Dwardu's Scoops - Issue 11

Dwardu’s Scoops

Giving a voice to youths

ByDanilGolomovzyYr10Xand MarcuTironYr10Y

Recently,twoofourstudentstookpartintheENYAproject.These aretheirexperiences.

This is Marcu and Danil, proud students of the 10th grade here, at St Edward’s, and we wrote this short article to share our experience of participating in a 2-day seminar that enlarged our social agenda and developed our soft-skills. Would you be interested in activities like this one, that will help shape your career’s path? If yes, then keep on reading!

What is this project, more precisely?

Organized annually by ENOC (The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children), ENYA is a project aiming to give children and young people like us the opportunity to meet, exchange thoughts and to be heard at European level, outside the boundaries of their

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St Edward’s College, Malta

It was a fantastic tour de force by the indomitable Ms Abigail Brown. Themed as A Night At The Oscars, this year’s concerts managed to galvanize not only the children into a frenzy of enthusiasm but also, astonishingly, the teachers. Notoriously apt at withdrawal, certainly not seekers of the limelight, this year, Ms Brown coaxed, cajoled and persuaded her colleagues into an active participation on stage. Her focus as seen on the picture in the front page, is incredible.

Comments from parents after the exhilarating event ranged from the superlative to the ecstatic. “I was jumping on my seat” and “the boys were really awesome” and “That was absolutely incredible” were some of the one we managed to catch as the audience, an active participant, filed reluctantly out of the Hall.

Speaking to Ms Brown after the events, she said that this kind of production requires immense preparation and thanked all the staff who helped out as, she observed, this is not a one-person job. Was she relieved it was over? She was, obviously glad that it all went smoothly. Then she twinkled “But I have big plans for the future!”

As they say Watch this space!

Fun Hair and Pyjamas Day

Who are they and what have you done with the real teachers? Can you guess who these teachers are. Kudos to them for being so sporty and participating in the Fun Hair and Pyjamas Day.

The Grand Summer BBQ

It is difficult to conceive but we are nearing the end of the scholastic year. Automatically after the Easter recess, minds turn to exams and holidays. Still way to go for the end of Trinity Term but, preparation have to be underway for all activities. One such is the Grand Summer BBQ which will be held on the 6th June 2023.

In previous years a summer ball was sometimes held and it has always been well attended. Over the years however, it has become evident that heat and ball gowns / formal suits do not co-exist happily. So, rather than scrap a joyous occasion, we decided to change it to make it easier on the humans attending: ditch the ball gown and tog up for a BBQ. Just to give it a twist, this time we themed it to the Roaring 20s.

So, what can we expect? Gates will open at 18:00. There will be:

• family games at one end of the front garden

• Bouncy castles and children’s area,

• Some general games

• Art auction and Spot Prizes

• Good Food Wine and Beer

• Special menu and dining area for children

• Selfie booth for memory making.

Prices for this event are €35 (non-staff) €25 (for staff) and €15 (for Children). Booking will be fixed on payment and when you book, you will need to choose your main course so that we can stock accordingly.

See you then!

Guarding the future

I am a great fan of Tudor music actual Henry VIII or Virgin Queen stuff I mean not some group from these days. Walking in the college gardens, Greensleeves keeps playing in my mind. This tune was reputedly composed by the (perpetually) enamoured Henry VIII. I too am perpetually enamoured...of the gardens and all things horticultural.

Our students are taught from an early age, to love the land, to see it as the font of all goodness and wellbeing. One of the main strategies for the future of the college is the continued greening of St Edward’s both in terms of carbon footprint as well as in terms of managing and proliferating the green areas in the grounds. The Forest comes to mind where our boys so delight in creating games and scenarios which just are not possible in an urban environment. Then there are the trees on the lawn, their trunks shiny from the polish of so many students sitting and climbing them.

The Land like the Sea is a collective patrimony. They belong to no one and to everyone. We hold the land, the sea and the air in trust for future generations.

This is what we teach at St Edward’s.

Cool Camp Experience

Many adults get annoyed when young people moan: “it’s boooooring” or “Not Cool” and bang goes all the preparation. Well, with the Year 10s school trip that was certainly not the case when they visited the PGL Centre in Surrey, UK. The students often refer to the camp as ‘Parents Get Lost’ albeit the real name is an acronym for the founder Peter Gordon Lawrence.

Under the sharp eye of Ms Gouder and Ms Busuttil Gili, the students participated in activities as varied as raft-building, fencing, shooting, problem-solving, zip-lining, the Giant Swing, ambushing, campfires….well, one just gets breathless reading these activities! And then the mind was further stimulated with visits to museums such as the Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack now berthed as a museum in Portsmouth.

