Socrates-Comenius project at Attard Primary

Tumas Dingli Primary School, Attard, is involved in the fourth Socrates-Comenius project called "Building Bridges Makes Us One". Together with the head of school, Mario Testa, I had the opportunity to visit our partner school, Northbourne C.E. (A) Primary School in Didcot, Oxford.

When we arrived, we were shown round the school. During our stay in Oxford, we had the opportunity to go round the classes, giving some lessons to the English children. The children were fascinated that they could read and say a few Maltese words in such a short time.

A special assembly was held in our honour. We gave some short information about the Maltese Islands and the children asked questions about Malta. We exchanged booklets about traditional playground games, which is part of our project and the children enjoyed playing Maltese games. We also had planning sessions about the work done and the work to be done in the coming year. We also attended one of the staff meetings during the teachers' break time.

As is our custom when we go abroad on such visits, we make it a point to visit other schools in the vicinity. This time, during our short stay in Oxford, we visited three other schools: Greenmere Primary School, St Andrew's C.E. Primary School and Headington Nursery School. We could notice some similarities as well as some differences among the schools. It was a pleasure to attend a music lesson for the kindergarten children given by the head of St Andrew's Headington School.

Knowing we were invited to this school specialising in kindergarten, we presented them with some of the creative works done by our children in the kinder section with the help of their most devoted kindergarten assistants. Both teachers and pupils were fascinated by these tokens.

Apart from the contact with our partner school, we also made friends with other schools and this helped to enrich our experience.