The curriculum department of the Education Division has made sure mathematics books about to be introduced at secondary level include the euro. This is the first time that such mathematics books will include sums using the country’s currency. At primary level, the Abacus used in the schools has also been changed to include the euro. When children returned to school after the summer holidays, the euro was already being referred to in lessons instead of the Maltese lira.

Activity books, workbooks and staff development seminars were also introduced. Plays were put up, and an art exhibition was held in every school, in preparation for a national exhibition to be put up in Robert Samut Hall in Floriana next March.

Cross-curricular work with the theme of the euro was also introduced in every subject whether science, English or geography and not just maths, in the primary section. The Home Economics Seminar Centre in Birkirkara also received sets of euro coins and banknotes to familiarise students with the euro’s use.

The Department of Technology in Education created a website so primary students would have the necessary resources to learn how the euro is being used in each country. This interactive programme is multidimensional and apart from tests, pictures and animation it also uses audio, by presenting a short version of the national anthems of each country in the EU. This site can be accessed on http://schoolnet.gov.mt/ue .

As part of the euro changeover, the Science Centre of the Curriculum Department has also undertaken an initiative, “Science with the Euro” aimed at familiarising school children with the euro. It is the first in a number of activities to be held at the Science Centre in Pembroke. The event will also continue throughout December. Secondary school students will visit between 3-14 December. This event was made possible through the Science Centre which is part of the curriculum department, in collaboration with the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC).

For the past weeks, hundreds of primary school children whose ages range from 8 to 11, have taken part in the activity and visited the centre.

The children take part in three workshops: the first one exposes them to a number of hands on science based experiments with the euro coins or notes as a starting point. The scene is set with a short film following which they look at the concept of various security features to ensure the authenticity of the currency, the use of UV light, tactile features, and magnetic attraction.

The second workshop looks at various structural designs of bridges since all the euro notes bear images of bridges; and the third workshop is a technology workshop. Here children design their own moneybox or display for euro coins. In this activity children experience the process of design and technology.

This is all being done to ease the change to the euro and so children can teach their families and help their parents and grandparents to become familiar with the euro.