Getting to grips with nature

Spring is in the air, most definitely. Here, the college is blossoming with all the hard work which our Joey put in over the cold winter months. And what better way to usher in the Spring than by having a hands-on gardening session. With Ecoskola and the Let’s Talk Farming program both in full swing in collaboration with at St Edward's College we aim to foster the love of the land and all its fruits.

Another Well-Deserved nomination

Another month but certainly not just another Staff Member award! Ms Vanessa Attard is one of a kind. It's not just that she is fun to be with, always a giggle around the corner. Whether one is a colleague or a student, Ms Vanessa's helpful and kindly attitude makes one feel welcome and safe: safe to learn, safe to ask, and safe to try new adventures. Her experiences in the theatre help her to empathize with and coax students along the path of learning. Above all, Ms Vanessa has a can-do attitude which normally finds a way around obstacles that may seem insurmountable. Well Done Ms Vanessa Attard!

own country. This year’s topic was named “Let’s talk young. Let’s talk about children’s rights” and was organized by the Maltese Commissioner for Children in collaboration with Aġenzija Żgħażagħ

So, what did we do there? Was it exciting?

Over the course of these 2 days, we both joined the creative minds of other 20 youngsters coming from all around the Maltese Islands. Led by the commissioner for children herself, Antoinette Vassallo and by other energetic youth workers, we all took part in different fun activities like painting, debating and finding hidden objects to name a few. Nonetheless, these challenged our minds, pushing ourselves to work together and discuss our own rights, helping us build important soft skills in the same time such as: teamwork, communication, leadership, critical thinking and empathy altogether.

From our point of view, the most significant advantage we gained through this was the forming of strong, life-time friendships in such a short amount of time.

To top it all off, at the very end of the seminar, all participants gathered in front of the CEO of Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and Commissioner of Children to share their final suggestions regarding the potential improvement of these activities, that will eventually be presented by 2 lucky teenagers to a higher-ranked European board of advisors, together with the opinions and ideas of other young minds around the continent.

Hopefully, we got you interested! If your wish to participates in such future projects yourself was lit, stay tuned by reading the emails that are being sent by the school’s administration, because this is how we were found about the amazing seminar awaiting us.

Mr David Pace, an Old Edwardian, presented the College with two boxes of Table Tennis balls. The donation came after a revived interest in this sport which the students have taken to so much that they actually lobbied for the tables through the Sponsored Walk last year. Mr Pace, who presented the balls to the Sportsmaster Mr Ferrante, and the head of the Junior School Ms Mallia is the head of Sharp Shot Table Tennis Academy said that this brand of table tennis balls XIOM GLOBAL is top tier for professionals in the sport. Mr Ferrante and Ms Louise thanked Mr Pace for his contribution. Mr Pace then took the time to show two budding table tennis enthusiasts the correct way to hold racket in both forehand and backhand stance. He also gave a virtuoso performance of ball control. Thank you, Mr Pace.

Of books, their covers and other stories

“Readingistothemindwhatexerciseistothebody.”JosephAddison

This week in Middle and Senior School at SEC, we celebrated and promoted World Book Day that occurred nationally on the 23rd of April 2023. The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April in 1995 as incepted by UNSECO.

Educators constantly promote reading with our students and more importantly we stress that such an endeavor is something that one should do to expand their knowledge and be more cultured, rather than being a chore that is required by school.

This year’s theme is ‘Indigenous Languages’ and thus it is vital to stress with our students the importance of being knowledgeable not of one

MyfavoritebookisthePercyJacksonserieswhichtellinterestingstories ofGreekgodsbutinthepresenttense. Ilearntvariousfunfactsabout Greekgodsthroughthefunstoriestheauthorcreatedintheseries. TherearemanyexitingadventuresthatPercyexperienced.Theoneimpressedmethemostisfromthebookof"SeaofMonsters",wherePercy wentthroughtheBermudaTriangleandtheshiphewasonsankand exploded,butheescapedfromtheexplosionbyjumpingintothesea. Thewordingforthestoriesisamazingbecauseitdescribesallthedetailswhichmakethestoryincrediblyinterestingandunpredictable, whichisnotreflectedinthemovie.Icannotwaittoreadthenextwork createdbythisauthor.

language but of others too. Being a multicultural school, different languages can be heard in our corridors, and we promote and appreciate it when students share with others their native language. Fostering the love for Maltese, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, Arabic, Afrikaans etc… is as important as learning our times tables!

Thus we hope that our Edwardian community had some time this week to pick up a book, revisit an old friend’s pages and immerse itself in a different world and forget any woes of the present day; “Abookisadreamthatyouholdinyour hands”[Neil Gaiman] and sometimes a little escapism is what helps us get through to the next morning.

