COVID-19 has changed our perspective towards life. We were all so busy with our work, planning for the future that little did we realise that life is too fragile to be taken for granted. Nothing is permanent, therefore let us seize the day everyday and look at the larger picture of life.
At BOMISD, timely action was taken and the session was completed smoothly. For the Pre School, the Yearly Assessments and the Graduation Ceremony were held before 14th March and nothing was disturbed.
For the Primary and Middle School the Final Examination could not be held but the students were promoted on the basis of their yearly average performance. The result was prepared online by the teachers from home and published on the ERP on 18th March.
The school is in touch with the parents through ERP and official WhatsApp groups and the staff coordinates through conference calls. Work from home is working effectively.
The new session was supposed to commence on 3rd/7th April for Primary-Middle and Pre Primary respectively but reopening is uncertain due to the prevailing lockdowns. As soon as the situation normalises parents will be notified. If the situation permits, the book sets will be distributed in the first week of April. The loss of the teaching days will be compensated by reducing the Summer holidays and even extending the working hours.
Meanwhile to help children use their time fruitfully they have been advised to learn from real life experiences as education is not restricted to books.
Parents have been given the following guidelines:-
• Talk to them about this pandemic and let them participate in all sanitizing procedures at home. They should be cautious not scared.
• Clean and disinfect their toys and furniture of their room.
• Teach your sons and daughters to tidy the home, water the plants, fold their clothes, set their cupboards and study tables.
• Clean their bicycles or even help you clean your car or two wheeler.
• Learn to name and identify fruits and vegetables and know their nutritive value.
• Teach them to celebrate life. To be content with whatever they have and to value human life more than materialistic assets.
• Teach then to be prepared to handle emergencies like this. Let them gather as much information as possible but make sure they discuss with you to verify its authenticity.
• Life is precious and we all are connected as members of the human race. This outbreak has taught us the lesson of coexistence. We have responsibilities in a community. So children must be educated about their social responsibility.
Students will also have access to the course material through their ERP student login IDs.
The course books will be uploaded and additional study material like worksheets, test papers, online links and recorded lectures will be added on weekly basis. An online class time table will be followed and teachers will be available for all queries.
This unfortunate situation is a testing time and we are sure our students, teachers and parents will act as responsible citizens and do their bit in overcoming this threat to humanity.
May God bless the world with good health.
(Anita Saini, Principal, Birla Open Minds International School, Shimla Road, Dehradun, Uttarakhand)
