KOCHI: After 18 long months, the 23-year-old Model Residential School at Keezhmad in Aluva is all set to welcome its boys back, this time with its own version of a ‘happiness curriculum’.
Considering the residential school has to go the extra mile to take care of the mental and emotional health of its students, the staff at the school have come up with a ‘holistic approach’ to provide the kids with a homely feeling. The happiness curriculum, which will extend beyond school hours, will comprise activities including music, dance, arts and craft, film reviews and presentations, gardening, and book reading, said A A Ammini, senior assistant at the school.
“Our school caters to the educational needs of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe students from hilly areas of the district. Nearly 90% of the students here are boarders. Once they rejoin, it will be a long time before they get to go back to their homes. We don’t want them to feel like they have suddenly been cut off from their families,” said the teacher.
In this wake, the school staff decided that the best way to help the students settle back into a learning atmosphere is by working on the state government’s happiness curriculum pitch. “The government had recently brought out a set of guidelines regarding the formulation of happiness curricula. We have decided to implement this in the school for the first two weeks from reopening day,” she added.