Close to people | Stories from Bethel
St Nicholas comes with praise and presents
There is always a special magic about the pre-Christmas period at Bethel's Mamre-Patmos-School: decorated classrooms and the excitement in the corridors already give away the fact that the children are looking forward to a very special visit. When St Nicholas appears at the door with his big book and a sack full of presents, you can see sparkling eyes far and wide. Wearing a red robe and a white beard, he goes from door to door and has individualised praise in his book for every pupil in the seven classes.
He rewards hard work in class or friendliness, public spirit and helpfulness. "Nico, it's great how you participate in class. You're friendly to everyone and everyone likes you," says St Nicholas to the pupil in the kangaroo class. While Zeynep is pleased that she is being rewarded for eating more fruit and vegetables, Santa emphasises Dustin's value to the whole class: "You do your classmates a lot of good. You always have great ideas about what to play." In the coati class, the children receive recognition for their learning progress: "Kalle, you've learnt to read pretty quickly and you're getting better and better at maths too."
The girls and boys are not only very happy about the warm words, but also about the chocolate and the small wrapped presents. Because the meerkat class always thinks of their sick classmates, they also receive gift bags at their seats. Gestures such as these recognise the strong sense of togetherness at the Bethel special school: individual personal development and integration into a diverse community are promoted in line with the Christian view of humanity.
And when the gift bringer packs up his sack again, a loud "Thank you, dear Mr Father Christmas!" rings out through the colourful and wide corridors of the Mamre-Patmos-School - because all the children here are really happy about the visit from the friendly man with the white beard.
Text: Heike Lepkojis | Photos: Sarah Jonek
This story simply told
St Nicholas visits the pupils at the Mamre-Patmos-School in Bielefeld-Bethel. He praises the children for their hard work, friendliness and helpfulness. The girls and boys receive chocolate and small gifts.
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Programmes & services
The Mamre-Patmos-School is a special school run by the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel. 230 pupils with special educational needs in the areas of mental development and physical and motor development (here also in the learning programme) attend the school.
