Media Release
Mangaluru, Apr 11: Teaching is one of the most demanding professions in the world and to accentuate the excellence of teachers it is important to conduct regular enrichment programmes for their mental and emotional rejuvenation.
Manipal School in collaboration with the Catholic Association of South Canara (CASK)organised a teacher enrichment programme on April 7 at MCODS, Attavar. Celebrating womanhood and remembering the strong women all over the world, the day began with the lighting of the lamp while the song 'Carry Your Candle' was being played in the background. Principal Anuradha Shivaram welcomed the gathering and resource persons captain Vincent Pais, president – CASK; Patsy Lobo – vice president; and Dr Derek Lobo.
The president of CASK, capt Vincent Pais then addressed the gathering where he highlighted the activities of CASK which was followed by brief introduction of all the resource persons for the day by Patsy Lobo. She then started off with the first session of the day on ‘Collective Mindfulness’. She stressed on the importance of being optimistic and enhancing relationship with self and others.
The second session on 'Effective communication skills and Public speaking' was conducted by Trisha D’souza. She emphasised on the importance of communication skills and gave guidelines to the teachers on basic aspects of public speaking. This session involvedgroup activities which enabled teachers to enhance their creative thinking.
The third session by Dr Laveena Noronha 'Teachers as gate keepers of student mental health' stressed on the importance of addressing mental health issues in students. Awareness on the number of student suicides cases in India were made. Teachers were also informed about the 24-hour Helpline that was available to address mental health concerns.
Dr Derek Lobo who conducted the next session 'Teacher – The Leader' emphasised that education system should be creative and skill based. He said that the aim of education should not be limited to just scoring in examinations but should focus on holistic and comprehensive development of students. He said we need to makeconscious efforts to guide students in choosing their career and applauded the school for conducting the career awareness programme for the middle school too.
The next session on 'Personal Financial Management' was conducted by Nubert Shenoy who guided the teachers towards different approaches of investments. He advised the teachers to plan their budget and invest in savings.
The final session of the day conducted by Manoj Fernandes on 'Privacy is a myth- Cyber Safety' comprised of various internet safety topics like the reach of social media, the safety of images, data posted online, and the importance of installing a paid anti-virus software on all devices. Possibilities of personal information being vulnerable were highlighted. Teachers were also made known of the available precautionary measures to stay safe from falling prey to the cyber-crime.
The Teacher Enrichment Programme was concluded by Mrs. Patsy. To motivate the teachers, each one of them were awarded certificate and a memento which was etched with special note of appreciation. Shibani Trikannad proposed the vote of thanks and expressed gratitude on behalf of all staff of Manipal school.
With the belief 'Always Learning', Manipal school teachers always look for opportunities to educate themselves and update their knowledge. Such programmes stands true to the belief and is an effective way to learn and a better way to retain knowledge!