Lighthouse School

SCHOOL PROGRAMMES

CLASS 1
There are seven children enrolled in Class One. They range from ages 5 years to 8 years old. They are very energetic, and enjoy learning through play. Language is especially emphasized. Various techniques are used to teach language. Play is one of the best techniques. A play kitchen and toy house, blocks, cars, animals, puppets and story books are used. The BoardMaker pictures are used to assist the children, who are non-verbal, to communicate and make choices. Phonetic sounds are taught using Letter Land characters and Qued Articulation. With this combination, the children learn quickly.

The children are enjoying school, especially the added space to their classroom.

Class One is working hard at learning about the world! Thanks to Mr. Kevin Dawkins who has been assisting for many weeks. You will be missed when you leave.

CLASS 2
There are six girls and four boys in class 2 who have the following disabilities: Cerebral Palsy, Speech, Mental and Learning Disabilities, Behavioral and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders.

Books like H.B.J. Handwriting, Phonics, Hickory Dickory Dock, Clap Your Hands and Math from Essential Learning, are used to help some of the children develop their academic abilities.

Class Two has been working this year with two teachers’ aides and some volunteers. This makes for a better environment and for assisting the students on a one on one basis.

Class Two students always participate in many special events such as field trips to Cardinal D’s Park, Turtle Farm, and the Fire Station.

During this first term, the students have made individual improvements in the areas of Communication, Language, Mathematics and Swimming.

CLASS 3
There are five students in Class Three. All of them have Cerebral Palsy and are totally dependent on others to feed, dress and care for them. Four of the students are wheel chair bound and one will walk unassisted but must be closely supervised.

The programme in the class is geared towards sensory stimulation and development of perceptual skills. As part of the daily routine, activities are done in six major areas. Language and Cognitive activities to develop visual skills with emphasis on focusing; Auditory skills with emphasis on sound location and identification; Fine and Gross Motor Skills with emphasis on tactile qualities; strengthening of finger, hand and leg muscles through holding and grasping activities as well as using the standing frame, daily; and Social and Self help activities to develop an awareness of the surroundings and assisting in self care.

The students benefit from support services on a daily basis. These include Speech and Language Therapy, Therapy for the Visually Impaired and Motor Therapy for the physically challenged. They also take part in the school’s swimming programme.

In September, “Star of the Day”, a classroom based incentive programme was introduced. Students’ photographs were placed on a huge golden star to celebrate their effort and good work during the day. Megan Jefferson was overall star for the month of September and October. Congrats Megan!

Students visited the Turtle Farm in October along with Classes 1 and 2. As a follow up, they used adaptive aids such as ‘Universal Art Tool Holder’ and ‘Cylindrical Foam Padding’ to independently paint a special project entitled “The Turtle Farm”. This was displayed at the school’s official opening.

DTCLASS 4
Class Four began the school year with eleven children all thrilled to be in a new school and in a new classroom with lots of room to move about. The class jumped right into school work in reading, spelling and math at each of their levels. Units were based on a study of the Caribbean region. Geographic locations and sizes of the islands were reinforced with the making of a relief map. Languages, cultures, governments and a brief history of each of the island groupings were discussed. A trip to the Cayman Museum gave the children a sense of the past of our islands. Natural disasters of this area were incorporated in a science unit which included hurricanes, volcanoes and earthquakes. A trip to the weather station to tour the facility and view the instruments that help make our daily weather broadcasts, was very exciting for the students.

Full use of the P.E. facilities have already been made and is enjoyed by all the children including those in wheelchairs. Art projects have begun with lots of fall colorings, paper maché masks, Halloween crafts and making decorations for the New Music room.

CLASS 5
In the classroomThe three girls and six boys in Class Five are very proud of their new school and enthusiastic about their new classroom. They have had a busy start to the school year and are working well on a number of different projects and programmes.

