This year’s Kreattiv programme helped to fund a multisensory production that brought colour and music to a school in Pemroke. Jo Caruana watched one of the resulting performances.

There was a real buzz to be felt at St Claire College San Miguel Primary Education Resource Centre when I stopped by recently to watch an end-of-term project supported by the Kreattiv programme.

Kuluri Kreattivi is a multi-sensory project that combines music, dance, drama and other arts in a lively production for young children.

The project follows on from a 2013 production that took place at the same school, Reason For The Season. Having enjoyed the huge benefits of that programme, the school decided to apply for funds and, once again, was among the lucky applicants to receive a cut of the €80,000 committed to Kreattiv for projects in 2014 by the Culture Directorate.

And there is no denying that San Miguel’s is a very deserving school. All of the students here have learning difficulties and most are non-verbal; they require round-the-clock care from their teachers and learning support assistants (LSAs), and are reliant for everything from going to the bathroom to being fed.

“We have 11 full-time students here, and 56 children who attend the school on a weekly basis,” explains headmistress Josephine Mamo. “Some are babies as young as six months, while others are nine or 10 years old. They come here for a variety of educational services, including hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, cognitive sessions, ICT, optimusic and multisensory sessions. This Kreattiv project combines a lot of that into a theatrical experience for the children.”

In keeping with the colourful theme, most of the classrooms have been colour-coded. In the pink room, for instance, pictures of Peppa Pig line the boards, while pretty pink sweets sit in a basket and pink ribbons dangle from the ceiling. The actual walls have even been painted pink. And it’s a similar story in the green room, the blue room, and the yellow and orange room too.

“The team has stopped at nothing to make the most of Kreattiv,” explains the school’s music therapist Rosetta Debattista, who helped spearhead the project and also runs the Manoel Theatre’s Toi Toi programme, which supports Kreattiv.

The results have brought a totally new lease of life to the school, and this enthusiasm has definitely filtered through to the students too

“Meanwhile, from a creative perspective, I have worked with the students here throughout the academic year, as I have done for several years now. We have had singing lessons and interacted with live musicians, and the children have even spent days with the actors who perform in this play. The results have been tangible for all involved. Watching the kid’s faces light up when they hear the music playing or actors telling stories is out of this world.”

Back to the performance. I watched a mainstream school arrive to view the production, while the San Miguel students and their teachers welcomed them. Suddenly they were just one group of children, all the same.

Some of them sat there on their own, whispering excitedly . Others are given the support they need from their LSAs to sit up. The important thing is that all of them sit side-by-side, eager to enjoy an experience together... this is a space where, no matter their abilities or needs, they are completely included.

“It’s really important to us that our children get to feel part of the activities going on around them,” continues Mamo. “The project has allowed them to invite mainstream children in to see something that they have been part of. They didn’t feel different anymore.”

On the stage, an actress in a brightly-coloured dress popped up and began to tell her tale. That story was adapted by Rebecca Debattista and based on the book The Day The Crayons Quit. Throughout the production, the mainstream students mingled with the San Miguel students, holding their hands, helping them to colour in and guiding them along the corridors.

“This has been so positive for all the children,” said Mamo. “Our students get to be with their peers and to feel part of something new. Meanwhile, the other students are exposed to children with disabilities, who may not be able to do everything that they can do, but who have their own, valid ways of learning.

“It has been win-win and we are so grateful to have been given this opportunity. We will certainly live with the positive legacy of Kuluri Kreattivi for a long time to come.”