The Pearl School Holiday Program was held during the January summer holiday at the Pearl Center. Program coordinator Kevser G. Demirbas, teacher Hafsa Demirbas and volunteers aiding with cooking, driving and supervising helped allow the Holiday School to run smoothly.
During reading, children read books according to their liking and age group. The main objective here was to increase individual knowledge.
Morning and afternoon teas allowed the students to have a break and socialize with one another. Volunteers (names) cooked various foods over the two weeks for the hungry students.
Activities time was the highlight of the day. After lunch the children participated in a different activity everyday. During this holiday school program the activities undertaken by students were Motat, Cinemas – Rise of the Guardians, Maritime Museum, Picnic Day, clay-making and puppet-making.
The puppet making activity attracted a lot of attention and excitement. The children enjoyed the activity very much and brought out their inner creativity with the different materials provided. Later that afternoon the children played among themselves and made up their own little puppet stories.
As part of our cultural learning, once the children learnt abut Australia, they had the opportunity to make their own traditional Aboriginal art. By using paint and other simple materials the children duplicated the spotted art designs of the Aboriginal people and it was a successful learning opportunity for the children.
During Intercultural Learning, students learnt about other countries, cultures and nationalities. During this times students analysed a different country every day. Students discussed New Zealand, Turkiye, Fiji, Samoa, Australia, Japan, India, Egypt and Malaysia.
Cultural learning extended to cultural arts and foods. During the holiday school, students had the opportunity to make the Japanese fan and the traditional sushi. Gozleme (Turkish pastry) represented Turkiye while bookmarks were also made by using Aboriginal and Maori art.
Overall, it was another great event organized by the Pearl of the Islands Foundation. We thank all those who volunteered and contributed to allow the Pearl School Holiday Program to run faultless leading to two delightful weeks