Staying positive amid the storm

Principal, SBDAV, Vasant Vihar

As the pandemic traverses the world stealthily, pushing God’s so-called chosen creation — human beings — indoors and as Mother Nature works towards reviving itself, I gaze out of the window at my home admiring His creation with new lens. Such positivity reflects in this sentient world with the Earth healing itself. The sky is blue and clearer than ever, birds and animals are reclaiming the planet. The arteries of India, the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, have been rejuvenated.

Amid these tough times, another necessary aspect to take care of is the mental health of both the individual and the family. It is my appeal to all parents and guardians to talk to children about how they are feeling and interact with them to ensure that they are not getting affected by the situation in a negative manner.

On the school front, my team of teachers is doing an excellent work in these challenging times. Apart from taking regular on-line classes, they are taking doubt-clearing classes to ensure that no child is left behind. Moreover, before beginning any class, each teacher is talking about moral values and motivating students to help their parents in household chores. There is also a constant connect between teachers and parents.

The lockdown has not dampened the spirit of the SBDAV team. The annual inter-school competition Ubhartey Hastakshar was successfully conducted online with enthusiastic participation from various schools in Delhi and NCR.

Special assemblies on the occasions of Earth Day, International Dance Day and International Labour Day were also celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm by teachers and students.

Our students are also eagerly participating in different online competitions being hosted by other schools.

I also take this opportunity to extend my gratitude towards our courageous coronavirus warriors who are selflessly serving the nation in this crisis. We are in the same storm but not in the same ship. Let all of us navigate our routes with immense care, patience, respect, empathy and responsibility.

MAMTA CHOPRA

Teacher, Bharti Public School, Swasthya Vihar

The lockdown has been a new and different experience for everyone. As a teacher, since I want to stay connected with my students, I am working from home. I also strongly believe that the teaching learning process should never stop, for which I have created a virtual learning environment for my students. I try to stay positive during this crisis and also try to learn new things.

PRISHA DWIVEDI

Class 11-B, Mayoor School, Noida

Amid the lockdown, we have started learning how to live a simple life. Apart from attending online classes, this period has enabled us to spend quality time with our families. We have learnt the importance of sanitisation and I have fallen in love with gardening which is a great stress buster. As to the lockdown, as has been rightly said, the presence of light can only be felt in the dark. Let us put faith in the reassuring acronym HOPE — Hold on, pain ends.

SANCHITA

Class 6, Bhai Joga Singh Public School, Faiz Road

During the Covid-related restrictions, I have been attending online classes in the morning and in the evening I do what I love the most --- drawing and painting. It is my favourite pastime. I love to play with colours, sketch pens, waste materials, crayons, paints etc. I have made sketches, a photo frame with 3-D flowers and also many things using waste material. These activities keep me busy and help me enjoy at home.

BHAVYA GOEL

Class 8, Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura

This lockdown period has given me an opportunity to spend quality time with my family. I have decided to utilise this duration to nurture my personality. My school is not letting this period affect our studies as teachers are regularly providing e-lessons. With the help of a meal planning e-lesson given by my school, I was able to bake a cake on my mother’s birthday. I am also learning the concept of aeromodelling through online classes. In addition, by sharing household chores, I have also gained a sense of responsibility. Apart from that, I spend afternoons watching movies on Disney Plus and reading The Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan. I follow the social distancing rules but at the same time also participate in online social interactions. I believe that social distancing is best vaccine to keep Covid-19 at bay. To one and all, I would say: Sab karo na!

SANYA SHARMA

Class 10-C, Lilawati Vidya Mandir Sr. Sec. School, Shakti Nagar

In this do-or-die situation due to Covid-19, people have become tech-savvy. People have started working from home and students are attending online classes. These online classes have changed the terminology of study. Books have now been replaced by PDF files, classes are being held through apps like Zoom, discussions through WhatsApp groups, and most importantly the interactive classroom sessions through video calls. If we consider the study part, online classes are better than traditional classroom education. There is no noisy disturbance as teachers can easily mute the students, But now we can’t have fun discussions that we used to have earlier. Online classes also affect the children who suffer from eye disorders find it very difficult to focus on laptops or phones for five to six hours.

MANNAT BEHL

Class 9-A, St. Marks Girls Sr. Sec. School, Meera Bagh

The lockdown has given us an opportunity to utilise this period by engaging in innovative activities. I do so by cooking new recipes. I practise yoga and consider painting or drawing as effective ways to connect with plants. Also, spending time with the family is the best way to enjoy during this time. It is the time to get back to the evergreen board games. In a nutshell, as a remembrance of this time each of us will learn to maintain good hygiene habits. I hope the lockdown ends soon and ushers in a new sunrise.

RIYA SINGHAL

Class 12-B, Hillwoods Academy, Preet Vihar

We all need to be together to overcome Covid-19. To foster the feeling of togetherness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the citizens to light diyas (earthen lamps), candles, torches etc on April 5 for 9 minutes in a show of solidarity in a fight against the disease. It was an initiative to motivate citizens and to kindle a fire in them to fight the disease. I had planned to make handmade diyas using wheat flour.

If every citizen takes part in these initiatives, we can drive out the virus from the world.