as generally the kitchens have run like clockwork with a hardworking and cheerful staff.
Judy is looking forward to having a relaxing retirement with time to get on with those decorating jobs and helping with her grandchildren. She will also have more time to travel the coastline in her camper van. She will be much missed at Maidenhill and we wish her health and happiness for the future.