The alarm clock rings at dawn for Manarekha. The primary school of Stabio is about ten kilometres from her house and the bus route is long. Mum Babita tries to persuade her to eat a last bite before leaving.
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Notebook, pen, swimsuit: attentive to every detail, Massimo makes sure his daughter hasn't forgotten anything.
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Manarekha goes as far as Stabio to school by bus because her parents have chosen to participate in the pilot project launched this year by the institute, which is a primary school class welcoming eight children with disabilities.
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The school in Stabio has been eager to welcome the project.
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The school has spacious classrooms with sliding doors and large corridors for reading or artistic activities.
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Manarekha's classroom is on the first floor, next to the primary school children, to promote exchanges between the two groups.
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Writing, science, swimming: Manarekha memorizes the day's agenda and gets used to having a certain structure and reference points.
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The special school not only teaches reading and writing, but also how to act with greater autonomy. This morning children play as passengers on a train, with the aim of assimilating concepts through experiments.
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One, two, three, three, four: learning to count by playing.
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The pupils in the special school are divided into two groups. The four older ones are included at different times of the day in the first grade class. The four younger children, including Manarekha, are only involved in less cognitive activities such as physical education.
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Everyone in the pool for swimming lessons.
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Breaktime: the children take turns to use the swing.
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The "welcoming classroom" project launched by the school in Stabio is a first step towards the inclusion of children with disabilities, a goal set by the canton of Ticino in their "Future Schools" project.
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The doors of the classrooms often remain open and interactions with other groups are encouraged.
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In the "welcoming" classroom, the lessons are organized in small groups and co-managed by the primary school teacher Paola Klett Sala and special school colleague Luca Canova.
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Each activity is meticulously organized in order to give all children, including those with disabilities, the opportunity to participate. Teachers follow the rhythm of each.
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The five comes before or after the six? asks teacher Luca. Among the special school children there are some who already know how to read and count. It often happens, that they are the ones who help their classmates to solve a problem.
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Social contact and exchange between children with different abilities is one of the fundamental values of this project, says Paola Klett Sala.
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What does "cozy classroom" mean for children? A six-year-old pupil replies: "With us there are some special children who sometimes need to make a little more effort at school and our parents have decided that we need to help them.
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The bell has rung, the school will soon be silent for another night.
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As part of the "Future Schools" project, the canton of Ticino has launched several projects to promote the inclusion of pupils with disabilities and learning difficulties.
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