Sita School Update

Manish R Babladi

Asha-SV

Aug, 2013

Background • Sita School started in 1975 at Dasarahalli (Bangalore district) to address the

problem of many local children not going to school and dropping out of school for lack of money or flexibility in mainstream schools to accommodate children with special needs

• At Sita School, children can enter at any level and are encouraged to learn at own pace without exam pressure with emphasis of practical work, observation, and experimentation

• In addition to learning mainstream education like math, science, social studies, children also learn clay work, tailoring, needlework, printing, first aid, food, health, gardening etc.

• School tries to focus on child’s imagination by cultivating in them a sense of wonder, appreciation of surroundings, health, nature respect for one another and environment

• Thus, preparing many children either to enter mainstream education at high school stage or enabling them acquire skills to improve quality of life as they grow

• Link: http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=926

Background

• Total number of children: 29

– Three students between ages 4 to 5 years

– Eleven students between ages 6 to 9 years

– Fourteen between 10 to 13 years

– One kid 20 years

• Children come in at 8AM and start with cleaning, community work, games etc before class start

– Prayer at 9:30AM

– Classes from 9:45AM to 3:30PM

– Elder kids stay until 5PM for quite reading

– All kids get ragi malt drink at 11AM, lunch break at 1PM and snack at 3:30PM

– Computer sessions are held on Mondays and Tuesdays

List of Students NAME DATE OF BIRTH FATHER/GUARDIAN’S NAME

1 Sruti 2-11-2000 Santosh

2 Sagayamary 10-1-2001 Sebastian Raj

3 Madhu 6-7-2001 Jemi

4 Anup Christy A 25-11-2000 Antony Raj

5 Ajay Sagar 05.10.2000 Arogyaswami

6 Priya Velangani 13-3-2001 Arogyaswami

7 Madhu Jayant 15-4-2003 Arogyaswami

8 John Peter 2003 Arulappa

9 Dominic 12-12-2003 George

10 Vasant Kumar 17-1-2004 Gerald Kumar

11 Anusha Mary 1-1-2002 Antony Raj

12 Manish 9-9-2004 Kiran

13 Vijay Bernard 02.03.2002. Arogyaswami

14 Divya Sparsha 11-5-2005 Antony Raj

15 Shobha 3-10-2003 Antonswami

16 Chandan 29-5-2003 John Peter

17 Manoj Kiran 15-6-2002 Hrudya Raj

18 Antonswami 23-12-2005 George

19 Lakshmi 14-4-2006 Manoj

20 Kiran 2005 Mariappa

21 Sumukha 19-05-2007 Ramachandran

22 Arun 2005 Arulappa

23 Rowan Prakash 24-4-2008 Kiran Sahi

24 Edwin 11-11-2005 Anthony Raj

25 Arpita 15-12-2006 Atonyswami

26 Sneha 2007 Anthony Raj

27 Sania Khan 26-10-2009 Salim Pasha

28 Jacob 20-12-2007 Joseph Mani

29 Abhilash B 27-04-1993 Balaraj

• At present school is supporting nine children in the High School – five are in the 10th class and four in the 9th

• Five children will be appearing for the 10th std in April 2014

• Two children passed their 10th standard in April of this year

• One of them is continuing his studies in a nearby college and the other one is exploring the possibility of some vocational training

Recent Update (2012 – 2013)

• Friday free choice period continues – cooking, science experiments and rangolis have been some of the favorite activities. In the picture below Madhu and John Peter are showing their windmill

• Village history project continues

– The village history project, has become wider and richer with every month. Children chose their favorite place in the village, and used that as a center for observation – listening, looking, and imagining what that same spot would have been like in the past (as well as what it might be in the future). When all the favorite spots had been thoroughly investigated and described, the children made a map of the village that incorporated all of them.

– Another focus of the project has been people and memories. Interviews with long-term residents of the village and other memories and stories were written up, richly illustrated, and collected in a book.

Recent Update (2012 – 2013)

• Teacher’s day was celebrated in Sept 2012. All children participated without adult supervision giving them an opportunity to work independently in a group

• Diwali preparations included lantern-making, choreography and dance practice, rangoli in the courtyards and leaf garlands in the classrooms. On the second night of Diwali the children performed a story

Recent Update (2012 – 2013)

• Visit to Thulir – The children had a wonderful visit with another Asha-funded

alternative education project in Tamil Nadu last August. Despite language barriers the children found much in common, and shared games, songs, and ideas for handcraft projects.

– The visit was also a good opportunity for the children to take a comparative look at village infrastructure and culture. Among other things, they investigated how people in this new setting are getting energy, what food they grow and what food they eat, what their houses are like, and what games they play.

• Creative writing – – Recently, children have been engaged in creative writing and

presentation where they were asked to speak on the role they play as a person, animal, or object. Children chose subjects such as rats, lorry drivers and an unwashed pot

Recent Update (2012 – 2013)

• Sita School continues to host a wide range of visitors. Each enriches our experience in some way. Here are details on just a few of the visits that have happened in the last few months. – Azim Premji Foundation – Jane continues to teach and advise at the

APF. This time, APF visitors came to Sita School both to observe and to talk about possible use of Jane’s latest Everyday English textbook.

– Asha Team runners – A group from Team Asha visited in December for a fun day of running and games. The children also reported on some of their favorite projects.

– Autistic Section of the Spastic Society – A number of kids with autism had a great time with Sita students, sharing in a clay workshop and playing non-competitive games with a colorful silk parachute.

– RVEC Teachers’ Training College – Staff and students of the RVEC visited for a discussion about inclusion (from a language perspective). They are in the process of designing D Ed & B Ed programs, and were grateful for the opportunity to learn and witness the language learning process at Sita School.

RTE update

• Jane is currently not registering Sita School under RTE, although the school with the size and infrastructure would be difficult if not impossible to qualify under RTE

• Jane is applying for National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) accreditation - it's not the same as registration but is a way of being transparent to the government, and it allows the schools some time to see how RTE develops

2013-2014 Budget

Items Budget 2013-2014 Budget 2012-2013

One teacher @ Rs. 8,500 per month (Sarojini) 102,000 84,000

One teacher @ Rs. 5,000 per month (Sumlata) 60,000 78,000

One teacher @ Rs. 8,500 per month (Rebecca) 102,000 78, 000

One teacher @ Rs. 7,000 per month ( Jane ) 84,000 66,000

Educational Materials: Stationery and Craft 25,000 12,000

Books and Periodicals 3,000 3,000

Children’s Welfare Food 125,000 75,000

Health 15,000 5,000

Administration and Establishment

Repairs and Maintenance 30,000 25,000

Garden maintenance @ Rs. 6,000 per month ( Joseph ) 72,000 66,000

Accounting and office work 30,000 30,000

Post and Communication 600 600

Towards uniform 10,000 10,000

Contribution to SEE 3000 3000

Transport 5,000 0

Repair and Maintenance 0 25,000

Honorarium 0 36,000

TOTAL 641,600 518,600

2013-2014 Budget

Note

• Materials and food costs continue to escalate

• Any other expenses such as excursions will be met by money that comes into the school account through investments or from workshop account. The interest amount is approximately Rs. 2000-3000 per month

Budget

• Asha-Blore plans to disburse Rs 320,800

• Asha-SV needs to disburse Rs 320,800