On 2 July, iC2 PrepHouse organised an outing to the Universal Studios Singapore for our students. This event was made possible with funding from The SHARE as One grant which enables iC2 PrepHouse to organise volunteer activities to provide better opportunities and experiences for corporate volunteers. With the support from 12 enthusiastic volunteers from Credit Suisse Singapore, our students had a memorable Youth Day celebration at Universal Studios Singapore.

Prior to the above outing, iC2 PrepHouse conducted a training session for volunteers from Credit Suisse (Singapore) on 27 June. During the session, sighted guide training was conducted for the volunteers. The volunteers were also briefed on information about Universal Studios Singapore and the logistics aspects of the event.

Our students had a delightful bowling session at the J Forte Bowl. With the friendly and patient coach guiding them, they managed to pick up skills from learning how to select a proper fit bowling ball for themselves to the finishing position arm swing drills.

The Kids Konnect! 2018 June Holiday Programme was conceived to provide an avenue for our children with visual impairments to socialise in a non-threatening environment and, through cooperative and educational activities, learn and practice life skills such as preparing their own simple meals. The activities were organized and carried out by the National Institute of Education (NIE) trainee teachers. 8 students from MOE Kindergarten @ Punggol Green participated in this event as well. This provides an opportunity for interactive among children with and without special needs.

Some students from iC2 PrepHouse and Guide Dogs visited the Mobility Park at Jurong Community Hospital. Here they get to experience and familiarize riding on life-sized mock up public transport of a bus and part of a train cabin.

The workshop provided a refresher for the teachers who had previously attended the workshop and a good learning session for the teachers who had not attended the workshop. Bob could remember working with 2 of our students 3 years ago and he was amazed with their development.

“Hungry Fingers educational tools are designed to give visually impaired children the confidence that with poor vision, or even without sight, they can be in command of the space around them. They can learn how objects are related to one another, and why they look, or feel different when we draw them. They can learn that space can be divided and altered in many different ways, and that they are the one who decide how they want to change it.” By Prof. Marek

Profile of Professor Bob Marek
Prof. Marek is a lecturer of English at the John Paul 11 University in Lublin Poland. Many years ago Prof. Marek developed an interest in teaching English to children and adults who are blind. In doing this work, he listened to the childrens’ comments regarding the visual world surrounding them. It was obvious to him that there were many visual concepts that the children struggled to understand. It also became apparent to Prof. Marek that there is often a lack of appropriate resources for teachers of the blind to use when teaching chal-lenging visual concepts. From humble beginnings the saying goes…. he started designing wonderful resources to meet this need. Prof. Marek had received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for his work with blind children.