Pop-up Cafe` to boost students’ learning skills
Marist Champagnat Institute has embarked on a new learning experience for its students with numeracy and literacy challenges.
The school in Vatuwaqa for the first time introduced a pop-up café concept where students can learn multiple skills including catering and hospitality services.
30 students are directly working at café which operates from 11am-2pm. School principal, Dinesh Kumar, said the students go through two years of literacy and numeracy development together with life-skills development.
After this phase they are either bridged to mainstream schools or get re-enrolled in vocational studies of their choice at the school.
“This was co-ordinated to familiarise students with real life self-employment opportunities in the food and catering industry,” Mr Kumar said.
“We have looked at real-life situation processes and trained our students on how to adapt and carry out the work.”
The students learn from construction of appropriate furniture such as tables, stools, shelves and wash areas to coffee and other beverage making skills, pricing, printing, serving, and hospitality skills. Café manager and headboy Emmanuel Kumar, 18, said: “I had to take care of the customers helping around the cash registers and working as a waiter.”
The only challenge he found in his job was he had to control the customers and his team who were also his friends.
The project is up till Friday. However, if there is a need to have the café for school functions, then they will do so, says the principal.