April 2011 Newsletter

Welcome

Welcome to the Centru Tbexbix newsletter of April, 2011. Thanks again to Jana who put the information together.

In the Jungle

One much awaited programme in our schedule is the regular "Close to Nature" residential weekend. Again this Spring the Tbexbix staff together with our children headed to the Buskett gardens, for the fifth time. This year we decided on a subtopic - "In the Jungle!". The children had the possibility to take part in different workshops, all connected with the jungle theme.

Every year we notice that our efforts to instil good habits and values in our childen are not in vain. The residential weekend provides the right activities and space to put into practice what they are learning. We are happy that all the children without exception are happy to eat vegetarian food for example! They all have their duties... even the youngest ones

Buskett offered the perfect setting for our "jungle" treasure hunt. To get clues where to go next the children had to do different cooperation games, like entertaining the lion king with a drama, sing a song for the jungle frog and build a sculpture of natural material for the wolf.

Highlight of the residential weekend is the performance on Saturday evening which the children take very seriously. It is so nice to see the children remove their shyness and come up with spontaneous

creative performances, with the help of our dedicated volunteers.

Children as well as volunteers enjoyed this weekend very much learning with and from each other while experiencing a feeling of community and family atmosphere.

Food of the Gods

Every residential weekend has its special outing! This time was no exception, and on Sunday we took the children for a visit to an apiary in Mellieha. Apiculture consultant Arnold Grech explained to the children how different types of honey are produced. None of them had ever had the experience of
donning the protective veil and venturing inside a beehive!

Yoga Shoots

Children of different age groups from different schools around Malta continue coming to the yoga shoots programme. The programme for older children includes an intercultural presentation, and our volunteers take turns to present powerpoint presentations about their respective countries. Accompanying teachers can choose according to which language their students are studying. This month we had students of Spanish, so it was our Spanish volunteer's turn, Cristina.

And as usual, children learn about the physical and mental benefits of yoga.
Corinna, one of the volunteers teaching yoga writes:
"When I saw the Yoga Shoots group of 11 year-olds this morning, I realised that I spontaneously needed to change my plan. Normally our groups are between 6-10 years of age. These girls looked more like 14 to me and certainly needed a different approach
So we did more challenging Yoga postures like the eagle and the warrior. I talked with them about the history and deeper meaning of yoga. Instead of the usual rainbow dream travel I just opened one of the yoga books and miraculously found a wonderful relaxation at the beach about forgiveness and self- love. It was about imagining a person you like and to smile at this person. Then you smile even at a person you don"t like. Then you smile at all the parts of you and the things about yourself that you like and finally you smile at everything about yourself that you don't really like. Embrace and accept yourself completely as you are.
In the end I asked them for their feedback. Most of them had enjoyed the relaxation very much. One girl said about the Yoga Positions: "I liked that through nature images we get to know ourselves better" What really touched my heart was when one girl answered with the following statement: "I loved the relaxation because I understood that I am precious.
I told her that what she said is so important and true. We can tell that to ourselves every day. If I understand that I am precious I will also see the beauty within everything around me. How wonderful this would be!”

Bazaar

In the first days of April the premises of Centru Tbexbix were transformed into a shop full of clothes, books, decoration items and many other things. We would like to say a big thank you to our costumers from Bormla and from all over the island who made this fundraising activity another success.

There are many different ways how to contribute to the success of Centru Tbexbix. Through volunteering (in classes, administration, odd jobs, maintenance), donations in kind or financially, etc. The opportunities are endless.

One way to support the efforts of Centru Tbexbix is through the "Friends of Centru Tbexbix" scheme with a small monthly contribution by standing order. Centru Tbexbix holds the following accounts: HSBC 013-085675-001 and BoV 400-1705136-1.

For more information on how you can help, call us on 21/27 805130 or send an email to tbexbix@gmail.com.

This newsletter will be coming to you every end of the month, with the intention of keeping regular contact with the growing circle of friends of Centru Tbexbix, keeping everyone informed of what is happening as well as sharing the inspiration of this blossoming community project. The intention is to keep it brief and factual. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

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