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LUMEN | COVID-19 PANDEMIC - TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE WORK , STUDY , PLAY AND LIVE
Make Hay Every Day in May
Anirudh Arun ( MN618 ) reflected on his volunteering encounter , “ This experience was one that was truly touching , enriching and one that brought out the child in me . I was tasked with helping my charge improve his reading skills and vocabulary , and I gave my best effort trying to help him make the most out of the four days I had with him . I made sure to reiterate all the important points that my charge had to take note and improve on while reading , such as the pronunciation of words , his articulation , and his pacing while reading and expression . He also managed to learn many new words and their meanings . I would revise whatever he had learnt from the
By Anirudh Arun and Mrs Lorraine Vastel
Josephians participated in an e-reading programme to support Primary School students when Home-Based Learning became the new model for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic . Titled ‘ Make Hay Every Day in May ’, the programme quickly garnered within a day 65 enthusiastic Josephians who volunteered to befriend and read to a younger brother or sister for a duration of about 15 to 20 minutes twice or thrice a week during the May holidays .
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Under this programme , SJI collaborated It was an experience with Greenwood Primary School ( GWPS ) for me to work with and Bukit View Primary School ( BVPS ) to a young child , one on help improve their students ’ reading skills and one . There are some vocabulary . Through post-reading activities , little delightful reflections and by thinking together , the primary moments for sure . school kids also learned good morals and made plans on how they were going to achieve their life goals . Ten Josephian volunteers read to ten Bukit View primary school friends over four sessions , while another four read to four Greenwood primary school friends over six sessions .
Through this short volunteering stint , our Josephians not only forged a close bond with the primary school kids but also learned from them too ! They were honoured to have the opportunity to interact , help and grow with them , even though it was for a short period of time .
Dinh Cao Tue ( ML401 ) shared , “ It was an experience for me to work with a young child , one on one . There are some little delightful moments for sure .”
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previous session , so that he would remember them and implement them while reading new passages . The post-reading activities really helped to mold his life and how he was going to achieve his goals and aspirations . He displayed good morals and I encouraged him to continue doing good . I also helped him to think through the few contradicting thoughts and emotions that he had . Although this session was meant to help my charge to become a more proficient reader , I really felt that he was also helping me to grow to be more resilient . I admired how he would never tire of reading the stories over and over again , even when I gave him the option to take a break . His smile and cheerful attitude really did wonders for me ... My charge helped to bring out the child in me , which was a blissful experience that I will never forget . This experience has doubled the love I have for children and reminded me that children ’ s pure innocence are truly a gift from God that we should forever cherish .”
This page ( top right ): Volunteers with GWPS This page ( middle left ): Volunteers with BVPS
This page ( bottom ): Dinesh reads to his younger friend from GWPS