Eat well, live well

We remain plentifully pleased with hundreds of parents to have trusted our school as the best International Residential School in Coimbatore. A dorm parent (especially at MIS) has more of an invested role. We care for our children to such an extent that we treat them like our own. There’s a lot more that goes into this. We make sure:

• They’re eating right
• Sleeping well
• Studying
• Taking their medication (if they’re on any)
• Speaking to their parents and not dismissing their calls
• They have a healthy social life
• And they aren’t going through emotional trauma and aren’t talking about it.

Here are a few things that our dorm parents do to ensure our engagement with the children is effective and has a positive impact:

Engaging in conversation:

We provide them with dorm treats and snacks, which include all sorts of food and drinks. During this time we make sure to sit with them and have a great time, but also talk about what’s going on in their lives. They talk to us about their day, what subjects they’re having difficulties with, which classes they enjoy the most etc. Sometimes (when we’re talking one-on-one) they open up about their personal lives as well, sometimes just to be heard, to vent, and sometimes to seek advice from us. Swollen with pride to have earned the trust of parents as one among the best residential schools in Coimbatore, we’re also very careful about what advice we give and think twice about what we say.

News from home or elsewhere:

Generally when good news comes from their hometowns we share in their enthusiasm, but when its bad news, we spend a lot of time with them, counseling them, talking to them etc. We’re available to them whenever they feel like talking.

A go-between:

We serve as “go-betweens” for our children and their teachers. When a teacher feels like they can’t get through to a child or want to know if the child is going through something that would explain their behavior, they’d contact the dorm parent. The child would invariably be going through an emotional phase or have something else on his/her mind; or even just be very distracted. This is when we step in and conclude if it’s a personal matter or not and deal with it accordingly.

Sickness:

When students fall ill, we’re almost always up all night making sure it doesn’t graduate to something more dangerous or contagious. If that does happen, we call for the school van to take them to the hospital. If it’s not a serious problem we provide them with basic medicines prescribed by the doctor.

Special Occasions:

We check to make sure they have appropriate clothing & shoes for the specific event, and if necessary, iron & polish them.

Discipline:

We discipline them when they make a bad choice; teach them what is right and wrong and give them appropriate consequences as and when necessary.

Hygiene & Cleanliness:

We make sure every student takes a shower, make their bed in the morning, keeps their room neat and clean, keeps their shoes polished or dusted, separates their dirty clothes from their clean ones, etc. Hygiene is a very integral part of our daily routine.

• Academic: During exams we generally stay up with the children or have an ear out for them while they study. We make coffee for them at odd hours to help them stay up but also make sure they get sufficient sleep before their exam. When deadlines have to be met and the child needs extra time, we give them leeway to stay up a little longer to complete their assignment.
• A day before the holiday we ensure to get the required documents from the travel department.
• Money from the accountant’s office.
• On day of departure makes sure student carry along their documents, including the school ID which many of them tend to forget.
• Follow up with them or their parents till they reach home.
• Stay awake till early morning as per their departure/arrival time assigned by travel office.
• Dorm meeting: There’s a dorm meeting held once a week where important announcements are made and issues are discussed. Everyone’s given a chance to voice their opinions on certain things, be it dorm life, classmates, an academic or teacher related issue or even small issues concerning their rooms or beds or various necessities.
• Weekdays and weekends: On weekdays the children usually come back to the dorm, leave their books/bag etc., change into their shorts or tracks and head to the playground to play Cricket, Football, Basketball or any other sport they may be interested in. At 8 pm they have dinner and are back in dorm soon after.