Start of new school year on march 4, 2013
'Hurray, school year starts finally!' shouted 23 newly registered pupils. 'We are real schoolchildren now!' remarked Abishek who is now in the 1st
grade of the primary school.
Yes, the first children that started in our school are now transferred from nursery to primary school.
In particular we are glad that all children being in need and having a sponsorship can continue visiting our school. All sponsors remained true to
our association.
Our school manager reported on another happy event: Sneha who had a leg surgery last spring (report under school year 2012) managed the
long steps to the school and will participate in school as usual.
73 children are attending St. Anthony's School now. There are the following five classes:
- prenursery class with 12 pupils
- nursery class with 15 pupils
- lower kindergarten class with 11 pupils
- upper kindergarten class with 23 pupils
- 1st primary class with 12 pupils
Two assistant teachers were hired. They support our teachers in the nursery and upper kindergarten class. Ms Sapkota took over the
responsibility for a lower kindergarten class after working as assistant teacher for one year.
Mr. and Ms. Madaus continue financing our snack and milk project. The children get a cup of milk and fruit or an egg every day thanks to their
donation.
April 2013
Writing contest in 1st class, lower and upper Kindergarten classes.
May 2013
Singing contest
June 2013: Environment Day
On June 5th we participated in the UN Day of Environment. Our school engaged in several activities: pupils of the 1
st
class, upper kindergarden
and lower kindergarden all hiked up the steep path to the central place in Darjeeling called Chowrasthal. They carried numerous banners with
the pivotal messages.
At the central place we started a garbage collection campaign. The surprise of the day was the fact that the local TV was present filming the
campaign and interviewing several pupils. The show was on air in the evening.
July and August, 2013
Our President Stephanie Lücking spent 3 weeks in Darjeeling to see the place and what was going on at the school, how it had developed,
check the finances. She also wanted to make house calls etc. There are also aquite a few tasks that should be done together with another
person like talking to the lawyer about buying a piece of land. Of course the nicest thing always is to spend time at the school and see the highly
motivated pupils in class, at breaks, when dancing and playing. The first day already came with a highlight: It had taken a whole year to build an
even schoolyard at the steep mountain. Finally at the end of June the project could be completed and the new schoolyard could be opened with
a nice ceremony. Each class performed a dance, a song or a poem. It was wonderful. The teachers and our principal held speeches and
thanked for the support and work of our society in Germany and for our donations which essentially made the extension of the school possible.
Who would have thought that at the very beginning in February of 2009!
In the course of the week Stephanie Lücking attended every morning gathering where the pupils meet. She was impressed by the progress the
pupils made and how enthusiastic the teachers did their job. It was fascinating for Stephanie to see how curious the pupils are and how eager
they are to learn and how well they perform at age 3 to 7.
Our school keeps growing and growing. Now we have 74 pupils who are taught by 5 teachers, 2 teacher´s aids and one music and dance
teacher. Our oldest pupils now attend the 1
st
class, the other ones attend one of the 4 kindergarten classes.
September of 2013
The general strike is still going on with short intermissions. Public life has come to a complete hold. Stores, banks, public services are shut
down. There are no markets and schools are closed. Cars are not allowed to be used except for ambulances, milk and water carriages etc. To
feed our pupils hunger for educationat least a little bit our principal organized exercise sessions of 2 hours every day at varying places. Pupils
who live close to the school building use rooms there. Those who live farther away gather at the house of a teacher. Using this method 90% of
our pupils could be reached according to our principal. Today we received the good news that starting September 13
th
the schools may reopen.
Streets without cars in Darjeeling. All the children enjoy the extra space for playing. The streets turn into soccer and cricket fields.
Now the strike is over without a compromise, tho. Life in Darjeeling has come back to normal.
Like most private schools our school offers lessons on Saturdays now, too. In addition the amount of lessons tought has been raised to
compensate for the time lost during the strike. The next highlight is pending: On October 10
th
we will have a sports festival celebrating the new
school yard. And in the beginning of November there will be a fall festival.
October of 2013
On October the 10th we celebrated our first sports festival. There were 14 different competitions in which the pupilscould demonstrate their
speed and skills. Our principal said there were about 100 fathers, mothers and grandparents to watch. Everything was great that day: a
wonderful spirit, fun and ambition of the children, sunny weather. It is obvious that this event will be a yearly happening.
