Principal's Message
Dear Teachers/Parents/Students, Greetings from Holyangels’ school. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a new strain discovered in 2019, which had not been previously identified in humans, has thrown up new challenges across the globe and India is no exception. The national lockdown imposed to check the spread of the novel coronavirus literally and suddenly shut down our schools indefinitely. The worst affected section among the people, is our students. All of a sudden an entire generation of children has seen their education interrupted. But the introduction of online learning by schools is a commendable initiative which can actually ensure that learning remains on track. With e-learning in its nascent stage in our school, are children receiving in-depth education in the digital mode or is it just that they are spending a little too long time in front of the computer or mobile phone screens? Are children happy to attend online classes? It has come to light that many parents have to sit with students of lower classes to make the online classes workable. But it is often not feasible with most of the working parents. In several cases, teachers too have been stressed out due to unfavourable reactions from students and parents. These are genuine queries and concerns by the stake holders in education. We have neither easy answers nor easy way out. Our concerns are well-founded. After all children enjoy fun and frolic in school. Digital learning is a good option to keep school going children engaged but we admit, it has many limitations: online teaching takes time; It cannot replace many of the informal social interactions children have at school; Apart from the excitement present in the real class room, the greatest advantage of face-to-face teaching is eye contact; Both are woefully absent in e-learning. The apprehension and anxiety of many a parent is that online classes have increased the screen time of students. Before lockdown, if most youngsters spent time on social media/online games, now they seem to spend additional time staring at their mobiles. It is not only online classes. It is followed by completing assignment and tuitions which have also gone online. However, it would be unwise to discard the concept of online classes lock, stock and barrel. At a time when education has been thrown off the track, it is the only viable alternative. Covid 19 has in fact given an opportunity to test the waters. To make the new teaching method successful, all of us must broadly focus on the new normal. Have a great time ahead!!
Fr. Justin Joseph, Principal.