Heralding a new beginning

KOCHI: For Sinal Mohammed, June 1, 2011, was a turning point in his life. After waking up at five in the morning, this four-year-old had been pleading with his mother to take him to school quickly. It was his first day at GGHS School.Like Sinal, hundreds of children took their first steps to school on Wednesday braving the rain. It has been an atmosphere of jubilation in the schools. The little ones were welcomed with bands, songs, and sweets. "This sort of welcoming is a good concept. Usually on the first day, you will find all the kindergarten children crying and trying to run away but now the atmosphere is different. They are entertained by these programmes," said Sreeja whose daughter was admitted to the Government Girls Higher Secondary school on Tuesday.But that does not go for everyone. "Some of them start crying when they see the crowd and then the others join in. Many of them like to have their parents around. So this time we took only the Class I students to the functions," said Gracy Peter who has been teaching the kindergarten students for the last 16 years. The teacher's words couldn't have been truer. As the class began with 'Johnny Johnny' and 'Twinkle twinkle', one finds many of them timidly looking through the window at their parents standing outside. Some went one step further. Three-year-old Arya has been tugging at her mom's duppatta, pulling her right into the middle of the class. But even through her tears she managed to repeat a few nursery songs with her teacher.