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SKOLA MALTIJA MACKAY QUEENSLAND  Sr Pauline Bonavia and Carmel Baretta addressing the delegates of the National Conference Oct. '07 In keeping with the objects of Mackay Maltese Club Inc to act as a focal point of Maltese cultural awareness and help develop same amongst the descendants of Maltese immigrants in Mackay and elsewhere in Australia, the members of our organization unanimously agreed to establish a Maltese Language School.. The School, under the umbrella of Mackay Maltese Club Inc, was formed 11 October 2007. Fourteen pupils enrolled for the 5week term and paid $20 each. Sister Pauline Bonavia, a Franciscan Sister of the Heart of Jesus, was appointed the School�s first teacher. Lessons were taught weekly at the Francis of Assisi Home for the Aged, Dupuy Street, Mackay. The classes were deemed a great success and when resumed on 7 February 2008, 21 students enrolled for the Beginners Classes and 8 for the Advanced. Cost per school term - $40 per person with a discount of $10 each for 3 or more family members. Our Language School is still in its infancy but we recognize the need for such a facility. We are greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm displayed by the teacher and students. Surprisingly the majority of Beginners are schoolchildren who have one or more parents with a Maltese background; their ages vary but their thirst to learn is uniform. A few students are partners of Maltese/Maltese descendants and the balance, adult children of Maltese descendants. The younger pupils have embraced the lessons with much gusto and have no problem adapting to the language. Sadly, we older ones struggle to absorb the lessons, but gradually the fog is clearing and the light is beginning to shine! Sister Pauline, who is not a qualified teacher, but is Maltese-born and educated, prepares lessons each week under the guidelines of the Victorian based Maltese Language curriculum. She is a most enthusiastic and gifted teacher who has a particularly good rapport with children. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Franciscan Sisters at the Home, particularly Sr Ottavia Monsigneur and Sr Carmen Caruana, our Club Patrons. John and Kate Formosa have recently been appointed Patrons of Skola Maltija Mackay in acknowledgment of their significant contribution and support to our organization. Private classes have been held in Mackay in the past by but unfortunately petered out. There has always been a need for this facility, but until people were unable to communicate with elderly Maltese who reverted back to their first language, or perhaps families have wished to visit Malta to learn more of their heritage, that the need became more evident. Finally, had it not been for the encouragement of our Maltese High Commissioner HE Francis Tabone, Hon Consul for Malta in South Australia Frank Scicluna OAM JP, and the many delegates at the Language Conference held at Canberra in 2007, this School would not have become a reality. Mackay is the �Historical Heart of Maltese Settlement in Australia� and I have no doubt that, in time, with the continued support of Language Schools Australia-wide, we will also become a well-recognized centre for the teaching of the Maltese language. (Mrs) Carmel Baretta President Mackay Maltese Club Inc 16 March 2008
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