The end of school year exams are over and the school is planning to publish the results on 10th April.
Project teachers Pampha and Kamala took part in one day training at Seto Gurans nursery in Bandipur on 24th March. That training was focused on preparing materials. Sister Miriam was the trainer.
One of our long term supporters and donaters is in Bandipur, Christina from Germany. She gave Bikram US$200 to spend for our school. Thank you Christina!
Bikram will buy things for the school after consultation with project staff members and SMC.
On 26th March four Rotarians including Dr. Madan Kumar Piya (senior chest and cancer physician ) originally from Bandipur visited the school. School family and villagers welcomed them. They promised to help our school in the future like making a new school building.
As of 28th March, they have started to build the new nursery building. Bikram has bought construction materials like cement, steel bars, bricks, sand, stone, metal frame for windows and doors.
Bikram and the teachers also repaired their educational materials in preparation for the new school year. Bikram was also involved in checking the answers, marking the students end of year exams.
It was also noted that the climate is becoming warmer day by day 🙂
Last week, from 17 January to 23 January, there was winter holiday in the school. All the five female teachers took part in a 2 day teacher training camp held on 17 and 18 January in Bandipur. This time the training was focus on teaching Nepali. Some of the villagers came to free health camp.
After the celebrations of Deshain and Tihar daily life has returned to the community. Though that did not stop the community to continue to enjoy the festive period. From November 11 to 17 school staffs, students and villagers played Bhailo (a kind of culture played in Tihar) to collect fund to build Nursery building. They had organised khaja (lunch) program for those people who took part in Bhailo program. Before the khaja Bikram, our project manager, held a meeting amongst the teachers and School Management Committee (SMC). They had collected a good sum of money. They also decided to use this money towards the new nursery building. They are now able to contribute 30 percent of the cost.
From the new academic session 2072, which means from 14 April 2015, Bikram has developed a separate attendance sheet for our project staff. They do their attendance on our project attendance sheet and the school attendance register too. The teachers are regular on their duty. If they need leave they inform Bikram one day in advance unless suddenly ill or other emergency. And, except public holiday, they get one day leave in a month. Bikram mentions that he finds them regular in attendance and punctual.
To measure students learning achievement, Bikram uses two types of assessment that are:
a) Pre and post reading assessment (Early grade reading assessment)
b) Early grade Maths assessment.
These two assessments are prepared by World Education, an INGO, which is used throughout the schools of Nepal. Bikram received those assessment models from Chij Kumak Shrestha who on occasion comes to train in Bandipur, our project teachers always joining.
Bikram applied for those assessments in beginning of then new academic session and discussed with the teachers during the Kathmandu tour, in the presence of 5 school teachers and trainer Ela Piya. Our students achievement is good. According to DEO calender we have conducted first quarterly exam. In this exam their achievement is good. Participating in teacher training, Bikram reports he has found an important change in the teachers’ teaching skills. Firstly they learn to make job chart which make student participatory in learning activities. Secondly making materials and thirdly teaching through play and singing.
Whenever Bikram visits the school he listens to the teachers and headteacher discuss about school life. Sometimes he gives them written assignments too to refresh on what they have learnt in previous teacher training.
Bikram have given the responsibility of preparing khaja to Kamala, and she is doing her duty honestly. The children a getting khaja regularly. Though, due to the Indian blockade there is no cooking gas, so they need to cook the khaja with firewood.
New bamboo chair made by one of the school committee members, Resham.
The Litter Officer, Ran Bahadur Bhujel, is doing his duty well. Sometimes he does his work in Bikram’s presence too. The village is cleaner than past. Sanitation in some areas is still poor. The main route to school is clean.
As mentioned in the previous post, the teachers had a 3 day educational tour planned in Kathmandu. So on 21 July our 4 teachers Pampha, Kamala, sarita and Gita, plus 13 teachers of another project visited Kathmandu on a teacher educational tour. They visited Kaasthamandap Vidhalaya of Ela Piya, a teacher trainer, one public school and one Montessori school run by Dr. Bina Gurung. They spent 3 days and 2 nights in Kathmandu. It was a very fruitful trip for the teachers. All the expenses were covered by the Rotary clubs involved. Thank you!
Back to the Aandhimul school, it reopened from 26 July after the summer holidays. On that day all the teachers were present but due to the first day after the holidays there were only 50 percent students present. Bikram has paid for the school to have one daily newspaper for one year and one monthly magazine named TEACHER.
Bikram, along with Kumar, the caretaker, took the new furniture to the school ready for the new term.
Except Lalimaya Bhujel, other people have finished the rebuilding work on their houses
It is maize/corn dry harvesting season and the villagers, children included, were very busy taking off the dried kernels ready to be ground into flour or feed for their animals.
One village family enjoying running their family business of breeding and selling chickens.
The training, on the support of Rotary Club Aberdeen and Patan West, was completed on 28 April. There were 32 teachers as participants. From our school Sarita, Pampha and Kamala took part in that teacher training.