Contributorstothisarticle:

SamanthaAbela

JosetteMalani

DanielCaruanaSmith

AlvinaSchwarz

DeanGaleaPellicano

BenCassarTorreggianiYr7X

DeyanPaceYr8Y

HenryWangYr8X

Lunches to look forward to

‘We believe every child should have access to the most exceptional nutritious and vibrant food available’

There is an honesty in the food we serve and one which will benefit your children. The kitchen is a hive of activity, where all the dishes and ingredients are freshly prepared and even the salad dressings are made from scratch.

We pride ourselves in the high quality of both our food and our people, working with local and regional family-owned suppliers.

Excellent Catering For All

BytheThomasFranks(Malta)team

A healthy mind and body are vital to a successful school day. A thorough understanding and commitment to a healthy lifestyle will be a lifelong benefit to your children.

Inspired by Malta’s Rich Cultural Heritage and Profile

Our highly skilled chefs take advantage of freshly sourced ingredients to cook authentic, delicious food; whilst demonstrating a clear understanding of the dietary requirements of the children. These menus will be changed termly and seasonally to take advantage of the plentiful seasonal produce and to inspire new dishes. Eating a balanced diet throughout the day not only ensures optimum growth and development, it also provides sustained energy for pupils’ academic and physical activity. It optimises their concentration levels and makes an essential contribution to overall nutrient requirements.

Our Food’s Provenance is Simple – it's Local, Fresh Produce

Fresh, natural ingredients are dropped off every day to ensure we are provided with the most delicious raw ingredients to add real depth of flavour to our dishes. We use local suppliers to bring us the best of each season’s produce. Eating with the seasons encourages a varied diet as we are not sourcing the same ingredients all year round. Malta is no exception here, with our local suppliers we guarantee seasonal produce fresh from the island.

Helping Your Children Thrive

At Thomas Franks Malta providing nutritious, delicious food is at the heart of what we do. We are all too aware that children have notoriously different interests in foods and tastes. Yet our adult palates, as well as our trajectory of future health, is strongly affected by what and how we eat as

children. One of our roles as a food provider is to help foster a diverse ‘palate’ and interest in the wide range of foods and nutrients to support health, growth, mental and physical development.

How Nutritious is the Food?

We follow the good food guide and ensure healthy eating is encouraged wherever possible Vegetables are always offered with every meal Every pupil is encouraged to have a nutritionally balanced, varied meal.

What to Expect

When it comes to costs for our meals, our pricing rivals almost any local shop bought food, made and served fresh on the day.

The Early Years Lunch Box is priced 4 euro, which features a substantial main, vegetables of choice, a side and fresh fruit.

The Primary Lunch deal priced 4.45 euro included soup, a main course and sides of choosing. If this wasn’t enough, your child also has access to the help yourself salad bar and a fresh fruit cup.

Finally, our Secondary Lunch deal at 4.95 euro is the same selection as our primary lunch deal, however with portion sizes that are carefully selected to best suit your child in their busy school life. Again, with soup, main course and sides of choice, help yourself salad bar and a fresh fruit cup.

When it comes to topping up your child’s tag, it’s extremely easy. Step one, as always, is registration. As a parent, please provide your email address and your child's registered name. Once you have done this, you as a parent will receive an email with a URL, unique ID and QR code this will then enable you to log in with whatever device you may want to use. You can use one of four pre-set pay limits or set your own!

Payment is accepted with Apple Pay or Google Pay. After all this has been done, it is easy for you to track and monitor what your child is having for lunch and also means you can easily add more money in the future!

St Edward’s takes the helm in Geography teaching

The Geography Teachers Association has recently renewed its leadership team. The Association is headed by the Head of Senior School at St Edward's College, Mr Daniel Caruana Smith. He is ably backed by veteran geographer Mr Tano Role, assisted by Ms Rita Debattista and Mr Anton Quintano. Mr Caruana Smith said that the team's vision for the association is to increase its relevance among the Geography teachers, enabling them to enhance their resources, connect with each other and, of course, socialize. "We aim to revamp the association and re-ignite the sense of wonderment in the subject. I mean, over time, most of us have stopped asking questions like 'Why do volcanoes go BOOM?'".

The GeoTA is a Non-Governmental Association dedicated to the teaching and sharing of resources among educators of the subject. In the twenty-three years since its inception, it has helped educators on a national level by providing resources and organizing fieldwork sessions or activities for its members. The invitation to participate also extends to students of the subject, as well as anyone with a keen interest in the areas of geography, history or the social studies.

