The transition programme is effectively targeted to give the students opportunities for hands-on experiences in fields and companies that might provide opportunities for employment once these students with special needs leave the school environment.
On their most recent visit, the students went to Casa Arkati where they were shown the ins and outs of working with the residents of the home. During the visit the students also met two ex-alumni of the school who are working there on part-time basis – a proven success story. One has to acknowledge the good reports received from their employers, who say that these two girls are doing their job well.
The students also had the opportunity to meet former President Sir Anthony Mamo, who addressed the students and commended them on their work and the role they have to play in society.
Another such visit was that to Bristow Potteries where the students were given the chance to manufacture their own pieces of pottery, not only being given a free range to express their creativity but also the chance to decorate some previously made pottery artefacts.
Visits such as these, as well as that to Mdina Glass, gave a unique boost to students who not only realised that they were being given the chance to express their creativity but could also envision concretely the possibility of actually working in such an environment.
Mother’s Day was another welcome event in the extra-curricular calendar of the school. The staff at Casa Arkati invited the percussion band and choir of the school to perform for their residents, a momentous occasion and the first time the band and choir actually performed outside the school grounds. An open air performance was arranged under the bright May sunshine in the gardens of the residence and as expected the students rose to the occasion, giving a rousing performance which enthralled all those present.
In order to celebrate this occasion a school concert was also organised in honour of all the students’ mothers in the concert hall in the Wardija School. A two-hour show included poetry and prose recitals, and renditions by the Percussion Band and the School Choir.
All those attending were delighted by the effort and performance as well as the dedication of all the students taking part in this event, organised and put forward as a thank you to their mothers for their constant support and affection.
The beaming smiles and pride of the parents was mirrored on all the students’ faces, overjoyed by their effort and the audience’s appreciation of the music.
The school’s motto is To make an efficient citizen, self-respecting and self-supporting as far as may be and of socially acceptable habits. This motto, imprinted in the minds of both staff and students, exposes these students not only to a broad range of academic work done on individual level but also to a number of other activities aimed to prepare these students for challenges they are to face in their life outside school.
Presenting such a motto is an exercise not only of commitment but also one of dedication and determination; putting it into practice is the fulfilment and proof that Dun Manwel Attard School is, without doubt, committed to the success of its students.