In April 2017 one of my Art Students at the school where I teach won a competition organised by the St Vincent De Paul Home for the Elderly in Luqa Malta. Due to winning this competition our school was tasked with creating a project with the elderly, in which our students and the elderly would share moments of learning and engagement.
Being the teacher heading this project I asked a number of my colleagues, who through their specific subjects already work with themes that concern the elderly, to help me create a sustainable project. The Health and Social Care teachers, together with the Home Economics teacher and I came up with a 2 day project in which students could interact, help and teach the elderly about how to keep themselves fit, eat more healthily as well as use contemporary technology to keep themselves entertained!
Thanks to the help of the Sliema Local Council we made contact with the elderly in the community where our school is situated. During the two separate days, once at the Sliema Day Care Centre and once at the St Vincent De Paul home for the elderly, we showed the elderly how to use tablets and mobiles with Drawing Apps to draw flowers. We also showed them how to keep fit with specific exercises and what's best to eat, according to the diet different people need to follow. This project enabled to bridge the gap between today's youngsters and the elderly who are still valuable to our community.
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