The last live-in for our Year 11 students kicked off on Friday, 31st March.  At 08:30 our students met at the Ċirkewwa terminal and left with the ferry for Dar Lourdes, Għajnsielem, Gozo.  The theme of this live-in was FROM NOW ON.

The first day of the live-in was characterised with reflection time, sharing of experiences, discussions, prayer, long walks and obviously ample time to eat!

The following day our students spent time touring the Ċittadella, the Cathedral, the Cathedral Museum and in the afternoon they set for a long walk which ended in the Għajnsielem Museum Centre playing football.  There they enjoyed a delicious pizza for dinner.

On Sunday, after breakfast our students took part in the Palm Sunday celebration with the community of Għajnsielem.  Soon after, they divided themselves in groups and had a photo hunt in the streets of Għajnsielem.  Back at Lourdes home they found a delicious lunch waiting for them.  After lunch they packed their belongings and boarded the ferry back to Malta were they found their parents waiting for them at school.

Parents and students all gathered in the school hall to share the enriching experience of this live-in.  The headmaster congratulated the students for their behaviour and for the way they experienced this live-in and other occasions during the past years at school.  He urged them to pass on to others all the love and kindness they received during these years at St Michael School.  Mr D’Amato thanked Mr Tabone who co-ordinated this live-in with the help of Mr Aloisio for his guidance.  He also thanked Mr Bugeja, Mr Savona and other members of staff who joined this live-in and spent some of their time with our students.

This live-in ended in the most beautiful way.  We all shared the food the parents brought along and had time to eat and talk informally.  This was the last activity before the graduation.  These experiences for sure are an added asset to the education our school offers to students and their parents.

This year we wanted to give a fresh new look to our school gym.  For this purpose, at the beginning of this scholastic year, we decided that the funds collected during the Marathon walk which was held last December would be used to finance new gym equipment.  We would like to thank all those who worked on this project, especially our PE teachers who proposed and co-ordinated which equipment should be bought.  A big thank you goes to our students for their commitment to collect money for this project.  We are now waiting for new football poles for the ground and LED bulbs for the gym.

Monday, 27^th March – Today two groups of students who learn Economics at school took part in an Innovation Challenge organised by JA Malta as part of the theme – Building a Financial Capable Generation.  The aim of this Innovation Challenge was for students to come out with innovative and sustainable ideas which may help create more jobs in the community.  We congratulate our students for participating with interest in this challenge and for their creative ideas.

We would like to thank Ms Josianne Debono Tanti, our Economics teacher, and Ms Pamela Farrugia and Mr Christian Axisa for accompanying our students.

As part of an educational programme. on Thursday 23^rd March our students, accompanied by members of staff visited a number of historical places – National Museum of Archaelogy, St John’s Co-Cathedral, Domus Romana, Mdina, Fort St Elmo and the Upper Barrakka.  Our students and members of staff learnt how to appreciate the rich history of the Maltese islands.  We would like to thank Mr Nathan Buttigieg, our history teacher for planning and co-ordinating these outings.

Cultural and Friendship Experience – On Tuesday, 21^st March we welcomed a group of Dutch students and their teachers from Lek en Linge School in Culemborg, Holland.  This visit was organised through the Global Education Agency.  After a short meeting in the Headmaster’s office the Dutch students and their teachers had a school tour and later a meeting in the school hall with our Year 10 students.  During this ice breaking session presentations of both schools were featured, and the students shared experiences together.  The Dutch students were then invited to follow ICT, Home Economics, Economics and Graphical Communication lessons whilst their teachers had a meeting with the Headmaster.  The rest of the time was spent in the gym and in the ground playing games organised by our PE teachers.  It was indeed an enriching experience!  We would like to thank Mr Johann Tabone who co-ordinated this visit and the members of staff who helped during this experience.