The COVID-19 Pandemic
The Brigade Schools quickly switched to the online teaching-learning mode and ensured that there was no break in the learning process. As always, our priority was to ensure the excellence of provision for teaching and learning, continuity of teaching and learning, whilst recognizing the need to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the entire school community. The successful transition to the virtual model was an outcome of the collaborative efforts of the school management, teachers, students and parents. Teachers left no stone unturned to adapt to the change and made learning fun, effective and engaging. The Brigade Schools made a few changes in the school’s calendar of events. However, as the adage goes, ‘there is always light at the end of the tunnel’. Teachers and students alike made the transition from campus to online quickly and smoothly.
A fun-learning
and informative virtual experience
The tool in learning and video conferencing for virtual classes surged in a revolution in the teaching-learning process. As always, our priority is to ensure the continuity of excellent teaching and learning, whilst recognizing the need to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the entire school community. Besides, the school’s online platform with a plethora of learning resources offers a holistic education from the safety of the home. Effective teaching requires creativity, imagination, and innovation.
Read moreStudents and teachers alike adjusted to the online setting with ease and it had been a quick and seamless integration. The teachers had familiarized themselves with technology and are employing creative measures to make online classes an engaging experience not just for their students but also themselves. Teachers of the core subjects had made their teaching practices effective by using innovative teaching aids and power point presentation. The classes are replete with question-answer sessions. Students take down valuable notes as teachers explain concepts. Notwithstanding this closure, we had maintained school life and support systems as normally as we possibly can, to provide continued education. Further to this, we were one of the first schools to start online classes for secondary school students. Our main interest is to keep the learning curve of our students, especially in the secondary section, uninterrupted. We are bringing everyone’s strengths together to serve our most important assets – the children. The class for each subject is a wholesome learner-centric scenario. Our Curriculum Team is providing a creative pedagogy, useful for teaching students. This creativity keeps the students engaged and interested while studying from home. Our teachers are professionals who have stepped up with the experience they bring, knowing that it is their time and talent that makes the difference for their students in these times. All programmes were conducted virtually and very successfully.
What made our
Online Classes Different
Custom Design
Rolled out a custom-designed online education platform
Priority
Designed keeping in mind the best interests of students and teachers
Specialized
Specialised training for teachers to excel in online classes
Parents
Orientation for parents to address all concerns on the online environment
Sessions
Over 3000 sessions conducted seamlessly
Attendance
More than 95% attendance from students clocked
Customised Programmes for
maximum effectiveness
A virtual homeroom
for the tiny tots from class 1-3!
For the overall development of the students, classes on value education and developmentally appropriate topics were conducted through ‘Circle Time' for students of grades 1 to 3. The topics that were covered ranged from healthy habits, patience and honesty, self-awareness to making friends, organizational skills, bullying and learning to handle opinions etc. to name a few. These classes were interactive, adopting numerous strategies to engage the students and the content was tailor-made to suit the younger age group.
Videos, storytelling, artwork, role play, etc. were adopted to ascertain that students with different learning styles were equally engaged. Reinforcement activities were also provided to establish the concepts learnt were practiced and generalized.
Interactive group
periods for senior students
The "Meet and Greet" sessions for senior students helped them to mingle with their peers and provided a platform where the the students were able to discuss their concerns. The focus of these sessions was multi-pronged.
While one aspect was to help the students to disconnect from a virtual world and socialize better; the other was to help them understand the current situation and how to cope and garner support from one another. Through these sessions, the students were able to come to terms with the numerous restrictions that were placed on them. They were also able to obtain coping skills from peers to help them traverse these difficult times.
