COVID & BEYOND: RE-IMAGINED SCHOOLING

COVID & BEYOND RE-IMAGINED SCHOOLING

THE year had just kind of begun. Students enjoyed a sprightly winter; were skipping through spring. South Point was getting ready to welcome new sessions. Annual Examinations being over, Pointers were waiting to see their scripts as well as take home their Report Cards as they usually do every year. They were all set to return to their familiar and favourite campuses. Smiles, wishes and plans were put in the warm-up mode – and then an unimagined pandemic threw the rhythm into disarray.

School, like the rest of the world, could not will COVID-19 away. Instead, it willed itself to carve new ways and transformative approaches to learning. Given that the pandemic has dramatically changed the face of education, South Point students, teachers and parents have steeled themselves to getting on with a new era where virtual classes arrived as the new model. And School needed to put together multiple resources, experiences and remote-learning technologies to assure Pointers that though they are physically apart, they are virtually together.

E-CLASSROOMS

Re-think, re-invent and re-create – the three new Rs – are seamlessly integrated at South Point, maintaining a perfect correlation at all levels. Nearly 12,000 students have been divided into approximately 200 groups, with about 400 teachers conducting 1,350 virtual class sessions in a week -- everything managed centrally by the School administration. A stupendous scale of online teaching that is! The teaching-learning process is thus going on unhindered, from Nursery I to Class XII, in a new sphere of virtual classes, engaging hands-on activities, audio-visual aids, lectures, worksheets, assignments and evaluation. Losing physical closeness with students is the toughest experience for teachers during e-classes, yet, South Point teachers have enforced their reaching-out skills with the latest technology, effective lesson plans and evolving strategies. Going beyond classroom walls, they have created a seemingly real-time study environment in perfectly collaborative ways.

As virtual classes started taking shape, a webinar spearheaded by the South Point Ex-students’ Association (ASPEXS), equipped the School faculty with valuable concepts and suggestions. Shri Sandeep Sengupta, alumnus, and Ethical Hacker and Certified Information Systems Auditor, spoke on ‘Teachers working online from home: Do’s and Don’ts’ on 18 April 2020 – a most timely session addressing pertinent cyber security issues.

The SPS faculty seasons its lessons for Nursery children with storytelling, audiovisual aids, colourful PPTs and videos with voiceovers, slide shows, interactive sessions to gauge comprehension levels, and of course, structured uploads of music, colouring, pattern writing and craft assignments. Music and Art and Craft lessons are taught both in synchronous and asynchronous ways – thus giving children a feel of real-time learning as well as learning at their own pace. Since children are logging in from home, they are taught the importance of punctuality and sitting quietly during e-classes. Lessons for Transition to Class V integrate Vernacular and EVS; interactive hours with teachers; life skill concepts; storytelling boosting listening comprehension; written work; well-crafted teaching aids; Q&A sessions; brain teasers; and innovative PPTs. Language and creative writing skills, spelling; vocabulary; grammar and comprehension, paragraph and letter writing, picture composition, General Science and Social Studies are perfected regularly. To help students assimilate what they have learnt, a gist of the week’s lessons is uploaded every Saturday. SPS sees to it that children with learning difficulties attend all mainstream classes; they receive additional support from Special Educators. Physical Education and Karate lessons are regularly uploaded to make certain that fitness blends well with the children’s stay-home routine.

The South Point High School faculty ensures that the teaching-learning process goes on in full steam through virtual classes which began in an asynchronous manner and then within two-three weeks changed to the synchronous mode. Teachers have trained, enhanced their skills and adapted themselves wonderfully to the task. E-classes commenced in April and are being conducted by a large section of the faculty across all departments. A total of 90 to 100 lessons are conducted for each class every week from Monday to Saturday. There is a plan to augment the number of classes. Efficient and stimulating AV aids such as PPTs and slides are used to keep the students engaged during the e-lessons of one hour each. The interactive session at the end of each class is the norm and it becomes livelier as pupils are also permitted to place their queries using the chat option. Assignments and a gist of the week's lessons are sent to students too. Assignments remain a tool with teachers to measure the depth of assimilation of the lessons brought to them. These are thoroughly evaluated, corrected and returned to the pupils such that they benefit. Practice quizzes are there in place too for assessing students’ performance. While learning went on in an exemplary manner in SPHS, an evaluation pattern has been under consideration to hold assessments via oral tests, quizzes, projects and parent-proctored tests.

Another learning thus goes alongside. And grows stronger. SPHS students have promised to hold to the School’s and their teachers’ faith in them and take a set of tests, invigilated by parents at home, without the direct supervision of teachers. They uphold the ‘code of honour’; with a pledge of honesty and integrity.

The teacher-student-parent connect in South Point thus offers a vibrant snapshot. In e-learning hubs, they have turned into a more dynamic combination.

APP-ROPRIATE

In order to facilitate and ensure that Pointers make the best of digital versions of usual activities, while staying at home, School has launched ‘Skolaro’, the mobile app/ portal – downloadable from Google Play/ Apple Store -- after thorough testing and trials. It allows School administrators and teachers to communicate effectively with parents and students about upcoming assignments and share attendance information, homework, important notices, useful links, videos and photos, School calendar and messages, and especially links and routines for the ongoing virtual classes. Parents can download and view useful information too. New features of the app will be introduced soon. The ‘Skolaro’ platform is certainly enhancing the virtual classroom experience for all Pointers.

