March has been a very exciting month for the Edelweiss School. Not only has the school been visited by special friends but a new play area has been added  for the kids. AlphaBet Club volunteers – Giles, Diego, Yana and Laura along with Troy visited the school and were overwhelmed at the students’ performances and the organized structure of the school.  They were thrilled to see the maintenance of the school environment compared to the slums the children came from.

Attendance and Nutrition
No. of students enrolled: 123

Total number of meals served this month: 4,073

Average attendance: 80

Attendance in %: 83%

Number of Students Enrolled (ASP): 29
Total breakfasts served: 1,992
Total lunches served: 1,630
Total meals served at ASP
(After School Program): 451

Total number meals served since opening at Edelweiss: 99,493
Total ABC-BB School partnership meals since opening: 142,444

Our friends from the AlphaBet Club inaugurated the roof top play area and the children were literally jumping with joy when they saw many new things put up for them to play with – the new play area was kept a surprise for the students!

Another volunteer from AlphaBet Club Amsterdam, Yana, visited the Edelweiss and Freesia Schools as well as the student’s homes and met the Building Blocks staff.

The after school program, ASP, was extended to many new graduating students this month, the attendance rose considerably. The AlphaBet Club is paying for the transportation of these few graduating students to attend the ASP as this was the main reason for them not attending. These are the children who indeed require more help and attention.

In March we also surpassed the monthly record of meals served at AlphaBet Club – Building Blocks Edelweiss and Freesia Schools, with 8,033 nutritious meals served.

This month also saw many beautiful colors, it was the celebration of the Indian festival of Holi which marks the arrival of Spring! . All the staff, the students and guests had a fun time playing with colors on the school roof top!

In academics, the children were taught the concepts of Time and Money. An interesting activity was done for them to understand how money was withdrawn from a cash point.  The teacher took them to a nearby ATM and showed them.

They also did a role-play to learn the concept of depositing money in a bank.

The students were taught about many different insects and their life-cycles.  One such example was that of a Butterfly – different stages of its life-cycle.

The K4 children learned about the body parts and a review of all the 42 words sounds in Jolly phonics. They also reviewed their Genki English lessons – community helper, health and safety – how to keep a cold from spreading.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – and that’s why the kids from Edelweiss were taken for a day trip to a park in the bus that was sponsored by the AlphaBet Club. They had lots of fun there and enjoyed their day.

All in all – a great month, lots of fun and surprises! Almost the end of school – the teachers are reviewing the curriculum with students in preparation  for their final exams in the month of April.