Page 61 - EW August 2021

without access to Internet connectivity and digital digitise school library operations. As a result, students
devices. More than 40 smartphones were procured with can now access the library on their mobile phones. This
the support of staff, PTA, Charity Club and our alumni as- initiative offers students online resources to support
sociation for distribution to students who needed them. learning and spend their free time reading.
What major remedial programmes have you introduced to ad- What are your future plans to deal with pandemic disruptions?
dress the issue of learning loss? As uncertainty over re-opening of schools continues, we
To maintain online learning continuity of our students, are adjusting to the changing scenario by providing our
all academic and extra-curricular activities including students contemporary online learning on a par with
sports, art education and library activities were integrated global standards. An array of new-age technology tools
into the daily time table. A total 30 webinars on diverse like Wakelet, Flipgrid, Bookcreator, Quizzes, Kahoot
subjects including career guidance, mental health, food and co-curricular activities have been introduced and
habits, yoga, creative writing, safe online behaviour, numerous workshops and professional teacher training
story-telling have been successfully organised. We also programmes organised. Bearing the pandemic’s psy-
connected with our parents community on a regular basis chological impact on our students in mind, we intend to
through online PTA (parent teacher association) meet- organise interactive counseling sessions. A plan to launch
ings. a comprehensive mobile app to support all academic
A unique initiative to minimise knowledge loss was to transactions and communication is also in the pipeline.

Manju Rana ● Real-time connect with all thinking. Regular parent orientation
stakeholders. We have established programmes are also organised.
Principal, Seth Anandram sound connect with all stakeholders ● Personalised experience. Our
Jaipuria School, Vasundhara, including parents and students. Our major success is that our teachers
Ghaziabad teachers reached out to students con- managed to provide the warmth of
fronted with technology problems personal interaction through the
anju Rana is principal- and with the help of the management virtual medium.
cum-director of the CBSE- resolved them quickly. Students were
Maffiliated Seth Anandram also provided full access to a reposi- Community relief/student welfare initia-
Jaipuria School, Vasundhara (SAJS- tory of digital learning tools such as tives… The school lent its support
V), ranked Ghaziabad’s #1 co-ed day to several pandemic relief initia-
school in the latest EW India tives. Under the aegis of
School Rankings 2020-21. our Interact Club, school
staff made masks and
Satisfaction with pandemic- personal-protection kits
driven adoption of online for distribution among
teaching-learning. As a Micro- healthcare workers, organ-
soft Showcase School, our ised a vaccination camp
teachers and students were and converted one of the
already familiar with digital school facilities into a
tools and usage, therefore quarantine centre. Other
switching to online mode outreach programmes
was seamless. We invested of our compassionate
in secure licensed platforms students include food dis-
such as MS Teams and per- tribution and DIY Corona
sonalised digital platforms kits among low-income
to enhance learning effec- families in the neighbour-
tiveness, and restructured hood, and generating
our curriculum to make it awareness about dietary
more inclusive. Moreover, and safety measures
we took care not to neglect socio- lesson plans, worksheets, presenta- through YouTube channels.
emotional and ethical learning, tions, and other resources.
health and wellness, digital and ● Co-curricular & socio- Future plans to deal with pandemic dis-
media literacy of our students. emotional learning. Despite the ruption. With the pandemic stretching
We were — and remain — fortu- pandemic, our school conducted into its second year, online teaching-
nate that our flagship Saamarthya all its planned annual co-curricular learning is here to stay. Simultane-
Teachers Training Academy of activities and competitions ously, we will accord greater impor-
Research (STTAR) did a great job of including signature events such as tance to socio-emotional learning
providing continuous professional Founder’s Day, Sports Day, etc. We and mental health through webinars.
development programmes to our also designed and implemented However, we are also looking
teachers. an integrated curriculum focused forward to reopening of our campus.
on socio-emotional and ethical We are fully prepared with all safety
Three major factors that enabled smooth learning, health and wellness, protocols in place to welcome chil-
transition to online classrooms. awakened citizenship and design dren back in school.

AUGUST 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 61