By Fr Jerome Edison for BISMumbai

Don Bosco High School, Makarpura, kick-started the academic year with a four-day orientation programme conducted from 8 to 11 June 2022. This orientation was conducted in order to bring educators back to the offline mode of teaching by giving them guidelines for dealing with students in the post-pandemic era.

The first session was conducted by Mrs Neha Gupta and Mrs Hiran Bagadia from ‘Jolly Phonics’ trained the teachers in extra-curricular activities and phonetics on 8 and 9 June. The teachers were also provided some helpful hints and information on how to use the smart board effectively. Mr Kanan Bharadwaj instructed the Class 3 to 8 teachers about using the ‘Maths Buddy’, an aid to teach mathematics.

Mrs Eugiene Rocky, the school counsellor, conducted the TAT-Instructors Aptitude Test for the teachers. This was intended to help the teachers be more effective, and create room for growth and improvement in teaching.

During the General Staff meeting held on 9 June, the Principal, Fr Glen Fernandes, welcomed the teachers, and gave a detailed explanation of their responsibilities, the school guidelines and the code of conduct.

Later, Fr Mayank Parmar trained the teachers on the various personality types, characteristics, and cognitive functions. He spoke of how these personalities respond and react to different situations. This helped the teachers identify their own personality type, and also that of their students.

On 11 June, Fr Isaac Arackaparambil, the Rector, gave a conference to all the employees. Fr Arackaparambil spoke extensively on the Rector Major Strenna, ‘Do all things by love, nothing through constraint’. The teachers were encouraged to reflect on the ways to inspire students, the alarming developments in students, as well as the need for them to be role models to their students.