De La Salle Junior School thrive in novel project

On Thursday September 14th, two Year 6 classes from two local Church Schools, De La Salle College and Our Lady Immaculate School, met together at San Anton Palace in Attard. On this occassion, students celebrated their success at the end of an eTwinning project entitled “Mill-Pinna Tiegħi” between the two schools with a book launch in the presence of the First Lady, Ms Miriam Vella, their educators and other guests.

This project started off from a vague idea which then evolved into something much bigger. The main aims behind it were to help students appreciate more the Maltese language and all that makes us Maltese. The intensive research carried out as a pre-writing activity helped the students understand how rich the story of our country is. The sites and monuments they visited and finally wrote about are all special and unique.

The Year 6 students, guided by their class teachers Ms Francesca Farrugia and Ms Rita Azzopardi, worked really hard. They went through the whole process of creating a book. They experienced for the very first time all the steps involved from doing research about the chosen topic, planning and writing the story, to the editing process, the illustrations and also the proofreading process which made the book complete, before it was sent to the publishers.

The book is a collection of stories about various monuments and places of interest in Malta and Gozo. All of them are a pleasure to read and keep the reader’s attention and interest till the last sentence. All stories are original and each one has its own QR code. Once it is scanned, the reader can watch a video of each child reading his/her story.

Throughout the whole project, educators and students were helped and supported by Ms Roberta Trapani Maggi and Ms Natalie Calleja Lombardi, Heads of Department for Digital Literacy and Transversal Skills for the Secretariat of Catholic Education. They used different digital tools to help students develop 21st Century skills including creativity, communication, and collaboration. Students had various opportunities to interact together in fun activities where new friendships were made and ideas were shared.

This book would not have been possible without the help of Ms Miriam Vella, who showed full trust in the project from the very beginning, the administration of the Malta Community Chest Fund, the administration of both schools, especially Ms Amanda Borg, Ms Sarah Mallia and Ms Glorianne Agius, all the educators who lent a helping hand in a way or another, the students’ parents and guardians and last but not least the students themselves.

It is an opportunity to show solidarity with families and individuals in need while enjoying a good book. All profits will go to the Malta Community Chest Fund.

On Thursday September 14th Mrs Miriam Vella attended the launch of “Mill-Pinna Tiegħi”, a project implemented by the De La Salle College Malta and Our Lady Immaculate School in aid of The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation.

In a few words, she expressed her appreciation for the commitment shown by the sixth-year students at the primary schools as well as by the respective teachers and Heads of School. She also noted the correct use of the Maltese language and the use of digital literacy in this booklet about monuments and historical places in Malta and Gozo.