PRIMARY PRINCIPAL’S COMMUNIQUÉ 3

EFFICACY OF THE E-LEARNING PROGRAMME

In my Communiqué 1, I explained to you the first five Phases of the eLearning programme that have been initiated. In the second Communiqué I explained to you how you should make the maximum use of the eLearning programme. Today I would like to talk to you about the efficacy of the programme.

As you will understand without much explanation, it is mandatory that we should get a good feedback on how successful the programme has been. We need to understand the impact the programme has had on the children and their education, during the enforced long holiday.

ARE THE CHILDREN HAPPY?

Obviously the question above sounds futile. How can children be happy when they have lost so much? No friends, no trips and visits, no playing outdoors and above all no school.

We – the staff of Vidura Primary have done our very best under exceptionally trying circumstances to do everything, to ensure that the adverse impact of Covid 19 is minimized on our children. You will understand that teachers do not have the teaching material with them as the school closed abruptly and the material is inaccessible at school. Some teachers did not have computers to work on and many did not have a way to get internet data and credit. Most did not have the technological know-how to prepare lessons as PowerPoint presentations, then get them voiced and finally converted to video format to be uploaded on the You Tube. Some teachers had their own infants and small children, who did not give them studio like environments, to voice the lessons at home.

However, the teachers of Vidura Primary surmounted all obstacles and have already come out with 75 lessons on the Vidura eLearning Channel on You Tube.

I assume that our dear parents are as pleased as I am, about the commitment and dedication of the teachers. But assumptions have to be verified.

FEEDBACK As the videos on You Tube are meant for children, comments are disabled on the Channel – unlike on our Facebook account.

We have evolved a system now, to get your feedback and to see how the children are getting the best out of our effort.

Given below are newly created email accounts for each section.

VIDURA Colombo

lowernursery-cmb@viduracollege.com
uppernursery-cmb@viduracollege.com
g1-cmb@viduracollege.com
g2-cmb@viduracollege.com
g3-cmb@viduracollege.com
g4-cmb@viduracollege.com
g5-cmb@viduracollege.com

VIDURA Maharagama

nursery-mhg@viduracollege.com
g1-mhg@viduracollege.com
g2-mhg@viduracollege.com
g3-mhg@viduracollege.com
g4-mhg@viduracollege.com

You are requested to send your feedback to the Headmistress of the section in which your child is studying. We will be preparing the third issue of the eMagazine V Dream dedicated to the eLearning programme.

We would like to have the following:

  1. Photographs of children doing various activities assigned by the teachers in the You Tube lessons. The photograph should have the picture of the child as well as the name and class. Please try to send us only one ‘photograph which tells a story’. In other words, the photograph should be interesting. If you send more than one photograph (because you have many interesting photos that tell a story) please send them in separate emails.

  2. If the child has written any poetry, essay, story etc. we would love to have them. Once again a photograph of the child is necessary

  3. The 3rd issue of V Dream will have a special feature called ‘The Wishing Tree’. We would like the children to write their wishes in one sentence.

  4. The 3rd issue of V Dream will also have a parents’ forum. We would like to hear what you parents think about the eLearning programme.

Please send your feedback before Sunday 24 May. Please send the photos with low resolution for easy downloading.

IF YOU CANNOT GO OUTSIDE, THEN GO INSIDE

I came across the profoundly meaningful slogan given above, in the internet. Vidura College (Primary) is a Mindful School. Search and read about Mindful School (සති පාසල) on the internet.

Please see this opportunity as a time that you can practice mindfulness, with your children. Let children of Vidura come triumphantly out of the global lockdown and the Covid 19 pandemic.

Somabandhu Kodikara
Principal (Primary)

19 May 2020