SAFETY FIRST

An ISO 45001: 2018 Certified Institution now, and previously an OHSAS 18001: 2007 Certified Institution, South Point ensures that its premises are safe and sanitized with all precautionary measures taken. Housekeeping teams regularly disinfect the campuses, all walls, classrooms, furniture, corridors and office areas with jet spray machines. For all visitors and staff on duty, temperature is recorded with contactless infrared thermometers. The security staff are provided with full-body PPE. Using face masks, maintaining social distance, foot-operated sanitizer-dispensers, hand wash basins and isolation wards in classrooms are the strict hygiene and protective protocols adopted by School.

MAKING IDEAS COME ALIVE

What happens when students cannot showcase their talents amid familiar rejoicing? What happens when lockdown looms on the celebrations calendar of South Point?

School makes the celebrations happen! In a novel and revised way, and in a grander way, undoubtedly. The Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony brought a large number of SPS and SPHS students together on 4 July 2020 – each performing from home, and each adding colours and joys to a glorious evening. At that pathbreaking moment, South Point became the first school in the city to conduct a programme of such magnitude online, via Zoom app and Facebook Live. The Chief Guest, Shri Amish Tripathi, Director of The Nehru Centre, London, eminent author and columnist, connected with the students and faculty of School via Zoom, from his place in the UK. ‘Memories and Discoveries: A Visual Trip’, the cultural presentation by students of both Schools, was an effort beyond compare. The performances were recorded in students’ homes, and the recordings were bunched together as an impressive presentation, with perfect continuity. The prize distribution ceremony went flawlessly too and later, all prizes, certificates, medals and cheques were couriered to the awardees.

Students also celebrated from home the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. With beautiful words, poems, songs, dances and drawings, they honoured during classes a mind without fear and melodies eternally new; they spread the message of resilience, hope and courage when the night is dark and the hour is stormy. The undaunted spirit of Pointers would certainly have pleased the poet who had reached out to the afflicted during a plague outbreak in his lifetime.

INTERFACE

As we all know, communication is the only thing that keeps us together in the face of crisis and challenges. And communication has been happening at multiple levels at South Point over the months.

Considering it is vitally important to stay connected with parents, especially those of Nursery I and II, Smt. Dalbir Kaur Chadda, SPS Principal, the Nursery Superintending Teacher, Coordinators and Teachers addressed online orientation sessions during April. These hours helped make the children’s shift to e-classrooms smooth and stimulating. SPS teachers also honed their skills at an online story-telling workshop organised by Macmillan Education in May.

Equally fruitful were the webinars -- one with Dr. Rima Mukherjee, prominent psychiatrist, for SPS and SPHS staff-members in April; and the other with Shri Bobby Chakraborty, for SPHS students of Classes VIII to XI in May. While Dr. Mukherjee spoke on coping mechanisms in personal and professional lives during these trying times, Shri Chakraborty addressed students on making the right choices and about the dangers of addiction, how to combat them and on ways to develop self-respect and concern for others.

A platform of communication that has made its move to the digital format quite swift and sharp is Pointer Connect, a joint initiative of SPHS and ASPEXS. Continuing the synergic thread from pre-pandemic years, Pointer Connect put together more webinars where several prominent alumni have come online from across the world, enhancing the e-learning pattern now being followed at South Point. The speakers have helped build bridges across generations and reinforce career options and creative dreams.

STILL WE RISE

“And what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversation?” Much like Alice, Pointers thought half a year ago that education can’t be of much use without proper classrooms. However, with School perfecting the continuous e-learning environment, they too have risen up to challenges. They learn with conviction, innovation and confidence. And feel inspired to look at the world afresh.

‘The times they are a-changing’…The idea is to change with the times – as positively as one can. As it is happening at South Point. Every day.

HEAL THE WORLD

These were times to regret what we had done to the Earth and to Nature. These were times to look back and acknowledge what we had spurned, overlooked and let disintegrate. But these were also times to come together in salutation and in prayers; to speak in voices that were true and rose in praise of Nature’s kindly light.

That was what ASPEXS members – transcending geographical boundaries and across batches – did when the pandemic raged. Through the most insightful ‘Mohiner Ghoraguli’ song, Bhebe Dekhechho Ki?, they wove a heartening tapestry of caution as well as creativity. A spontaneous effort by nearly 35 former students of South Point High School, the film integrated words and music efficiently. It brought together alumni staying in places such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Los Angeles and Dhaka who contributed to it from their homes. From conception to execution, it took about a fortnight during which everyone recorded their part on mobile phones and tablets; finally everything was compiled, edited and rendered -- all flawless in-house efforts and rightly called a Home Made Production. The videos were mostly shot with handheld devices such as mobile phones and later compiled as well as audio mixing was done. The film premiered on Zee-24 Ghanta News Channel on 7 May 2020 and was uploaded on the ASPEXS YouTube Channel as well.

Among the participants of the film were Professor Suranjan Das, Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University; Shri Kunal Basu, author; Shri Bedabrata Pain, scientist and filmmaker; Shri Rajat Ganguly, actor; Shri Aniruddha Roy Choudhury, filmmaker; Shri Tanmoy Bose, musician; Dr. Arnab Gupta, surgical oncologist; Smt. Chandrabali Rudra Datta, singer; Dr. Amitava Chanda, neurosurgeon; Smt. Papia Adhikari, actor; Shri Bhaswar Chatterjee, actor; Shri Pratim D. Gupta, filmmaker; Smt. Urmila Bhowmik, dancer; and Shri Abhijit Dasgupta, filmmaker. Conceptualized by Smt. Sutapa Chatterjee, the film’s script was written by Shri Santanu Mukherjee; editing and direction were done by Shri Utsav Dan.

Despite the prism of broken images in these unreal times, a pure and powerful note played itself in the ASPEXS venture. The note of hope. That sprouts even in waste land.