DARLING, BE DARING: Celebration

Friday, September 16, 2016

Reading Week 2016

Every year Darla school observes Reading Week, and this year too, the reading week commenced from 12th to 17th September. The school organized a-week long series of activities to enhance reading and to understand the importance of reading and the infinite benefits it facilitates in their growth in academics as a student and as a better human in their individual and social life. The theme of this year’s reading was “Dream Big, Read More.” During the week some special reading activities like readers’ theatre, selected reading, random reading, mass reading, etc were initiated so as to facilitate opportunity for more students to take part in the reading activities and thereby develop and inculcate the interest in reading within them. Some activities carried out as a part of reading activities are described below:

Readers’ Theatre

Readers’ theatre was conducted as a competition item between the sections of grade PP-III. It was interesting to see the tiny tots of our school presenting themselves as little narrators and various fanciful characters in their creative costumes and attire as kings, queens, butterflies, birds, etc. Their babbling speeches and sing-song narrations did create an effective ambiance and were appreciated by everyone. The presentations were evaluated based on creativity and coordination and prizes were awarded accordingly.

Random Reading

This reading activity was conducted for students of classes VII – X to check their ability to read Dzongkha and English fluently and their preparedness and confidence to speak before an audience. They were instructed beforehand to be ready with two passages, in English and Dzongkha, and read it out as the coordinator of the day randomly called out their roll numbers in the assembly. The activity went well as we planned and had the desired result.

Selected Reading

This activity was for the students from classes IV-VI. Some of the students who were identified by the teachers were concerned readout either pieces of news or interesting information they wanted to share with their fellow students in the assembly. This activity was also successful though many of the students who came forward couldn’t be permitted to present their reading due to time constraints in the assembly.

Quiz

A mini-quiz of two questions related to books and reading was also initiated to evaluate the students’ awareness of popular books, writers, and some common literary terms. And prizes were awarded instantly to the winners.

Book Talk

As on every Friday, two students presented reviews of an English and a Dzongkha book. The reviews are helping the students to get acquainted with the interesting books in the library and rouse their curiosity to read them.

Mass Reading

To facilitate more time for general reading, an hour was created, on Thursday, by deducting five minutes from each period. So, after the instructional hours all the students and teachers came out to the open, settled in conducive places and read books of their choice for an hour.

We are very happy to note here that all the activities we had envisaged went well, leading this year’s Reading Week into a grand success. It is hoped that our plans for such activities in the future will also meet with the same grandeur and success. Some stills of the reading week:

Friday, April 8, 2016

World Health Day 2016 in Darla School: Step Up: Beat Diabetics

Beat Diabetes

Darla school celebrated World Health Day. The day was marked with many health and hygiene-related activities. In the morning, we had the day’s speech by the health club members, and there the music was played about a healthy song. In the afternoon, the health staff of Darla was requested to give a talk, and upon our request, three staff came and gave wide coverage of health and hygiene issues and care. Teachers and Students from classes VI to 10 gathered in the MPH for the talk. Two health teachers gave a basic health talk to the students of class pp to V in the assembly ground. They also cleaned toilets, water tank,s and water sources. The photos below tell the story of the whole thing.

Giving speech

This was the speech delivered on that day. “Today, 7^th of April is World Health Day. It is celebrated every year on the founding day of the World Health Organization. Established in 1950 this event has a theme each year to draw attention to a current world health issue. On this day, we remind ourselves to take some extra steps to care for your health, spread the news of health and threats, and inform the important issues of global health.

This year, WHO is focusing the World Health Day, on beat diabetics.

Listening passionately

Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. In 2008, an estimated 347 million people in the world had diabetes and the prevalence is growing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

In 2012, the disease was the direct cause of some 1.5 million deaths, with more than 80% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries. WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death by 2030.

There are 2 main forms of diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes typically make none of their own insulin and therefore require insulin injections to survive. People with type 2 diabetes, the form that comprises some 90% of cases, usually produces their own insulin, but not enough or they are unable to use it properly. People with type 2 diabetes are typically overweight and sedentary, 2 conditions that raise a person’s insulin needs.

Over time, high blood sugar can seriously compromise every major organ system in the body, causing heart attacks, strokes, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, impotence and infections that can lead to amputations. It was observed that 2.5% of the population (Male: 2.8%, Females: 2.1%) were known diabetics in Bhutan.

A large proportion of diabetes cases are preventable. Simple lifestyle measures have been shown to be effective in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes. Maintaining a normal body weight, engaging in regular physical activity, and eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of diabetes.

The main goals of the World Health Day 2016 campaign will be to:

Increase awareness about the rise in diabetes, and its staggering burden and consequences, in particular in low-and middle-income countries;
Trigger a set of specific, effective, and affordable actions to tackle diabetes. These will include steps to prevent diabetes and diagnose, treat and care for people with diabetes; and
Launch the first Global report on diabetes, which will describe the burden and consequences of diabetes and advocate for stronger health systems to ensure improved surveillance, enhanced prevention, and more effective management of diabetes.”