Stabilizing teaching in the eye of the storm

GD&TĐ - Schools in flood-affected areas have received timely support and companionship from local authorities, many units, forces, and from colleagues and students in less damaged areas.

That involvement has given schools the strength to make efforts and determination to recover after natural disasters, stabilize teaching and learning, and let the bustling voices of students return under the roofs of schools that still bear the scars of storms and floods.

Rise after the flood

19/5 Kindergarten (Phan Dinh Phung Ward, Thai Nguyen) is expected to welcome students back to school on October 14, and at the same time, deploy boarding. Previously, storm No. 11 caused all learning and care and education equipment of 16 classrooms to be completely submerged in mud and damaged. The library, kitchen and many functional rooms were seriously affected. In this situation, the school received active and timely support from many units, especially police and military soldiers.

“The forces worked day and night, working in deep mud, supporting washing, drying, and disinfecting school supplies for children. The water source for daily life was guaranteed, while drinking water was taken advantage of by volunteer groups. Thanks to the cooperation of the units, the cleaning work was basically completed so that the school could operate again,” Ms. Ca Nguyen Linh Phuong - Principal of 19/5 Kindergarten emotionally shared.

At Quang Vinh Primary School (Quan Trieu Ward, Thai Nguyen ), the school also received attention, support and help from teachers of other schools and especially soldiers of Brigade 346, Air Defense Brigade 210 (Military Region I), fire prevention, firefighting and rescue soldiers of the Provincial Police. The general cleaning and disinfection work of the entire school was completed as planned.

Ms. Ha Thi Quynh - Principal said: The school is extremely grateful to the units that joined hands to support in the most difficult time. Currently, the school campus is clean, disinfected, and safe. It is expected that tomorrow, October 14, we will welcome students back to school after more than a week off due to floods. At the same time, the school will develop a make-up plan to ensure the program.

In Than Sa commune, Ha Son school, part of Than Sa Kindergarten, was flooded up to the roof. The kitchen collapsed completely, and all the boarding equipment such as rice cookers, water purifiers, refrigerators, projectors, tables and chairs, personal belongings, blankets, and beds were all swept away or damaged. Two classrooms with books and toys for the children could not be saved.

“Most of the parents here are poor households, not only their houses but also their rice and property were swept away by the flood. In that situation, we still tried to mobilize all forces, and at the same time received help from many units to actively clean and disinfect the classrooms. The school will welcome children back on October 14, however, the school cannot organize boarding because the conditions of electricity and water sources are not guaranteed,” said Ms. Hau Thi Chinh - Principal of the school.

Than Sa Kindergarten is making efforts to clean up the campus to quickly welcome students back. Photo: Phuong Thao

Ensuring teaching progress

After nearly 2 weeks off due to floods, more than 400 students of Thuan Hoa Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities (Thuan Hoa, Tuyen Quang ) - the unit most heavily affected by storm No. 10 (Bualoi) - returned to school on October 13. Principal Vu Khac Lan said that before welcoming students, the school coordinated with local authorities and support forces to clean and disinfect the entire campus, spraying disinfectant in the classrooms twice to ensure safety.

Regarding the plan to consolidate knowledge, Mr. Lan said: “The students are currently about 10 days behind the program. The school will organize make-up classes on Saturday and Sunday this week, then take the following weekend off to spread out the schedule and ensure the health of the students. About half of the students are boarding students, so parents want to pick their children up on the weekend. Thanks to the attention of the government, the education sector and philanthropists, basic learning conditions are guaranteed at a minimum, although there are still many shortages.”

Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nhung - Principal of Ly Tu Trong Secondary School (Vi Xuyen, Tuyen Quang) said: "The school has 370 students, of which 200 are boarding students. On October 13, all students returned to class. Immediately after the flood receded, in addition to the support force, the Commune People's Committee directed the Health Station to spray disinfectant. After that, the school continued to disinfect itself again to ensure absolute safety for the students."

