Connecting classrooms in China - 27-28 jan 2010

 
 
 
 

vc WITH WESTHOUGHTON IN NEWS IN TOI 16 JAN 2010

 

CC - Face to faith briefing for ISA 2011

 
 
 
 

christmas carnival 25 dec 09

 
 
 
 

Learning about festivals with Emily and Katie

FESTIVALS BRING BRITISH AND INDIAN PUPILS TOGETHER


Ms Katie Coleborn and Ms Emily Connors of Winterbourne(Ridings High) School UK had a unique opportunity to spend a part of their gap year teaching pre school and pre primary pupils of Bal Bharati Public school Dwarka about festivals of their native country . It was a collaborative project where the British girls learnt not only the methodology adopted for teaching in kindergarten school but also got an opportunity to share their personal experiences while teaching about Festivals . The teachers had Bal Bharati had designed lesson plans on festivals where children got an opportunity to celebrate different festivals including Diwali , Christmas, Holi and Halloween . Children enjoyed making Christmas and Diwali decorations for their classroom where Emily and Katie helped them sharing their expertise and experiences . “It brought back memories of spending time with my parents while putting up the Christmas Tree “ said Emily who appreciated the common threads of joy , festivity and reverence for Holy spirit exhibited in both Diwali and Christmas . Kids on the other hand had fun with decorations and sweets on both occasions . They coloured Santa and Diwali Diyas with same fervour.

Pre primary school children had the maximum fun celebrating Halloween and Holi giving them ample scope to pamper the urchin in them . The Ghost party was big hit with children trying to scare the wits out of each other with their scary costumes and props. Teachers took this opportunity to address the issue of fears nestled inside subconscious of children and showed them how to have fun with figments of their imagination. Emily and Katie showed them some tricks which they had learnt while growing up in England . They lamented the fact that most families in losing out on these traditions which give family values and feeling of togetherness in the pursuit of modern lifestyle .

The entire preschool and preprimary section had fun riot with colours on the occasion of Holi . There were fun games organized which included Pichkari and balloon race and clown race among others. Everyone present was left the place looking like a veritable rainbow of colours splashed all over them . Joy written large on their faces and smiling indolently Katie said “This was the best day of my visit .I could not have experienced it had I not come here.” Both the girls expressed their gratitude for the warm hospitality and the unique Indian experience provided to them by staff and Principal of Bal Bharati Public school Dwarka.

Our links with NZ

11.Learning about NZ
Our tryst with NZ began when a group of teachers led by Principal Diana Tregoweth from Owairaka School in Auckland NZ landed in our school to learn more about India .It set the ball rolling for our explorations about NZ a country about which we knew little more than its cricket team .It was not possible for us to arrange a reciprocal visit immediately but that did not deter us from learning more about the land of Kiwis . Our teachers were quick to surf the net and train pupils in Hakka Dance which caught everyones imagination and proved the might of technology in bridging the gap across cultures .Our visitors from Owairaka School were visibly moved by Hakka welcome they received .They shared a great deal about their culture and education system and a good rapport was established within no time amost staff members on both sides as they agreed to take this mission of bringing about better understanding forward .

While planning project work for class 9 , teachers decided to focus on NZ to design a project involving multiple intelligence . The results of this project were worth the effort it required .Students came back to proudly show the gamut of information collected and displayed them enthusiastically for all parents , guests and visitors .They take pride in sharing their new found knowledge about endemic birds besides Kiwi .They know as much about NZ cricket team as Indian. They especially enjoyed making travel brochure of NZ and learning about adventure sports in NZ and the cost involved.They found biography of Edmund Hillary very inspiring .They took keen interest in finding more about mountain climbing gear and equipment used and converted its cost into Indian Rupees .Mathematics project involved taking a close look at symmetrical patterns used in NZ architecture and making graphs of population growth .They also learnt about Alternative sources of energy being used in NZ. Waitangi Day festival has become popular as children collected pictures and articles to prepare a newsletter on it .

All this project work involved the process of collection of information and its creative synthesis .Internet was not the only source of information but direct interaction with people from NZ was also encouraged .Mr David Hair author of book "Bone Tikki" Ms Perya Short Education Counsellor NZ High Commission supported our efforts . Ms Melanie Chapman(educational Counsellor) and MR Izak Human(Manager International liaison), from NZ High commission were also appreciative of the work done by pupils . We also received a lot of support and encouragement from Ms Lyn potter art teacher from Marcellin Art college,Auckland NZ who shared with our pupils the art of making Puti Puti flowers.Feedback taken from children encourages us to further this type of interaction and activities as it not only broadens their horizons and perspective but also helps them to become better communicators .We have received ample suppport and appreciation from all quaters in our endeavour to prepare our pupils for tomorrow and are geared up to take this exploration forward.

Christmas assembly