While it makes teacher Rob Wigley laugh, it also quietly makes him proud, because the guarding of lunch boxes has arisen from his latest children’s song, Keith the Kiwifruit Thief.
Also known as Mr Roberelli, the Dunedin singer and songwriter said his latest song was inspired by the school’s assistant principal and teacher Keith Mulholland.
"Keith is a wonderful teacher here and I love his name.
"He was wandering around one lunchtime and I got this idea in my head — Keith the kiwifruit thief — that’s quite a tongue-twister and I thought the kids might like it."
So he wrote a song about it and recorded it, and it was recently put online for children around the world to enjoy.
An unexpected consequence of the song was children at the school were now keeping their eyes peeled for Keith whenever they were eating their lunches.
"A lot of the children, because they’ve heard the song, have decided that maybe it’s partly true, so they’re putting their hands over their lunch boxes when he comes past on duty.
"The older kids know it’s a joke — some of the younger kids aren’t quite sure.
Mr Wigley said he had been writing children’s songs for more than a decade, and about 150 had been published online.
"I’d be lying if I said that it’s for the children. I actually do it for myself.
"It’s a great creative thing and it’s wonderful that I can put it out into the world and children can enjoy it, but I get a lot of creative juices flowing and it’s therapeutic."
He said his next song — The Fire Chief Song — was due to be released before the end of the month.
"In Sawyer’s Bay, when there’s an emergency, a big siren goes off and my boys always rush to the window to see the fire chief zooming off in his car to the fire station.
"That gave rise to The Fire Chief Song. It celebrates emergency services.
"Again, it’s nice to shine a light on important people in the community."
