Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...

The new order of things continued in the month of May. Remote controls were in full swing. Teachers educating parents , who in turn felt empowered enough ( by the teachers directions and hand holding ) to be able to occupy their children meaningfully.

The behind the scenes work has been a lot. The two coordinators Shashi and Neha along with Lakshmi have had detailed meetings on conference calls and met with each other and each teacher every single day. Individual programs have been drawn up and so has a daily schedule been handed over to the parents. Of course we have achieved only partial success with these as parents schedules can’t be fixed by us as their home chores and their timetables would be different. However, we have tried to maintain some degree of persuasion and supervision and have made sure that the students are getting their share of physical, emotional, recreational and vocational inputs.

What has been a pleasure to behold is the occupational skills coming to life. Whether it is cooking, weaving mats, weaving bamboo baskets, stitching, craft work, parents guided by the teachers have been able to get their children to make beautiful articles which can be used. I am sure the parents must be feeling as proud of themselves as we are of them. Indeed it has been a parent celebration month. They have been the real heroes of this unusual licked down situation.

Teacher meetings have happened individually as well as a staff meeting was conducted over Zoom one evening just to touch base with one another. Teachers have been making simple videos, customising speech and reading and math lessons and it’s been heartening to see the children respond. It has been interesting to observe though that most of our students have a saturation point when it comes to having lessons over the Internet. However when teachers have customised lessons, written passages for comprehension questions to be answered , we have been delighted to see no tired ness and a lot of wonderful attempts at writing their own answers.

On yet another note, this has also been an uncertain period where families and organisations are finding many crises to face. This is also the time that we sought solidarity amongst our parents to continue to support the organisation in small and big ways. Once again the parents of KLC have been declared heroes by us. Parents have come forward to fulfil their financial commitments to school and some of them have also come forward to support other families in need of aid. Sharing such a warm and symbiotic relationship over years can only be celebrated and we acknowledge all those parents who have shown their magnanimity by coming forward to help us at this critical time.

A special mention of some staff members. Usha Suresh who has been painstakingly but with such dedication been arranging the weekly Tarang and choosing artistes who will sing the children’s favourite songs and bhajans. The half an hour every week has been a very cherished part of the offerings of V -Excel towards making this period more memorable and relaxing for the children and parents. Vasanthi Shivram our master chef and chief trainer has made simple videos of ragi kanji and a few other snacks and parents have been thrilled with watching their children cook for them in front of their eyes. Puja Bhalla has demonstrated a few yoga poses and simple Eurythmy movements and all these videos are available on the you tube channel of V-Excel. Simple eye hand coordination exercises and learning readiness perception videos have also been added to the repertoire by Gita Bhalla.

We really hope to continue enriching the lives of our students with all our efforts and wish to thank all those teachers and parents who have joined hands together in this venture of making the month of May more interactive and fruitful than its usually over a summer holiday.

Greetings from VRC and BLA!

Hope all of you are safe and doing well. The pandemic has brought about a great change in our lives. This is not the time to panic but to move ahead by equipping ourselves with skills to tackle the situation and be prepared for the future. It reminds me of what Helen Keller said “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us”. – Helen Keller.

The pandemic has opened up a new gateway for us. We are now connected with our students from the safety of our homes. Online classes and connecting over phone are the solutions we found.

The month that was:

May is the month of holidays for schools, but the pandemic preponed it to March. So we utilized the time to conduct online classes for our students. Some children gave their feedback, it is as follows:

Students’ responses to the following question by the teacher:Q: Your opinions on online classes:

Answers: (sample answers given by many students are compiled below)

• Online classes are good as I can sit at the comfort of my home to study. I also get time to talk to my teacher about myself.
• I don’t enjoy online classes as I can’t work in a group with my friends. I also miss the games and activity classes. • Online classes are good as children can’t fight in the classroom.
• Online classes are for limited hours so I have more time to play.
• Sometimes there are disturbances at home so I am not able to listen to the teacher properly.
• I find it difficult to write during online class.
• Sometimes it tires me out.
• There is no fun in learning without my friends.
• I want to get back to my classroom.

That was a mixed bag. Majority of the children felt that though the new experience was good they still missed the classroom and the group activities.

The following is a share about what exactly we do at Bridges Learning Academy a unit of V-Excel.

Coaching for National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) :

As you are all already aware BLA coaches for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) for both Secondary and Senior Secondary programs. At present four students are appearing for the exams which have been postponed to August 2020. Online classes are being conducted on a daily basis to support the students. We also look forward to take in more students this year. Each student gets individual attention.

Students who cannot attend normal schools due to various reasons with an aptitude for academics can opt for the NIOS stream as it is recognized many colleges in India. So, students can apply for regular college once they pass NIOS senior secondary exams (equivalent to 12th Standard). In fact the pre NIOS training can be given for ages ten and above based on the 5th and 8th curriculum. This helps in bridging the gap between middle school and high school of academics; and once they complete 14 years can appear for the Secondary Exams.

Primary group of BLA:

The primary group of BLA has students with academic difficulties, mild intellectual disabilities, sometimes mild behavioural issues. These students can be trained in basic Language skills and also Math. At BLA they receive both training in academics as well as life skill activities.

Inclusive education:

Students with learning difficulties can be given intensive coaching in areas of difficulty and helped to integrate back to normal school by bridging the gap. Students who for various reasons had to drop out of school can also benefit.

A formal assessment will be done by V Excel and based on that the program for the child will be designed along with the consent of the parents.

Strengths of BLA:

Well trained teachers to teach academics, support of V-Excel in Counselling , Occupational Therapy , individualized attention to each student. The curriculum also includes games, activities to enhance attention and memory, team building activities and life skills based on the age of the child.

We strive to help the children to identify their strengths and become confident to move ahead.

Hoping for a fruitful June!.