The academic year 2020-21 ended on a high note in April 2021. The results from our high school examinations were among the best in the district - seven out of the top 10-ranking students were from Jhamtse Gatsal. The beginning of the academic year 2021-22, on the other hand, was turbulent due to the second wave of the COVID pandemic.

The government declared an extended summer vacation was starting in May 2021, during which children were to remain in their villages. In July, the government instructed schools to begin online classes for children as the pandemic didn’t show signs of receding. While this was easy for urban areas in the country, rural localities like our region struggled due to insufficient infrastructure and network capabilities.

Online Classes

The children and staff of Jhamtse Gatsal remained diligent and hardworking. All the staff decided to stay on campus during the vacation, realizing that the pandemic could keep them away for a long time if they traveled further away from the Community to their homes. They instead supported children with online classes and participated in maintenance and other activities on campus.

The children continued to put much effort into their studies through online courses. They worked with the teachers to develop exciting ways of engaging with their content. For instance, our Hindi teacher, Subharaj, recorded videos of him teaching in the classroom and sent them to the children so they could watch them multiple times if needed. Our Science teacher, Shalom, made handwritten notes and had them physically sent to the villages for the children. The children did their assignments and sent the answers on WhatsApp for teachers to evaluate.

Back at School

All the children resumed classes at the beginning of October after a brief quarantine. The teachers and children demonstrated a lot of dedication and perseverance in catching up with their studies. With the support of the Community, all the children could write their half-yearly exams successfully in December. Due to the shortened academic year, we couldn’t conduct elections to select student leaders. However, two students from Grade 11 volunteered to be the school representatives. The students also chose the cabinet for the year to assist the representatives with managing the school.

Clubs and Other Activities

Jhamtse Media Club

Our High School Geography teacher and Sports coach, Tenzin D., has started a media club in addition to the after-school activities around music and sports. The media club focuses on teaching children photography, videography, and writing for social media.

Little Socrates Club

Two of our teachers, Sampurna G. and Ophelia L., have organized a club called the Little Socrates Club. They envision this club to be a space where children debate and discuss concepts like beauty, science, religion, philosophy, and more.

Code to Enhance Learning

Four middle school children took part in an online coding program, where each child was taught to code using an app called PocketCode. The children learned to make animation, games, and videos, which can help create awareness of the problems they see around them— like climate change and plastic pollution.

Learning with Smartphones

The digital media platform Better India chose Minoti Singha, our primary school teacher, for a campaign, #LikeATeacher. Better India, in collaboration with smartphone company Nokia, sponsored the program. Twelve teachers were chosen from across India and given four smartphones to be used for the digital empowerment of their students. The students spend an hour in groups listening to audio stories, working on apps like Duolingo, and learning Maths through activities and educational video channels like Khan Academy.