Exuberance and warmth of festival month continued as thirteen students from PPS Nabha and twelve students from Sunbeam School Varanasi accompanied by their teachers arrived to participate in the Exchange Programme.
American Field Service (AFS) India started Inter-State Exchange Programme to give regional cultural learning to students of schools within India. The programme facilitates exchange between different schools, giving them an opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages, lifestyles that exist in the country by engaging the students various extracurricular activities and other learning processes such as art, craft, music, dance, calligraphy etc. The average duration of the programme is 5 – 6 days.
The guests were welcomed enthusiastically by the host students who then took them around for a tour of the school followed by a very vibrant interactive session with rest of the students in the sprawling Amphi Theatre of the school. Very interesting itinerary has been chalked out for the guest students during afternoons and evenings of rest of their stay here. Amongst places of visit Mansar, Surinsar, Amar Mahal, Bahu Fort, Akhnoor with its historical sites are some of the highlights. For a taste of Dogra culture, the guest students are being taught regional dances and songs with a visit to the city market for a feel and taste of typical dogra attires and cuisine. The class exchange also includes sports activities, science experiments and jam sessions.
Since Jammu is a city of temples, Raghunath Mandir, amongst others will remain the mainstay of their tour.
Earlier during this session, students of Heritage School Jammu had visited these schools and had returned with many fond memories and new learning. The students are very hopeful that their guests too will have an excellent time here if not better.