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The children are given every opportunity to choose books from the library to read quietly for themselves or to read to their friends in the ward. On Friday 23 April 2004 World Book Day was celebrated in the school with a visit from Niki Daly. Gabi, from Exclusive Books from Cavendish Square Claremont, joined the celebration and brought boxes of books, balloons and sweets for the children. It was a morning of sharing stories and discovering the joy of books.
Last year the quilters from the different quilters' guilds in the Western Cape began the project of making quilts and wall hangings for the children. These splendid gifts were handed over to the school. It was decided to hold a quilt exhibition in the hospital before the wall hangings were hung in the different wards. Wanda Carmichael, the president of the Quilters' Guild, opened the exhibition which was held in the J&J Education Hall at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. The exhibition was a way of saying thank you to all the extraordinary quilters who made and gave with such love, the quilts and wall hangings.
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The quilts and wall hangings were such an inspiration that the Hospital Trust requested wall hangings from the children for the main donors who helped to build the new Trauma Unit. The teachers and the children made nine wall hangings for these donors to thank them for their support. Although the wall hangings were not of the same high standard as those made by the quilters, each wall hanging was appreciated as they were made mostly by the children themselves.
The school received books from Praesa. Caroliese Jansen visited the children in the school and all the children received a book to take home with them. The books are written in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa.
Once again Risdon Harding from Pearson Education donated books to the hospital. These books are shared with the other hospital schools. Risdon is responsible for so many children receiving books and opening their eyes and hearts to the world of books. He has become a champion of the hospital schools, especially of Red Cross Children's Hospital Primary School. Thank you, Risdon - you are a champion in a million!
The Red Cross Children's Hospital Pre-Primary teacher, Tracey Jardine, has joined the Primary School in working together to provide the best possible education for the hospitalised child. Children between three and twelve years now receive formal lessons and resources are shared as far as possible within the Red Cross Hospital environment.
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| Tracey and children | |
The school was honoured by a visit from Naledi Pandor, the National Minister of Education. She launched the start of Readathon at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and made positive comments about the hospital school. In September Cameron Dugmore, MEC for Education in the Western Cape, spent Readathon morning with the children in the school. The Antonia and Natale Children's Library is one of the most important areas in the hospital school. It is thanks to Joy Wanless who has become the volunteer school librarian that the books are classified and a weekly library day takes place. Children who may leave the wards are brought to the library for reading, project work and/or story time. Joy also visits those children in the wards giving them the opportunity to choose books, and to read to them.
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| Joy and Patience reading together |
The Signal Hill Rotary Club had heard about a wish list from the hospital school. The Hospital Trust had contacted them to say that the hospital school needed a laptop to use with the children who could not leave their beds. The teachers were concerned that the children in the Burns Unit and Oncology were unable to use the computers in the computer room. Dr Furno, a member of the Signal Hill Rotary Club, delivered a laptop to the school and saw how the children in the Burns Unit used the laptop as part of their lessons. He visited the school later and saw how the children in the orthopaedic ward also used the laptop. Thank you to all concerned at the Signal Hill Rotary Club and Dr Furno for granting one of our wishes. The Hospital Trust and their director, Adi Coetzee, support the school in kind. The school is most grateful for their support.
