2001 School Magazine

service : , ,

disabilities, and my experiences have broadened, therefore I thinkl am a better person because I am more tolerant and understanding of people who are different Hopefully, Red Hill Special School also gained from our being there. The teachers had the opportunity to expand their program because there were more people to I;^IP them look after their students and their varying needs The children were exposed to new people who provided them with new experiences and friendships that will hopefully help them later on in life. Iwould highly recommend Red Hill Special Schoolas a placeforYearTen Service I am sure that it you go there. you will

just like at our school. each term has a different topic, and the theme for this term was the desert. We spent an hour hanging camels up from the ceiling which the children had coloured in and decorated. After some thought, we invented a desert game, so everyone set about creating big cardboard oases with directions written on them Squares were painted on the floor with removable paint so that the children could actually be moved around in their wheelchairs across the 19ame board' This simple desert game created by us, may have only taken ten short minutes to invent but for the children it was fantastic fun. They cheered each other on enthusiastically, and smiled from ear to ear there are many mutual benefits gained from the service program Personally, I have gained knowledge about a totally different school from my own. I have learned skills such as being able to Interact and communicate with people who have

one of the areasin the school designed to help the students overcome their disabilities 15 the Sensory Room. This is designed to stimulate the children's senses and also to encourage them to respond to a stimulus. it resembles a seventies disco, containing disco lights, a disco ball and a selection of bright music CD's. Around the room are switches the children can use to change the music that is playing As they gain control of this they can use other switches which feature two colours, each of which triggers something different around the room, for example, the colour of a light. These activities help to establish communication between brain and hands and fingers, and develop manipulative skills For hearing impaired students, there 15 also a water bed, with in-built sound speakers, in the middle of the room so that when they lie on the bed they can feel the rhythm and beat of the music instead of hearing it

get as much satisfaction and enjoyment out of it as I have throughout this term

Allce Wire

Mater tester

Kirby Short