Coimbatore: It was when the routine online classes and restrictions to step out of the house had driven Saharsh Subash, a Class XI student, almost to the brink of boredom that his school Yellow Train announced the plans to organize activities for the students on its premises. The very news brought cheers to Saharsh, who has been longing to meet his friends and play on the school grounds as they used to do before the lockdown.
He says, “Ever since I heard the news I was looking forward to the day with a lot of excitement as it has been nine months since I visited the school and met my friends. On Saturday, most of us gathered together on the school campus. Our teachers conducted a few activities, including a fitness test. Then, we were allowed to play on our own and we played football. Now, I am eagerly waiting for the next similar opportunity.”
While his outing to the school lasted only for a few hours, according to Saharsh it was a welcome relief from his monotonous lifestyle post lockdown. “I feel refreshed and don’t feel as stressed out as before.”
To entertain and motivate the students, private school managements have been organizing similar events amid the tight schedule of online classes. While some schools have included extracurricular activities as part of the online class schedule and been conducting virtual competitions, others have been organizing outings to schools. Another initiative is books on the wheels – mobile libraries will visit the students’ locality, allowing them to pick a book of their choice.
Ezhil Saravanan, communication and admission coordinator, Yellow Train, says, “The nine-month gap has exhausted the students. They are longing to meet their teachers and visit the school. It was to give them a bit of school experience that we arranged the ‘picnic’ to the school. It is the first step taken by the school management to get rid of their anxiety caused by the pandemic.”
K K Ganesh, principal, ELGI Matriculation Higher Secondary School, says extracurricular activities are a must to keep the students’ spirits alive. “It will entertain and motivate them.” The school has set apart an hour to teach the students extracurricular activities like music, arts and sculpture making once a week. It also conducts virtual competitions regularly.
Sujatha Ramakrishnan, assistant headmistress, SBOA Matriculation Higher Secondary School, says such events would help the students relax and energize themselves. “Without extracurricular events, it is difficult to hold their attention on academics.” The school has been conducting virtual competitions every week, in addition to holding a session to explain the rules of several games.