Class time of teachers and students at Thu Thuy Primary School (Cua Lo, Nghe An) after the storm. Photo: NTCC

Regarding make-up classes, Ms. Nhung shared that the school has temporarily suspended club activities in the 2-session/day teaching plan to reserve time in the afternoon for make-up classes. For now, students will study all day on Saturday, and it is expected that within 2 weeks, all interrupted classes will be completed.

Although the school suffered the most damage in Cua Lo ward (Nghe An) due to storm Bualoi, with the roofs of classrooms blown off and saltwater flooded by high tides, Thu Thuy Primary School welcomed students back after only 5 days off. In the first week after the flood, although still full of hardships, all school activities were stable, including teaching, professional exchanges between teachers, and class union congresses...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet - Principal of the school said: "After the storm, the functional forces and local authorities supported and quickly helped the school to overcome the damage. Thanks to that, the school break did not last too long. The school organized make-up classes on Saturdays and had Sundays off, not creating pressure for students when they first returned to school after the storm.

By this week, we have basically made up for all the lessons that were interrupted due to the storm. Students have also returned to a stable learning rhythm and participated in other activities such as the Math Olympiad via the Internet, thematic flag-raising activities, and the lifelong learning week...

Students of Thuan Hoa B Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities return to class and stabilize their boarding after 2 weeks of interruption due to storms and rains. Photo: Tran Long

Supporting schools in flood-affected areas

The historic flood in Tan Ky commune (Nghe An) forced schools in the area to close for 7-10 days. Ky Tan Secondary School suffered the most damage in the commune when the storm blew off the roofs of 6 classrooms, the administrative building, the library, and collapsed the teachers' garage. After the storm, the flood suddenly came again, causing the school to completely damage 3 TVs, 4 computers, projectors, speakers, water purifiers, and all books and teaching equipment. The total damage after the 2 storms and floods was more than 800 million VND.

Not only the school, but also the students’ families were heavily affected. Ky Tan Secondary School has 10 classes with more than 415 students, but more than 300 students had their homes flooded, their property damaged, and all their books and clothes lost.

After the flood, the school urgently cleaned, disinfected, and resumed teaching. Ms. Phan Thi Nhu Quynh, a teacher at Ky Tan Secondary School, said: “I teach English, so textbooks are very important. However, the TVs in some classes were broken, and most of the students lost their books. Therefore, in the first days back at school, I encouraged students to share books. Teachers also taught the lessons more slowly, writing down details on the board so that students could easily absorb them.”

Immediately after the flood, the Principal of Ky Tan Secondary School (Tan Ky, Nghe An) wrote an open letter calling on units, organizations, and donors to support students and the school to overcome difficulties and stabilize teaching and learning. Through the appeal, the school received more than 50 million VND, including cash and some books and school supplies. The school promptly delivered them to students so that they had enough books to study. However, restoring the facilities is still difficult, because the school's financial resources are limited while the damage is too great.

To share the difficulties with schools, many schools in the province also donated books, notebooks and school supplies to students in flood-affected areas. At Anh Son Secondary School, Anh Son Commune, with the purpose of "Sending love - Giving knowledge", students donated nearly 2,000 textbooks, more than 1,500 notebooks and pens, along with many school supplies and red scarves to send to students in flood-affected areas at Binh Son Secondary School, Thanh Tho Commune.

Meanwhile, at Le Loi Secondary School and Le Mao Primary School (Thanh Vinh Ward, Nghe An), the gifts sent to flood-affected students, in addition to books, also included "blind bags" containing candies, school supplies, and messages of encouragement, hoping that they would soon overcome difficulties and natural disasters to strive to study and practice well.

After storm No. 11, a series of schools in Thai Nguyen province suffered heavy damage to their facilities. Among them, ensuring clean water for students is the top concern.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoc - General Director of Thai Nguyen Clean Water Joint Stock Company said: "We have mobilized all staff and workers to quickly get involved, repair equipment, clear pipes, and ensure water supply to residential areas and especially schools."

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/on-dinh-day-hoc-noi-tam-bao-di-qua-post752635.html