Bambino Schools Online is an e-learning platform for all students from Primary School to High School level studying for Checkpoint, IGCSE and MSCE examinations.
The platform is open to Bambino Students and all students in need of a rigorous academic schedule in the comfort of their own homes.
As
we come to the close of term 3 which started in April, we would like to take
this opportunity to thank you all for the support you rendered to your child
and his/her education be it at home or school. It was a wonderful term with lots
of experience and efforts and your patience is much appreciated. A lot of
activities have been happening this term such as assessments for the right
placement of the learners, mental health awareness, shopping day with the
learners, etc. We are also delighted to let you know that; most of our learners
have shown a very good improvement on both academic and social behaviour. We
will still continue to be very vigilant about ensuring that our learners are
achieving the best they can.
Our
vocational training group has also had a very wonderful term. We have managed
to identify some activities for our learners in the areas that they need to
specialise on and we will be working on that. Some of the activities that we
have concentrated in this academic year are; tailoring, mat making, gardening, kitchen
work, mat making, etc. it is in these
areas that we have identified the areas of specialisation for our learners. We are
continually identifying more activities which we can include in the vocational
training and your precious ideas are always welcome.
This
term we were also privileged to have worked with three volunteers; we had
Shanie from England; Miss Angella from Chancellor College and Miss Doreen from Catholic
University. These were a great addition to the team and they helped a lot both
with work as well as new ideas on how best to run our department.
School
re-opens on Monday 2nd September, 2019. We hope to see you again
next academic year, and our calendar for next term will be sent in the first
week of opening school. We will also be assessing new learners in the last week
of August and we urge you to confirm as soon as possible if your child will be
part of us next term so that their place would not be taken.
Please
take note of the fees adjustment for next term, the fees will be MK350, 000. The
raise has come to this amount because we would like to increase our staff in
order to ensure that every child is reached and assisted best, and also purchase
more useful resources for learners with special educational needs. We would
also want to make adjustments to our environment to be disability friendly.
We
here at SEND wish you a nice term break and we are looking forward to seeing
you again come September. We hope you will continue assisting your child at
home during the holiday.
Thank
you very much for your support. Enjoy the holiday
There are many myths and misconception
about people with disabilities around the world.
Things like;
These people are not productive
They need guidance every time
They need to be treated differently
They are tragic people and deserve pity
But at Bambino Private Schools, Special
Educational Needs and Disability Section, these myths and misconceptions are torn
down. We can assure you that people/children with disabilities are none of the
above. Instead they are courageous, happy, inspirational and brave.
Above: Our Special Needs practicing basic tailoring skills for starters
We count on their ability and not their disability
We embrace our differences, and value the
fact that it’s nature — that everyone was born different from the other. It only
takes a variation of activities to meet the needs of an individual person.
Our learners our priority
At Bambino special educational needs, we
use different approaches to learning that would accommodate and benefit every
child despite his/her learning challenges. We involve our Special Educational Needs Learners in different activities and programs such as
vocational training.
Vocational training program
With vocational training, our learners are
now able to do tailoring, where despite the slow progress, they are able to sew
rags neatly. Soon we move in to designing.
They are able to make mats fit for merchandise and can make one at an order.
They are also being trained in cooking,
food handling , gardening, etc.
We now have a few more places for more special children. Hurry and enroll your child now!
Above: Standard 1 & 5 supporting special class world’s down syndrome day also known as a crazy socks days
Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by an abnormal cell division which results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21. Thus making a child born with three copies of chromosomes instead of only two.
Chromosome are rod-like structures that are found in all living cells, containing the chemical pattern that control how a human looks like
Causes
in every cell of a human body there is a nucleus – where genetic materials are stored in genes. Genes carry the codes responsible for all of our inherited traits and are grouped along rod-like structures called chromosomes. Typically the nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes half of which is inherited from each parent; one from the mother and the other pair form the father giving the sum of 46 chromosomes in a cell. This is a normal cell division.
But with down syndrome, there is an abnormal cell division which involves the extra partial or full chromosome in chromosome 21.
Instead of having one pair on each chromosome a person has abnormal formation of chromosome 21 which has 3 copes instead of 2 giving a sum of 47 chromosomes in a cell.
So the presence of 47 chromosomes in the cells is what causes down syndrome.
Note: this is only when the chromosome 21 is affected
Types of down syndrome
There
are three types of down syndrome which includes
Trisomy 21- this is the most common type of down syndrome. This is when there are more than 46 chromosomes present in every cell of the body i.e. instead of the usual 46, a person has 47. this covers 95% cases of down syndrome.
Translocation- this covers 4% of all cases of down syndrome. In this type chromosome 21 breaks off during the cell division and one of the pair attaches itself to chromosome 14. Despite this process the total number of chromosomes still remains 46, the presence of an extra chromosome 21 causes the characteristics of down syndrome.
Mosaicism- occurs when nondisjunction of chromosome 21 takes place in one but not all of the initial cells divisions after fertilization. When this happens there is mixture of type of cells, some containing the usual 46 chromosomes and the other 47. This counts 1% of the cases of down syndrome
Characteristics of people with Down Syndrome
People with down syndrome often have some common physical feature which is distinct
Shorter adult height
Round flattered face
Upward-slanting almond-shaped eyes
Short neck
Protruding tongue
Unusual shaped or small ears
Poor muscle tone
Broad short hand
Love for music and dance
etc
How it affects learning
People with down syndrome have some features that are common as presented above, however their mental reasoning and learning experience may vary
The demonstrate mild to moderate issues with thinking, reasoning and understanding
They will learn to pick up new skills their whole lives but may take longer to reach important goal such as walking
Some may have difficulty learning to speak or have difficult understanding speech , but some have little to no difficult in speaking
Many may experience slower learning rate and poor social skills
This could mean that the child will not progress through the normal schooling
It may also mean that he/she need to move through school more slowly or require extra help when learning certain topics
Poor short auditory memory
Some may needs to live with their families and receive assistance everyday tasks throughout their entire lives, while others are able to live with friends or even independently once they are grown.
How to help a down syndrome person
Children and adults with down syndrome can live a more successful life with the help from friends, family and teachers in the following ways
Create an inclusive classroom environment
Create an IEP (individualized education plan) for the child
Too much classroom supervision and assistant
Reinforcing positive behavior (they are attention seekers)
Make lessons shorter and appealing and also consolidate and reinforce previous lesson with concentration on basic skills and understanding
Spend extra time with children as they start learning to speak, demonstrate and teaching with to pronounce specific words as they may have trouble with it.
Allow children to have extra time to learn during school.
Share with others that those with down syndrome are more similar to everyone else than they are different