A new reading scheme, “The Oxford Reading Tree”, has been introduced and the students have particularly enjoyed the "magic key stories". P.E. is always popular with Class Five and they are delighted to have Mr. Elroy Bryan as their new teacher as well as a new gym where they can work out in air-conditioned comfort! Another favourite subject is Art and the students have worked on a number of projects including painting and collages for the Pirates’ Week Competition.

Class Five has also been outside of the classroom and enjoyed a number of field trips, including the Chamber of Commerce Business Fair, Kirk’s “Five-A-Day Adventure” tour, Cricket Crazy, the Weather Station and the National Museum. Pedro Castle is the next attraction on the list!

This has also been a busy time for birthdays. Since the beginning of term we have celebrated Solomon’s, Morgan’s, Mercedes’ and Randy’s birthdays. We look forward to more cake and ice cream at John’s party in a few weeks time!

CLASS 6
Class 6 with teacherClass Six is a small class with students ranging from twelve to fourteen years of age. This is a pre-vocational class where students are taught functional daily living skills, self-help grooming skills, receptive and expressive language skills.

One student in this group is non-verbal and communicates with a communication board designed with pictures and words.

Students gain much experience from hands on and organised field trips. The class caters for both indoor and outdoor activities.

The classroom is of normal setting with most modern learning gadgets.The academics are taught mainly in the mornings and the practical courses are done in the afternoons.

CLASS 7
Class 7This is the Senior class in the school. The age ranges in this class are from 14 through 18 years of age. There are nine (9) students in all: seven (7) boys and two (2) girls.

The main focus of this class is the development of the students’ Independent and Functional Daily Living Skills. The students are expected to perform in their communities upon leaving school in a successful and independent manner.

The other area of focus is job placement.

The students also take part in a variety of other activities in and out of school from Field Trips to current events.
There are currently three (3) students in Out of School Work Placement and one (1) on In School Work Placement.
Class Seven is presently engaged in laundering towels. This has helped the students develop yet another vocational skill. Hair dressing salons are encouraged to participate in this programme. In addition, there are new Home Science and Housekeeping rooms.

Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education Programme
The P.E. programme at the Lighthouse School has begun with a lot of enthusiasm. The students arrive at the gym door daily, full of excitement. A variety of activities are performed in each class. Most of these activities thus far have consisted of stretching, pushing, running and jumping. A few of the main goals are for the students to recognize signals, move in and around boundaries, and to understand the importance of exercise.
The strong support from the LHS staff and positive attitude of the students is laying a strong foundation for the P.E. programme.

Assemblies and Religious Education
By law, this practice is carried out regularly. The content of assemblies and religious education is of a moral and social nature, stressing the disciplines that allow people to live together as Christians in a community. Assemblies take the form of discussing ways to deal with real-life situations or talking about biblical stories. These stories may be presented through story-telling, or reading; or playing an audio, or video, cassette tape ..... which ever medium makes the message comprehensible for the children. The singing of religious choruses and songs are always a part of the Assembly. Sometimes, members of the community are invited to lead an Assembly.

Educational Tours
Educational tours are often arranged by teachers of individual classes. Regular visits are made to the library. Shopping is done by older children for vocational projects. The school has its own transportation facility.

Extra Curricular Activities
The school often participates in various national competitions. A new interest is extended in preparing our children for participation in Special Olympics competitions both at a national and international level.

Further information on these programmes is available for parents.

AVAILABLE SERVICES

Early Intervention Programme
The Cayman Islands Early Intervention Programme is off to a good start for the new school year. Joining the team with Miss Carla Bodden and Mrs. Chancilla Ali is Miss Kimberly Owens, Early Intervention Teacher and Miss Andrea Lynch, Speech and Language Pathologist. The centre-based part of the programme is up and running in the new LHS facility. Presently, children come to the centre for individual and small group sessions. They are very excited about learning and in particular are enjoying the use of the computer.

