10-day long Virtual Summer Camp concluded with fervour and gaiety

For a child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and

any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.” ~ Penelope Leach

St. Joseph’s Sr. Sec School made the summer cool by organising a Virtual Summer Camp, full of activities, enthusiastically attended by students during these unprecedented times of COVID-19 from June 07- June 18, 2021. Students made the most of the golden opportunity that came their way, thanks to the meticulous planning and organising of the Virtual Summer Camp especially curated for them. All the respective Blocks of the school designed an assortment of activities based on the concepts of experiential learning keeping in mind the Multi-Disciplinary Approach for Blended learning. The students had a gala time indulging their innovative and creative selves while choosing activities to participate in. Even the children who were considered to be the wallflowers of their class, blossomed under the praise and encouragement of their teachers and peers and donning their creativity caps, performed ardently. It brought to life the hidden potential of each child.

 The students of Kindergarten, although small in size, have confidence and vigour taller than all. The tiny tots of the school tried their hand on Cooking Without Fire by creating scrumptious treats out of the not so appealing fruits and vegetables. The budding scientists made Spiders Dance on water and became spies to detect hidden letters on paper. Their Creative Brigade stopped at various stations to make Tie and Die handkerchiefs, paint Mugs for Father’s Day, paint T-shirts using vegetable blocks. Their foot-tapping moments in Happy Feet and Musical Melodies was a true feast for the eyes. Despite being home, learning and fun knew no bounds for these inquisitive learners.

School’s Primary 1 Block devised innovative activities that could be done by students with little or no help from their parents. Magic of Music with household things, Creative Craft, Time for Fitness with fun games as well as exploring a few Wonders of science to develop critical thinking were some of the activities enjoyed by the little wonders.

Keeping the inquisitive nature for discovering and exploration alive, amazing activities were organized in the Sparkle with Science Camp by the Primary II Block where students through experiments like Testing Density, Magic of Lemon, etc developed insight into many scientific areas. Children showed their creativity in the Veggies go Crazy activity, displaying My Aqua Museum which was exclusively designed by them. A plethora of activities was articulated for them ranging from ‘Weaving Words’, ‘Sensory Bag’, ‘Dictogloss’ to ‘Nostalgic Family Relics’. The Little Chefs with great pride displayed their delicacies like Minty Limeade, Pasta Freda, Magic Balls, Pudding Delight. The Monster Maths was made easy by making the Prime Number Express train and a Multiplication Pyramid.

The Middle Block saw students converted into little chefs, and budding orators. Mathematics, Science, and Art and Craft activities proved that life skills can be learned with fun learning. Rebus Puzzles, Spin- an-Exercise, Rang-Manch took the students into an entirely different world, contributing to their physical and mental health positively.

‘There is always that one summer that changes you.’ And this is the summer of 2021. The Secondary Block of the school also organized camp activities namely, ‘Art Vista’, ‘Mind-Blowing Science’ ‘Toody Foody’, ‘Speak to Lead ‘, and ‘Dream N Act’ to bring together something from all the areas and give a holistic experience to the young Josephians.

Keynote Speakers stole the limelight in Adolescents Edutainment Camp organized by the Senior Secondary Block of the school. Visionaries and eminent speakers from different walks of society gave life lessons to the youth willing to bring a change in the world they live in.

The whole Josephian fraternity learned to beat the monster of summer with their creativity and out-of-the-box ideas to help the inquisitive learners use technology most constructively and to prove that technology is like a weapon in the hands of an enlightened soul.

The students, as well as parents, appreciated the great effort of the school in providing the panorama of activities to students to tap everyone’s taste and preferences. The school Management, Director Shri Rupinder Grewal, Mrs. Harjinder Kaur, Mr. Sukhdeep Grewal and Mr. Paramdeep Grewal commended the teachers’ efforts in putting their heart and soul into making the Virtual Camp efficacious.

The School Principal said that young children have an ocean of hidden talent amongst them which can’t be taught. But it can be awakened. Participating in the Camp has done just that. The students enjoyed a lot and were raring to go, keen to showcase their talent. What was amazing was their urge to perform and present their learning in the form of posters and videos. She further stated that it encouraged experiential learning, with the Josephians actually tapping into their inherent creativity and expressing themselves freely without the fear of failure or repercussions. She also thanked parents for trusting and supporting the school in all its endeavours and ensured to keep working with the same spirit to transform the lives of young learners.

The Camp was definitely a success going by the overwhelming response and positive feedback by the students! All the activities were great learning experiences for the students who were brimming with confidence at having achieved their goal of expressing themselves with poise, which they felt had hitherto been a daunting task, thus, proving the saying –

‘Confidence is a super power – once you start believing in yourself MAGIC happens!’  to be absolutely right.