​Today, 29th April the Just One team are distributing mandarins to the approximately 300 students of Shiva Ji Mission School. Each student receives 2 mandarins, and there are huge grins all round. The students here love both the treat of receiving the fruit, and the attention they receive during the Just One teams’ visits.  
 
The school is now almost full for the next year, with all the rooms except for the outdoor classroom now in use. Even half of the principal’s office is now reconfigured to be classroom and office combined. Looking around, there are still many students without uniforms (compulsory for all students in government recognised schools in India) and many looking unfamiliar in their surroundings, but this will have changed by the time the new school year begins in July.   

​Just One arrived at the Shiva Ji Mission School today Saturday 22nd April and again there were parents in the principal’s office discussing enrolment of their children in the school.   The formal start of the next school year will not be until after summer break, in July. However these preparatory months of April and May not only serve to prepare the children for the rigours of the formal upcoming school year, but also allow parents to discuss their children’s education with the schools.  Often this is about deciding on a school, but often for those families at Shiva Ji Mission School it is about understanding the value of education for all children.

The weekend of Easter is like in any other weekend in Varanasi.   The Christian community here is very small, and so most businesses open as normal including government and schools.  Shiva Ji Mission school is no exception, and the Just One team arrive at 10am on the 15th April for their fruit distribution program.
 
The school is still very quiet, with all the 200 students engrossed in their classes. The teacher of the youngest class is seated with the children and they are all listening intently to her.   In other room the teacher walks around the room as the students each read a short piece from their books.  In yet another classroom the teacher is sitting at the back of the room and each student is bringing him their homework for checking and if needed correction.      
 

​Today is just 5 days since our last visit, but already the number of children at the school has increased significantly to about 200.   Today the Just One team is here for the first hot meal of this new school year.  It’s only April 8th, but the hot sun is already blazing down and the school hours have been moved earlier in the day so the children are not walking home in the hottest part of the day.
 

hen the Just One team arrives at the Shiva Ji Mission School today there is an unusual quietness. We can see the children in their classrooms and the teachers walking around the room, but it is much quieter today, Monday 3rd April.
 
We find out that today is essentially the first formal day of a new school year.  The school did open on the previous Saturday but today is the first day of classes. Most of the classrooms are only partially filled except for the kindergarten and pre-Kindergarten rooms. These are full by our standards, but we recognise more students will be accommodated as new students join the school. Many of the 3 and 4 year olds in these rooms look a little stunned  and look around at everything, including the Just One team and the oranges they receive -  with their big round  eyes staring and mouths open.