Children's Day is possibly the most awaited day in a school year. The day children are celebrated and given an opportunity to feel happy and there is general merriment in the school.
This year, the routine takes a slight detour. Much better performance is expected (compared to last year when the special day coincided with talks about the onset of the second wave of pandemic) but there is a general slow down everywhere.
For some, the school has not even begun post the forced closure. "Our school has not even begun yet. It will start after November 15. So, we do not even have the option of conducting it online. Every year, we celebrate Children's Day by hosting fun games and events. Last year, it was online, but this year, the Diwali vacation has been extended. Hence, we do not have the chance to conduct any celebration for the kids," sighed Shared Anju Chopra, a Chemistry teacher from Billabong High School, Santacruz.
Some schools have decided to extend the celebrations to November 15 since November 14 falls on a Sunday. A teacher from the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Navi Mumbai, said that while the celebrations will be on Monday, what exactly the celebrations will be is still not decided. "But last year we conducted something we called a Wishing Event. The school had created a wishing grid last year. It included a collage of all the teachers wishing the children." The same teacher added that the day will begin with a prayer service and the Wishing Event will be part of the day. "Yes, we are talking about dance performances and songs and some other cultural get-togethers but nothing is too fixed now", the teacher said.
Other schools have created unique concepts about celebrations. Veena Shrivastava, principal of Gopi Birla School, Mumbai shared a unique 'celebration' calendar with FPJ. "Every last Friday of the month, we celebrate an event. So this November, the last Friday falls on the 26th. That is when we will be celebrating Children's Day as well as a welcome day for pre-primary teachers. There will be a live Zoom session and cultural events will be relayed to students. A slide show will explain the significance of Children's day to the pupils and later we will have an animal puppet show too. This show is to spread the message "Unity is strength" to children. Lastly, there will also be a magic show to keep the kids excited".
Some schools have already celebrated Children's Day earlier since it falls on a Sunday this year. Madhu Singh, the principal of Billabong High International School, Malad, said that for the teachers, it was about communicating happiness and fun to our children who have been away from us for so long. And so we came together as a group of 100 + teachers and danced happily to Iko Iko. We also put a hilarious spoof on what goes in an online classroom. And we sent this to our students. We can imagine the glee that must have been on our students' faces to see their dear teachers matching their steps to the latest music. It was all about making children feel that all is happy and fine, and this is the environment you are going to return to."
Ms Singh added that on the Eve of Children's Day at 11.00 AM, customized greetings and videos were sent to every child by their teacher. All sections Pre-primary, Primary, Middle, and Secondary celebrated Children’s Day with full fervour in unique attire. Pre-primary and EYP sections were dressed in the under the retro theme, Grade 3 to 5 were in pyjamas, Grade 6 and 7 wore funky headgear and Grade 8 to 10 students were entertained by teachers by displaying pre-recorded videos talking about pandemic norms."
Most schools ideated on recorded shows which were sent to the children via Zoom. Dr Kavita Nagpal, the principal of Orchids International School, Masjid Bunder said that she first addressed all the students and then sent them recordings. These had teachers engaged in dance and song. Teachers also recorded greetings in three different languages, including French. School coordinators also contributed by performing on the title song of Shaktiman in a bid to cheer up the students".