Since its inception, Ms Rita Debattista has held the post of treasurer to the association. Aside from her extensive career as geography teacher, she also collaborated with the Council of Europe at both national and international levels to promote the subject through the Global Education Week events. Ms Debattista has also contributed to a number of publications related to geography education and science. As head of department in a state school, she also contributed to the drafting, implementing and updating of the SEC geography syllabus. Ms Debattista has retired from the classroom, but still remains very active, and participates in almost all activities organized by the association.

Mr Anton Quintano is a historian and author of a number of books and learned articles about Malta’s history. Mr Quintano has had a long-standing career as an educator and head of department of geography in state schools. He is one of the founding members of the Geography Teachers Association (February 2000), and has since been secretary to the society, except for a period of two years. He continues to lead as an active participant during the many excursions and activities organized by the association.

Mr. Avertano Role lectures at the University of Malta (Faculty of the Built Environment), after having been a resident academic at the University for the past thirty odd years. Affectionately known as ‘Tano’ by his many students and fellow teachers, Mr Role is an expert in applied physical geography and has written extensively about soil erosion, desertification and land use planning. He participated in several EU projects within the Mediterranean region and other parts of the World. Mr. Role was the president of the Geography Teachers Association for the last few years before retiring to the role of vice president. Known throughout College as the head of senior school and geography (option) teacher, Mr Daniel Caruana Smith also holds the position of president of the Geography Teachers Association. He started his geographic studies in 2005, and has been involved in the subject ever since. His areas of expertise revolve around cartography and cartometry. Prior to becoming an educator, Mr Caruana Smith also applied his skills within the areas of international transport and demography.

The association works closely with St Edward's College to ensure critical thinking skills, as well as an interest in the humanities is transmitted to future generations.

Green fingers...nibbled!

ByStephanieGrech

Year 1 boys visited Piscopo Gardens this week for a fun packed morning. The children enjoyed a treasure hunt, planting and feeding the fish, just to mention a few. The giggles of the boys when the fish came close and nibbled at their fingers, tickling them, still echo in the corridors of the college! They were very eager to roll up their sleeves and participate in the fun.

Camera, lights...action!

Recently I was invited to accompany Mr. Gerada to go on television to explain what we do in our school’s eco – garden.

ByGregoryMicallefYr6Y

We travelled to the studio in a black taxi. The smell inside, it was like of a perfume shop. Once we arrived, we were happily greeted by the tall security guard who told us what to do. His words were clear and he told us to wait in the reception. There, we waited for an hour until we were told to enter. Once we entered, we were told to go into the make up room so a lady but blusher on Mr. Gerada’s face. After that, we finally entered the actual studio. It felt spectacular actually being behind the cameras. The smell was like at a fish market because the people before us had been cooking fish. A few moments later, we were told to go behind the door so we could go in. As we walked around the scene, the smell of fish faded away. Behind the door many words were there saying, “Antonella’s death chamber” or two faces drawn creepily. What I was seeing wasn’t that pleasant!

As the doorbell rang, we finally entered. The feeling of actually being on television was out of this world. We were asked a number of questions and some of them were hard to answer. She asked me a lot less questions than there were on the script. Somehow after 15 minutes, our time was finished on the show. Going out, I saw a sign of relief on Mr. Gerada’s face. Lastly, we ordered a taxi and went back to school.

This was one of my best experiences in my life. I would do this again even though I was so nervous.

Behind the scenes

The Year 5’s and 6’s loved performing in their recent concert. Their teachers and LSE’s couldn’t let them have all the glory. Here they are rehearsing their own performance before it was revealed to the boys .

The excitement of a sleep-over

The Year 6 students got a bonus round of excitement in a sleepover organized by the college just before the Easter recess. Free of the stress of study and tests, the boys certainly made the most of the time they had together!

Chick

While out participating in the Ekoskola and Let’s Talk Farming projects, the boys came across a nest. While several nests can be seen up in the trees, it is quite unusual to find one on the ground. Imagine the surprise when not only was there this nest but it also had a chick in it...a true Easter gift!

Easter

St Edward’s College

Founded in 1929, St Edward’s College is an all-boys college for both day and boarding students. Boarding is offered between the ages of 11 to 18. At nursery and kindergarten as well as at postsecondary level, the college is coeducational. As a private educational college, St Edwards offers excellent teaching facilities, high teacher-pupil ratio, a very wide range of sports facilities and scrupulous personal attention to the students.

At St Edward’s College, students receive a well rounded education ending up in the IB Diploma. Most of the students go on to study at world class universities. Our top students are leaders in society ranging from Science and Business to traditional professions and the arts. Most Edwardians retain a love and appreciation of sports throughout their lives.

St Edward’s College

Triq San Dwardu

Birgu BRG9039

Malta

Email:

Communications@stedwards.edu.mt

Editor: Sylvana Debono