Professional gatherings and sessions
for teachers/ Teachers turned students: Sessions for teachers
As cases of COVID-19 increased, working from home became mandatory. Most of the staff were facing new challenges adapting to the new normal.This new normal brought forth an array of stresses, fears and a quagmire of unsettled feelings. To help in dispelling some of these anxieties and to inculcate a healthy method of dealing with these worries, the Knowledge and Information Bank (KNIB) members had an interactive session “Leading through uncertainty” with Blacklight Advisory organization. Blacklight Advisory, a UK based organization helps to identify complex problems and resolve them with specific outcomes. The session provided an e-platform for the KNIB members to open up and discuss the different ways this pandemic had affected individuals at the micro and macro level- family and workplace. Following this, the team discussed mechanisms to identify stressors and ways to adopt healthy practices to handle and cope with the uncertainties.
A follow up on this session was in October, to take the discussion further and to understand if the team members were able to adopt the practices to tackle the continuing nebulous situation. To keep the teachers motivated and boost morale Mrs. Gita Menon, Head of the Brigade Foundation came up with a novel idea.
The brief given was very simple, the teams were to think of ways to get to know each other, spend some quality time with each other, outside the staff room, and have conversations (that had nothing to do with their subject). The primary objective of this activity was to promote team cohesiveness and to showcase individual strengths and interests. This was an activity to get to know the non-teaching side of the teachers. These team activities helped in bonding, getting to know each other better, facilitating creativity, boosting the morale and motivating the staff. Thereafter, the teams organized a ’Get to Know Us” session, department wise. Lo and behold the teams were in for the treat of their lives. The teachers are very talented, it was quite a revelation. From Diya painting to singing, dancing, soft drink making and gardening, to name a few, their talents are unending. As we now approach the end of the term, we would like to thank all parents for their support.
Events held online
SUPW
Socially Useful Productive Work classes included weaving floor mats and making baskets from newspapers, so that our students continue to be closely connected to the community, especially in these times.
Music Appreciation
Music appreciation is a continuous effort to encourage our students to listen and appreciate nuances of different genres of music. Regular sessions are conducted to encourage students to make music an important part of their lives.
World Music Day
World Music Day was celebrated in a very unique manner by the music team! Every class on that day began with 5 minutes of singing by music teachers who sang in twos or threes, accompanied by a keyboard, guitar, piano or a recorded track. What better way to beat away the blues than with Music!
Dance Appreciation
Dance is such a fun way to ensure agility, grace and poise in our children! Dance appreciation classes, demonstrations on various styles of dance ensure and even integration of math and dance are interesting ways we bring the magic of dance to our students!
Merry Christmas
The students put together a heart-warming Christmas Programme virtually that evoked the sound of bells in the air and warmth in all hearts. The unique part of this programme was that all props were made by the students with online instructions from the teachers and costumes were skillfully created with odds and ends found at home. Strict instructions were given not to spend money to source anything for the programme.
Read moreThe event was compered by 4 of Santa’s elves- Shinny Upatree, Alabaster Snowball, Bushy Evergreen and Sugarplum Mary, who steered the audience through the exciting performances in store. 3 song medleys kept the listeners enraptured as the melodious strains of familiar. Christmas carols permeated the air. The Primary school students exhibited their oratory skills as they recited ‘My Christmas Wish for You’. An energetic dance was performed to foot tapping Christmas tunes and had the performers twirling and tapping, popping and prancing, jumping and jiving; enlivening all moods and getting fingers clicking and bodies swaying in rhythm to the moves on the screen.
Science Day
The Brigade Schools celebrated Science Day virtually this year on the 2nd of March. The students of all the three Brigade Schools commemorated this Science Day excitingly and innovatively. The virtual programme commenced with an explanation of the significance of Science Day. It was followed by the song- ‘States of Matter’, highlighting the three forms of solid, liquid and gas. The singers wore T-shirts with the particle formation of the three states that they had created themselves. The dancers brought home an important message – ‘Say No to Plastic’.
World Yoga Day
The Schools enthusiastically celebrated World Yoga Day in their virtual classes on Friday 26th June 2020. This was an apt way to adhere to the United Nation’s theme for this year, “Yoga for Health – Yoga at Home”. The yoga teacher for these sessions was young Shree Raghav Trivikram (a certified yoga instructor) of Std 7 B from the Brigade School at Malleswaram.
Online Student Counselling
Online counselling sessions were done for students too.