December 2014
At the end of another busy term, we would like to take this opportunity to thank parents, Lions friends and other friends of the school for supporting the work of the school over the last few months. A great deal of hard work has been done by pupils, students and staff, but parents in particular play a vital role in ensuring that the school continues to be successful.
We often get the question: Why inclusive education at Casa Minunata ?
Because "Inclusive education is an approach to developing schools in which all children flourish in engaging, inclusive classrooms. We believe that good schools should be founded on research-based practices that support the development of the whole child" ( Dr. Tim Loreman, Professor at Concordia University College, Detroit ).
Children do their best work when they are in environments where they feel valued and where they feel they belong. Inclusive education emphasizes the idea that all students with special education needs should be educated in general education classrooms, but not in ways where they are stigmatized or grouped in any specific or routine way. Every teacher who reads this knows how difficult this is to accomplish, yet once we will start doing it we shall never look back.
This month we learned about generosity. Children have donated some of their toys to less fortunate children and it was rewarding seeing how joyfully they brought their gifts.
Our Christmas baking has become a tradition by now and many parents have attended. Here is the recipe to our famous Swedish "pepperkakar" cookies, some of you have asked for it. You'll need:
- 100g butter
- 100g brown sugar
- 200g honey
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (or cardamom)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
- 500g plain flour
Roughly cut up the butter and place in a large bowl.
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, honey and the spices to boiling point. Add the bicarbonate of soda and pour over the butter. Stir until the butter has melted. Beat in the egg and slowly blend in the sifted flour.
Knead in the basin to a smooth manageable dough. Roll out about a quarter of the dough at a time about 3mm thick. Use cutters to make various shapes and place on baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 C for 10 to 15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack and decorate. They smell amazingly. Enjoy!
To all of you from near and afar, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !
With love from Casa Minunata.
