Fun Day at Helen Keller School

The Helen Keller School for the Sensory-Impaired at Qrendi hosted a Fun Day on May 18, with the theme "Let us take care of whatever is Maltese".

The event was designed to bring together the students attending the school, deaf students and their peers from mainstream schools, parents and professionals.

The educational vision of the school strives to offer a centre of excellence from where expert support can be given to clients who seek to use its human resources and specialised equipment and facilities.

Helen Keller School, under the leadership of Carmen Cascun, a trained teacher for multi-sensory impairment, provides specialised educational and therapeutic support to students attending mainstream schools and to those who require full-time support. It is the only local agency that can provide specialised support for students with visual, hearing and multi-sensory impairment.

At present the school has 18 full-time and seven part-time students (the latter attend one to four days a week). It also offers the peripatetic service of the teachers of the deaf to 85 deaf students in the mainstream setting. The school also offers the services of an educational audiologist.

Preparation for the fun day were well laid out in the first term and this was a co-ordinated effort between the peripatetic teachers of PE, Art, Music, Drama, school staff, students and school council. Staff and students were involved in costume making, painting of props and numerous hours of preparation for the big day.

The emphasis on the day was participation and inclusive 'fun'. The event kicked off with a colourful display by staff and students choreographed by Anna Calleja. Music teachers Mark Aguis and Mario Attard provided live percussion music on timpani and South American congas. PE teachers Anna Calleja and Pierre Demanuele organised the games, which ranged from picking fruit and flowers, sack races, to building a model of a Maltese razzett.

Students also participated by painting a mural depicting a Maltese village scene. This was supervised by art teachers Graziella Marmarà, Carmen Piscopo and Paul Mizzi. Students from mainstream schools and other special schools ranging from pre-schoolers to secondary students participated in the event.

Participating schools were Maria Assumpta Girls Secondary, Hamrun; Dun Manwel Attard, Wardija; William Baker Primary , Gudja; San Miguel, Pembroke; Filippo Zammit Primary, Qrendi; and Guardian Angel, Hamrun. Deaf students receiving peripatetic services also participated. The event was animated by Claire Bezzina.

The staff and students highly appreciated the presence of Michael King, assistant director, Special Education Needs, who handed out the certificates. The excellent team effort ensured two hours of lively fun. The event ended with the singing of the national anthem which was highly significant for a group of deaf students having Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija as their first language. They were able to express their love and respect for their mother country by singing the national anthem for the first time ever in public. This was something the school worked hard to rectify, thus ensuring that deaf students will no longer remain silent during the national anthem but join in with the rest.

Such events are important to actively promote the idea of inclusiveness and to lessen the stigma of special schools as pariah institutions burdened with the legacy of past segregation policies. Special schools call help promote inclusiveness by being available as centres of excellence where parents and mainstream educators can work in partnership with the expertise and facilities such centres can offer.

Such a model would ensure a better service all the year round for students who need special educational support. Helen Keller School has worked hard to reinvent itself and allies itself firmly as a promoter of inclusion and not segregation.