Formosa ELSEN and Resource Center celebrates 5 years!
Monday the 10th of November there will be a few celebrations at Formosa Primary School in Plettenberg Bay. The ELSEN Unit and Resource Center of the school will be having their Open Day from the morning, after which an array of special VIP guests will be visiting them later that day for a special celebration ceremony.
This is the only center of its kind in the entire Bitou region and serves children with various learning disabilities representing all the different communities in Plett.
Among the people expected to attend are the newly elected Western Cape Education Minister Debbie Schäfer on her very first official visit to the Southern Cape!
Other guests include our Executive Mayor Mr Memory Booysen, WCED Education Officials from George and Oudtshoorn, parents of ELSEN learners, many local friends and supporters, as well as Mrs Ivana Segall attending all the way from England, and 3 guests all the way from Belgium namely Suzanna Meeuws, as well as Remi and Lieve de Backer of “Born in Africa”.
According to the latest developments within Inclusive Education policies in our country, Special Needs schools and classes will become resource centers, which the Formosa ELSEN Unit has been doing all the way, by reaching out to schools and educators all over the country through their pioneer website www.elsensa.co.za and being in the process of setting up an inter-schools program with other similar Resource centers in Belgium. Formosa ELSEN Unit is also often given opportunities for sharing its expertise through its involvement with like-minded NGO’s like IEWC (Inclusive Education Western Cape) and SAALED (South African Association of Learning and Educational Disabilities).
The Formosa ELSEN Unit and Resource Center has celebrated several highlights and achievements over the past 5 years after officially being opened on 15th January 2009 by Mr Fernando Tallie of the WCED.
Firstly, when Mrs Penny Vinjevold, (The Western Cape Head of Education) together with previous Education Minister Donald Grant declared the Formosa ELSEN Unit and Resource Center an ELSEN Pioneer with the launch of their website and their documentary on 22 November 2012. This documentary, which was made on the work done by this Special Needs Unit, was broadcast as far as Europe in November 2012.
Another highlight was in January 2013, when this class was awarded the title of being the country’s very first iSchoolAfrica laboratory, awarded by Huisgenoot, YOU Magazine and Drum.
And the 3rd highlight is the 5th anniversary celebrations indeed, to be celebrated with so many special people, from Die Sterreweg, Sabrina Love Foundation, Show Me Plettenberg Bay, Bitou Municipality, Genesis Farm, The Rotary Anns, Born in Africa, John Wilschut Signs and many others!!!
As part of the celebrations, every guest, every parent, every educator and every child will be receiving a special publication and prospectus, and every child will be receiving a special certificate from the Minister, as well as gifts. The children wish to thank everyone involved and for Clare’s Cakes for baking their special “birthday” cake .
We would also like to invite any person wishing to get involved by volunteering or assisting with anything for these little ones, to contact them via their website namely www.elsensa.co.za.