School start on March 5 th , 2012 After a long and cold winter break school finally restarted on March 5 th . This school year we had 4 classes: - Prenursery (6 pupils) - Nursery (9 pupils) - Lower Kindergarten (21 pupils) - Upper Kindergarten (15 pupils) Because Mrs. Basnet left for a different kind of job, Mrs. Megha Rai was hired. In addition, Mrs. Bimita B.K. helps Mrs. Sanjeeta Sapkota in the lower Kindergarten class as an assistant teacher. This large class was able to move into a newly built large classroom that was finished in October and also has additional benches. Due to a new donation from Mr. and Mrs. Madaus the snack- and milk-project can be continued this year. Each child receives a cup of milk and a piece of fruit or an egg. Sneha has had successful surgery Sneha Gurung is a pupil in the Upper Kindergarten class who was operated on mid March in the Darjeeling Hospital. She had severe difficulties walking after a fracture in here leg which was not treated in her early childhood. After the headmaster of the school had investigated the options for surgical and assured the financial coverage, the parents consented  to a medical examination. The surgery was performed on March 19 th  in the Darjeeling Hospital. 4 days later the whole teacher team already visited her along with her fellow pupils Abhishek, Neha, Kunal, Priyanjali and Sunaina. They all wished for Sneha to be able to return to school as quickly as possible. Teachers, parents and pupils had organized a big fund raising party. Plus: Snehas godparents contributed a large sum, so the hospital and surgery fees could be paid for. In March the lower and upper Kindergarten classes conducted a painting contest. Christina´s painting won. She is 5 years of age and attends the lower Kindergarten class. April 2012 First Aid Class First Aid Class was held for all teachers of St. Anthony´s School on April 2 nd . The teacher of the class was Jens Bongert, a medical student from Germany. He did a 4 week internship at a hospital in Darjeeling. Project concerning “garbage” Stephanie Mertens organized a project concerning “garbage” on April 27 th . Stephanie is a volunteer at our school. In the morning all the children from upper and lower Kindergarten gathered to collect garbage around the school. Everybody who has been to India can imagine how fast the sacks filled. In addition 10 garbage bins were painted and installed at the driveway to school. After this project all the pupils and parents gathered in the school yard. Some pupils and their teachers had prepared a play. The head of school and the volunteer held speeches to raise awareness for the topic of garbage also with the parents. At the end of the event there was a lunch package including sweets for the children to their great joy. At the end of April there was a writing contest in the lower and upper Kindergarten classes. In the LKG Khusboos (age 4) won the first prize, Princes (age 4) won the second prize. In the UKG Smritis (age 9) won the first prize and Shradhas ( age 5) won the second prize. May 2012 At the end of May there was a singing contest. The children sang with great joy in the school yard with a microphone and seemed to be without any shyness. July 2012 Our 1 st  President Stephanie Lücking spent 3 weeks in Darjeeling: “Despite the daily rain and the thick fog that veils the Himalayan mountains I enjoy being here”, she says. “I came here to see the kids in our small St. Anthony´s School, to pay house visits and to organize some things for the future of our school. On the first day I was greeted with a small program. Abhishek, age 6, gave a welcome speech. Katrina presented a traditional dance and then our school song written by a teacher was sung. Again I´m astounded to see the progress our school has made and how well the children develop here. This has been made possible by our 5 teachers who are so spirited and by the 2 assistants and last but not least our extremely energetic principal Rohit Pradhan who shows an extraordinary sense of responsibility. Of course, without financial aid we would not be able to pay our teachers salaries, for the books and materials etc. To put it simply: Without the contributions from Germany this school would not and could not exist. Which means that especially those kids from underprivileged families would have no chance for a good education. The new school year started in March and in the meantime everyone feels well and at home. Everybody mastered the first school half year. The pupils of LKG and UKG have received their report cards. The pupils of the play group and the nursery class don´t get report cards yet. The school is very demanding for all the children. Whenever I visit the classes in session I notice how eagerly the children participate in the teaching process, how interested and ambitious they are and that they do everything with great joy that evolves into the breaks, too,  when they play, do sports or participate in special activities like the tree plantation project which took place in the ecology week in mid July.” August 2012 On August 15 th  teachers and students celebrated “Independence Day”. At the end of August there was a dance contest. The winner was Raspana Thapa, member of the playgroup/Prenursery. . continued back