On the 12th November 2014, the Durban North Academy held its very first Parent Day at the Academy. The parents were welcomed by all the staff including our MD Alison Smeeton. Parents were taken through a presentation and reminded that I Can!’s focus remains on the mainstream inclusion and integration of young adults with disabilities in society.
The facilitators face many challenges with the learners on a daily basis, including poor attendance due to limited transport money, arriving late to class or just being being inappropriately dressed. This forum gave us the opportunity to address these problems with the parents. We believe that it is essential to not only provide the learners with a qualification but also to give them the necessary life skills so that they may be employable once they leave our Academies.
We were then entertained by the learners from each of the classes: poems were read out, songs were sung and one of the classes put on a little play for the parents about a girl who had never excelled at school until she came to I Can! and was shown exactly what she was capable of!
After a light lunch (which was prepared by the learners), the parents were taken through to the classrooms, where they got to meet their child’s facilitator and were shown their work and what the learners do on a daily basis. The parents were very proud and blessed to see how their children have progressed.
The event was hugely successful and a wonderful opportunity to motivate the learners to reach even greater heights. With their parents and guardians as witnesses, we were all reminded to place ABILITY before DISABILITY in order to reach our maximum potential in life.
Academy Supervisor – Durban North
Claudia Leite