The parents support group closed the 2000-2001 school year with a successful Family Fun Day. The group is off to a great start this term. Since the new school year, two meetings have been held. Parents have been getting hands on experience in making simple games that they can play with their children at home. They are also enjoying the opportunity of meeting with parents and sharing experiences with each other. Plans are well on the way, for a Christmas dinner and other events that include a book drive, and a clothing and toy collection drive. Special mention should be made of Mrs. Michelle Williams, a parent who made a cash donation for the purchase of a much-needed CD-ROM for one of the computers used with the children.

One of the goals of the Early Intervention Programme this year is to make more people aware of the programme. To this end, a brochure has been developed and, along with LHS referral forms, have been distributed to various places in the community such as preschools and pediatricians’ offices.

Speech & Language Therapy
The speech and language therapy programme aims to assess, diagnose and manage all children with a communication difficulty or feeding problem.

This year, Mrs. Laura Unwin, a speech and language therapist from England joined the programme and is currently working with children in Class 4 at the Lighthouse School. The aim is to work in conjunction with classroom teachers so that therapy is carried out individually, or in small group situations, and generalised into all areas of a child's life.

Some of the areas of therapy offered, include:-

  • Play skills
  • Listening and attention skills
  • Receptive language
  • Expressive language
  • Articulation skills
  • Social skills
  • Phonological awareness (pre-literacy) skills
  • Safe feeding/drinking skills
  • Fluency

Highlights this year include recruiting a new speech and language therapist to enable the programme to continue for primary-aged school children and older; and organizing two after-school training sessions aimed at giving teachers practical ideas about how to encourage and facilitate children's speech and language skills within the classrooms.

Next term, we hope to continue to train teachers to encourage practical and functional language skills within the classrooms. For some children who are unable to use speech as their primary method of communication, alternative methods of communication are being introduced. These include picture communication boards and signing.

Communication is a fundamental right for all children and the team will continue to strive to find a practical and functional method for each child to be able to communicate their needs and wants to the best of their ability.

Motor Therapy Services
Motor Therapy in the Lighthouse School provides activity and exercise programmes to assist students and families in maximizing function.

These customized programmes focus on:

  • Facilitating motor development
  • Improving hand function
  • Integrating sensory – perceptual motor skills
  • Training daily living skills in grooming and hygiene, feeding/eating and dressing
  • Developing functional ambulation and wheelchair mobility
  • Prescribing adaptive devices, splinting needs, positioning equipment and environment modification
  • Instructing handling techniques, parent education and home programmes

Children referred to Motor Therapy are assessed and treated by qualified occupational therapists. The school welcomes Ms. Ivy Lamb, who has joined the staff. Many thanks to Mr. Hayden Kirk, volunteer, for his services.

Children are seen by therapists individually or in groups on a weekly basis. Customised treatment programmes are planned, based on individual needs. Their treatment programmes are monitored and upgraded regularly and the progress of each student is reviewed in a Multidisciplinary Team Meeting each term.

The Motor Therapy programme includes:

  • Plynth Exercise
  • Sensory Perceptual Motor Integration
  • Hand Activities
  • Dressing
  • Sensory Stimulation
  • Home Visits
  • Infant Sensory Integration and Motor Development

Therapy for the Visually Impaired
This programme includes training in visual stimulation, visual perception, orientation and mobility and using the cane. It also addresses handwriting, reading and writing through the use of the Braille system, and using the typewriter, among other tasks essential for integration within a community. Therapy is provided at the school as well as in the homes of persons who require such services.

Educational Psychological Assessment and Intervention
The school receives regular support from the Education Department's Education psychologist(s) who review children's progress and offer counseling to persons involved with the care of the child.

Psychiatric Intervention
The school is able to enlist the services of a psychiatrist, through the Mental Health Department of the George Town Hospital, if so required.

Advice and Pastoral Care
The Principal and staff make every effort to offer help and seek advice for children, parent and guardians. Sometimes it may be necessary to send a child home because of unavoidable circumstances. As the safety and well-being of our children is of prime concern, parents are asked to make alternative arrangements and inform the school of these arrangements, as the case arises.

Parents/guardians may call 1-345-947-5454 should they require further assistance, advice or information.