2019 National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week (NDPR) activities at Legarda Elementary School

23-25 July 2019

It's that time of the year when the students of the SPED department are in the spotlight.  It's the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week at Legarda Elementary School and everyone - students, teachers and parents got busy with preparations and participation.

Opening and closing ceremonies were held at the auditorium while various other activities were held in respective classrooms.

Check out what Dylan's class was up to!







730 AM, July 23 was our assembly time for the opening day of the NDPR Week.  It was tough getting up this early since we've been in the afternoon session for the past weeks but the kids were troopers!  Two classes merged into one as we share one classroom so the kids were introduced to new "classmates" for the day. 

The first order of the day was the Parade of all Mr. and Ms. NDPR class representatives.  We went all around the school and for some, this was the first time they've even been in the other buildings.

The parade culminated in the gym/auditorium where the kids were able to sit quietly while waiting for the program to begin.  I considered this progress because before, the kids really couldn't sit still and would become temperamental when the program was delayed.

They all hooted and cheered for Pacoon and Alea, their Mr. and Ms. NDPR Autism B representatives :)

Following the different intermission numbers and speeches by our school representatives and guests, the opening ceremonies were done.  We did have time to take our pictures on stage.

After, there was a bit of feasting.  We simply ordered our food from Jollibee to avoid the hassle of bringing food that early.  The kids were ecstatic and were able to eat a lot!

The next day was Arts and Crafts Day.  The kids from Teacher Ressie's and Teacher Jennica's class were all working together on their "Paint with Bubbles" artwork.  It was fun to watch them work on their own at first but then I had to help the teachers because some of the other kids were pouring the liquid onto their paper and some were making the mistake of licking the straw with the paint! :)  2 teachers aren't enough to handle this many kids because these kids are fast and we've only just wiped off one mess when another mess begins :)  Such is the life of a SPED teacher and parent :)

Dylan was quite happy with his work though I'm not exactly sure what the artwork should look like hahaha  Some of the other kids' works were so wet that their material was actually crumbling. haha

After the |Paint with Bubbles", there was another activity in store for them - "Make your own Dreamcatcher" using yarn and a paper plate.  At this point, some of the kids had reached their attention span limit and were constantly yelling at their teachers for help. 

Others were quickly able to grasp what needed to be done and were doing their own work quietly.

Dylan finished his after much effort.  This activity was difficult in the sense that they didn't know how to start doing it and there's no specific pattern to using the yarn to create the web.  So for kids who need that 1-2-3 step-by-step pattern in order to accomplish a project, this was a bit alarming for them.  But they persevered and were able to finish the job! Yay!

The last day, July 25th, dawned bright and early.  We were told to come in sports attire and we were all actually surprised that everyone was going to participate in a zumba exercise :)

When the "Hula Hoop" music started playing, everyone became energized because this was the music they were practicing to and they knew the dance moves! :)

After the zumba, we all went back to our classrooms for a break and to refresh.  We came back for the closing ceremonies and the kids were all excitedly waiting for their turn to dance on stage.

It may seem like chaos when you watch the video but that's how it is with kids with special needs.  We all need to give them a chance to participate even though it seems like they're just standing there. :)  The teachers and parents had to be alert though because some kids have no concept of danger and they could end up falling off stage or pushing someone else off stage.

There were other intermission numbers and then it was over.  The 41st National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week was done.

They still wanted to get up on stage so we gave them what they wanted :)  Teacher Ressie called on each of her students and they all walked up the stage :)  They were so happy!

Thank you to all our SPED teachers who continuously strive to teach our kids, who serve as caregivers to them while they're in school, who also serve as teachers to us parents to give us ideas how we can better reach and help our kids.  THANK YOU!