“Today is a day to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the family. We want students to enjoy with their parents, teachers and other school personnel of this unforgettable day,” says Lorade, principal of the SIRA school of Bethlehem, which is actively involved in the education agreement the FPSC implements with Bethlehem University in the Palestinian Territories since June 2010.
On February 14 this school focused exclusively on students with special educational needs and decided to hold its Open Day to coincide with Valentine’s Day, so the theme of the event was clear: Love.
The teachers had prepared presentations with photos of the students, they, in turn, had organized a small “invisible friend” of several of the classes, and of course, parents were delighted to attend the exhibition of the crafts of their children. The event, which also attracted other people of Bethlehem, interested in good schools for their children or for other reasons, was developed with great success.
SIRA is a school, part of a Swedish initiative to assist those children with special educational needs, a little more serious, which usually cannot be treated properly in ordinary schools. “It depends on each case, but usually after a couple of years here, children are usually ready to re-enter the education system without problems,” explains the director. Four SIRA teachers actively participate in training courses for teachers in offering the agreement, and of course, have greatly contributed their expertise when developing the study of special educational needs in Palestine that has been carried out in under the agreement.