Teach with Tadgh's lunchbox ideas for busy students

With almost 400,000 followers on TikTok, Science teacher Tadgh O'Donovan has become somewhat of a celebrity in Carrigaline Community School, but he insists that the students don't treat him any differently.

"It's interesting because I've been in my school in Carrigaline for the guts of four years," he tells me, "so the majority of kids in school just see me as another teacher, which is great. It feels very comfortable, they just recognise me as another member of staff."

"The first years, every year, it's a novelty to them," he admits, laughing. "But after a while it blends in for them as well."

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Having started his TikTok account in 2020, during the first wave of pandemic lockdowns, O'Donovan says he hoped to reach students who were studying remotely for the first time.

Deciding to meet students where they were at, rather than trying to drag their attention to other platforms, the Cork man began teaching STEM through TikTok livestreams and posting videos with funny insights into his life in the classroom.

"For me, it's about keeping up with the slang, the language and the trends," he says of the online venture. "I think they find it funny. If I throw in the terminology into the middle of a lesson, it snaps them to attention. It's a novelty for them."

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Now signed to the Collaborations Agency, his videos regularly earn him thousands of views across TikTok and Instagram, and he has a number of brand deals to his name. When we speak, though, he is on his way to the classroom.

"I find that September is hectic, I'm still trying to figure out what the right routine is, so I only feel at the moment that I'm getting into the swing of things," he says.

"I'm getting there slowly but surely," he laughs. "The last five or six weeks have been manic; I just got married before I went back to school as well so I'm just trying to find any kind of routine."

With all this in mind, O'Donovan has teamed up with Centra to share some 'Simple Saver Ideas' to save kids and parents some time in the mornings when getting ready for the week ahead.

"My wife and I meal prep every Sunday," he explains. "It saves us so much time during the week so, if parents have the time to do it, get Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's lunches lined up. It will give them and their kids a head start going into the week."

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When it comes to packed lunches, O'Donovan advises parents to add in some healthy snacks like apple slices, carrots and hummus, or cheese and crackers for when their little ones become peckish during their day.

"It's about trying to encourage your kids to try a huge range of different foods," he explains. "When it comes to meal prepping, you can get into the habit of making the same thing, but there's no harm to try a bit of variety so your kids develop a nice palette."

A healthy but filling snack that O'Donovan offers is a banana and peanutbutter wrap cut into sections: "It's a delicious little snack and it has a nice balance of carbs, proteins, and fibre in there."

Of course, parents should check in with their children's schools to see if there are any policies in place surrounding nut products. If so, keep this in mind as a handy after-school snack.

For teens buckling down for late night study sessions, O'Donovan recommends a thermal cup for some instant noodles on the go.

"It's a great one if you're looking to get a meal in somewhere along the way," he says. "A Stanley cup, you can do so much with. For us, it's a movie night on a Friday, I'll use it to hold the tub of ice cream in. It's not the healthiest but it certainly makes it last a little bit longer!"

Tadgh is an ambassador for Centra's Simple Savers campaign, which offers a surge of mega value deals that help customers save time, money, and effort.