Learning opportunities at Maria Regina JL

For this scholastic year, the Home Economics department at Maria Regina Junior Lyceum chose the vital issue of healthy eating to be at the heart of students' course work.

The choice was primarily influenced by the alarming rate of obesity in Maltese children.

In Home Economics, course work involves, besides the practical food assignments, carrying out an investigation on one of the several topics covered throughout the scholastic year.

Course work ensures that the students' exam mark in this particular subject better reflects their holistic attainment and their overall mastery of a broad array of skills.

Several health topics that fit under this broad concept of healthy eating were studied.

¤ Form 1 students focused on the importance of milk and its products in our diet.

¤ Form 2 students studied the importance of fruits in our diet, also investigating the value that the Maltese attribute to these plant sources of food.

¤ Form 3 students, being at a crucial age of growth and development focused on the causes and the ill-effects of one of the most prevalent diet-related disorders in our society, obesity.

The students also identified strategies for overcoming this disorder and analysed the feasibility of these strategies.

¤ Form 4 and Form 5 students tackled various health topics in the investigations they carried out in preparation for their SEC exam.

In all investigations, the students had the opportunity to analyse and share their own perspectives about their respective investigative topics, carry out research as well as distribute questionnaires among their friends, relatives, family members and neighbours, to find out about the local situation.

They also designed leaflets, posters and booklets that encourage the readers to opt for healthy eating strategies that will add quality to their life.

It is by all means agreed that students' work needs to be valued. For this purpose, the Home Economics teaching team, together with the collaboration of the Physical Education team, as well as an art teacher, took the initiative to set up an exhibition of the various pieces of work that were prepared with a strong sense of commitment and motivation by the students.

The exhibition was not just 'look and read' but also gave visitors the opportunity to taste traditional Maltese food, such as gbejniet, bigilla, aljoli, and ftira, that are in line with the national dietary guidelines of eating less fat, less sugar, less salt and more dietary fibre by including more pulses in our diet. All visitors left the exhibition on a good note.

However, this is not all. Recently, Maria Regina JL inaugurated the installation of wireless connectivity, with one of the teachers, delivering an interactive Home Economics lesson using ICT.

This lesson confirmed the vital role of ICT in the teaching and learning process, as all students were admired for their strong sense of motivation and interest.

Moreover, earlier on during the scholastic year a talk was delivered to the parents by a teacher to promote the importance of encouraging teenagers to adopt healthy eating habits in their lifestyle.

This was a talk that urged all parents to reflect upon their routine food preparation techniques as well as encouraged them to try out new dishes that have excellent nutritional values.

All these remarkable achievements were made possible with the enormous efforts of Ms J. Bugeja Home Economics co-ordinator and her teaching team Mrs C. Borg Catania, Mrs S. Borg Carr, Mrs P. Scicluna, Ms M.C. Vella and Mrs S. Zammit.

Appreciation also goes to the Physical Education team as well as Ms D. Muscat, an art teacher.

Last but not least, to Education Officer, Ms E. Mallia, and to head of school, Ms M. De Bono, for their support and encouragement.