We are incredibly thankful to our donors and supporters for their kindness and help towards our school and children.
The opening of the school was full of enthusiasm and excitement; students got their new classes and teachers the new students for the year. After all the planning and working the school started on 10th April ’19.
English Workshop-The class started from 18th April’19 ,by our resource person Mrs.Promila Mahajan.The program helped the staff to enhance their vocabulary and develop their skills. The program lasted on 8th May.
Investiture’s ceremony-On 27th April’19 the ceremony started with arrival of the chief guest Mr.and Mrs.Madan and honorable guests.The captains and house captains were honored with badges and flags followed by the oath ceremony and the motivational speech by our chief guest.
SPIC MACAY -On 24th April’19.Spic Macay organized a Manipuri dance form Chattria or Hottria in our institution ,performed by Ms.Meenakshi Medhi.She taught some exercises and gave a stunning performance based on the life of Sri Krishna.It was worth watching. On 13th May’19.again we had an excellent program of Sitar recital by Mr. Vishal Mishra, organized by Spic Macay.He sang the ragas and made children aware of the instrumental music.
Green Waste Management Unit- On 22nd May’19 the ‘Pramukh’organization held a general awareness and development program in our school. All the students along with the parents attended the program. In which they gave the demonstration on how to convert waste into compost and secondly awareness about waste and waste management.
This year we celebrate our 34th Founders’ year with a school that is filled with happy, confident children, children who are well prepared to step into higher classes in mainstream schools. All this and more, only with your loving support. Thank you again!
The journey towards literacy should be exciting and rewarding for every child. As educators we strive to understand the rationale behind behavior, of a certain age, but as soon as we do that, the game changes and we are left scrambling to meet a whole new stage of development. Change is normal and responding to a child with patience and an open mind leads to new learning milestones for educators and the child.
In this Newsletter, we would like to introduce three children who joined the school at age 4, shy and tongue tied, but have made remarkable progress. Thank you for sponsoring individual children. We'd be glad to provide profiles of children you may wish to sponsor.
Our grateful and heartfelt thanks to your hand holding and support over the years that has enabled us to train and counsel our staff regularly, enabling them to grow personally and professionally, to make learning a joyous process.
Anshuman
Education is the most compelling means to initiate social change and improve community development in India. The role of education, both urban and rural, can never be over emphasised in the growth of the country’s economy. Although education in the urban areas has progressed rapidly during the last few decades, there are still some villages where education is not given sufficient priority. Rural education is important not only for the enhancement of the quality of life of the rural community, but also for the overall progress and development of the country.
The John Martyn Memorial School (JMMS) was set up in 1985, in Salangaon, Dehradun, as a response to the desperate need for a good primary education of children from 20 surrounding villages. Children from impoverished families, who had no access to quality education, were provided with an opportunity to create a strong foundation of learning for a brighter future. The Founders’ recognised the importance of rural education to not only eradicate poverty and illiteracy, but as a vehicle for social, economic, cultural and political change.
We have evolved over the last 34 years growing from 25 students in a tent to 175 students in 7 classes from Nursery to grade 5. Bare feet are now covered in snug shoes; children who did not know how to hold a pen are going to main stream schools. Our children proactively walk to school or wait on their bus routes, eagerly waiting to learn something new.
When so much as changed, we have decided to evolve the way we ‘teach’ as well. Slowly and steadily, we have welcomed and adopted the new pedagogy available, merging traditional methods with computer based learning which reinforces concepts and enhances learning outcomes. Timely workshops are organised to revise the skills of teachers and discuss best practices that can be implemented across platforms. “Lesson planning brings about clarity of thought and streamlines the approach to teaching”, points out teacher trainer Meenakshi Basu. “The teacher workshops have taught us to understand a child’s perspective and learn about challenges that they face while studying”, says Ms.D Bhatt. Talking about her last big takeaway from a workshop, she quickly adds, “Associating words and letters with pictures has been a successful learning technique with the children”.
As we step into new territories and continue our learning, we would like to convey a heartfelt thank you to all who have supported us through our journey and relentlessly backed our endeavours. Your generous donations are helping us provide essential learning tools and much more to our children.
It's been an extraordinary year as we see our school leavers soaring to new heights of excellence. After graduating from mainstream schools like The Doon School to gain 100% scholarship to prestigious Ashoka University, or making a mark at Manipal University, or being in the first 10 at academics at a leading day school, Summer Valley, or returning to their Alma mater as teachers – our children have done us proud!
We have spent time reflecting whether we want our children to acquire language skills of comprehension and fluency or excel in Math or Physics? Or do we go beyond text books and help them to connect with the world around them? Help them imbibe life skills, help them grow in all directions...to be able to appreciate beauty around them, be concerned friends, good citizens, caring individuals with a love of knowledge?
In keeping with John Martyn's legacy of holistic education where children are deeply rooted in their culture and surroundings and yet connected to the wider world, we strive to pay attention to all competencies - be it culture, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, citizenship or communication.
We support the right of every child to have access to quality education, to bridge social and gender gaps, to enhance learning outcomes and to equip the children with a skill set.
It's an immense goal....one that cannot be achieved without making education our priority, not just for our children but for the under-served who need our support.
Thank you very much for the loving support you gave us for our recent fundraiser. Let us together build future citizens for India who are morally upright, have integrity, correct thinking and the ability to make the right choices. You could continue to support us via the following links:
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/igniting-rural-minds
OR
THANK YOU!
Author : Neelu Khanna
Designation: Project Leader
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