Shemrock Blog

VADODARA: In a first of its kind initiative in the state, Vadodara Central Jail authorities have decided to start a creche-cum-playschool for children of the female jail inmates. The school will start from Saturday inside the jail premises and will be inaugurated by MS University vice-chancellor Ramesh Goyal.

“The idea is to provide quality education and environment to children of female inmates. We will provide them with toys, crayons, music CDs, television and writing boards. We will also hire two teachers to impart them education,” said Jayesh Mandaviya, superintendent of Vadodara Central Jail.

“The idea to start such school was floated by IG (prisons) P C Thakur, and he made all efforts to make this project a success. Our jail is the only one in the state that has female prisoners who are serving long term prison,” Mandaviya added.

The central jail at present has 2,268 inmates of which 214 are females. The jail has 32 kids all below the age of six who live with either their mothers or relatives inside the mahila vibhaag’. The jail authorities have also started a medical camp for the inmates and families of the jail officials. “The inmates, jail officials and their families will undergo complete health check up during the camp that is being organised with the help of city’s top hospitals. The health check up includes cardio, skin diseases, kidney-related problems and others,” Mandaviya said.

Article Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/In-a-first-Vadodara-jail-to-have-playschool-for-kids-of-inmates/articleshow/5899735.cms

With a spate of new reforms taking place in the education sector of our country, I have been compelled to take up the pen and put to paper all the recent changes and developments that are affecting us all. Recently with CCE- Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation being implemented in Class IX and above classes, the students will be evaluated for their scholastic as well as co-scholastic performance from next month, resulting in grades instead of marks. This means that schools following CBSE pattern, will henceforth conduct formative and summative assessment of Class IX students in their second term. With two formative and one summative assessment in each term, the weightage of these two assessments in a year will be 40% and 60%, respectively. These formative assessments will be gauged through quizzes, conversations, interviews, oral testing, visual testing, projects, practicals and assignments.

Many schools like DPS Pinjore have since its inception laid stress on co-curricular activities and formative assessments of their students but the other schools which have till date only restricted a child’s assessment to only the paper-pencil test, will face difficulty in adapting themselves to the new pattern laid down by the Board.  Aiming at “holistic assessment of a learner”, the circular issued by the Board stresses that CCE “will motivate learning in a friendly environment rather than in a fearful situation.” With a greater focus on learning rather than teaching to test, DPS Pinjore and a handful of other schools like Shemford Group Of Schools score a point over the others, as they are already following a similar education pattern.

The CBSE Board has also woken up to the need to train its teachers and impart the required teaching practices to its teachers but in private schools like DPS Pinjore, it is mandatory for teachers to complete a set of training modules before joining the school. The basic aim behind this is to ensure that the teachers inculcate the same set of values in their own selves before stepping into the student’s realm and guiding them.

When talking about the latest reforms, why leave behind ICT usage? Use of videogames to make learning more interesting, computer aided teaching and active graphics are rigorously being used these days to grab and sustain the child’s attention. With modern technology getting more advanced day by day, there is an even greater need to introduce the child early on, to this new dimension of education and try and build his interest in the same.

Especially the way in which mathematics is presented to school children, many of them find it a difficult and dry subject. Many national bodies like NCERT and teacher associations like AMTI are making efforts to make mathematics teaching more alluring by organising trainings, workshops, seminars, bringing out journals, producing resource material, conducting Mathematical Olympiads, etc. But all said and done, in the end, the onus of improving the quality of teaching mathematics lies on the individual teacher.

I personally believe that all children are a Goldmine- a goldmine of hidden talents! And the onus of discovering their talents rests not only on the parents but also on the schools. These talents have to be discovered at an early age, when the little buds are still blossoming into flowers. Keeping this in view, the Government has proposed to introduce new courses in the current curriculum being followed at schools all over the country.

With the HRD Ministry all set to introduce new courses in areas like Fine Arts, Music, Carpentry and other skills at the school level, schools are all geared up to cater to the new tidal wave of interests shown in their curriculum by the governing bodies. It is a well known fact that for any industry or sector to flourish, it is very important to have Government support and the reform policies to be actively implemented. With the new Education Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, taking an active interest in the Educational Reforms of the country, India’s Education Sector is set for major reforms that were long pending. The government’s intervention in major issues has sparked a series of intellectual debates among all classes of the society and finally, it seems that unheard pleas are being heard!

After having made Board Exams optional in Grade X, the schools are further rejoicing in the knowledge that CBSE will now be internationally recognized and will cater to a much wider audience in terms of outreach. Just like the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge International Examinations, the ‘International CBSE’ would reach out to students across the world as an alternate system of learning and evaluation – Definitely news worth rejoicing!

With US Secretary Of Education, Arne Duncan’s ample praise for India’s secondary education system, the idea of taking our CBSE Board which is already recognized globally, to an international level, has streamed forth. But first, the current CBSE curriculum would have to be revamped totally in order to customize and tailor it to the requirements of the global student community and this would definitely take some time and ample research.

In the meanwhile, the results of the recent reforms implemented, are visible from this term itself, with schools all over Delhi agreeing to open the registrations from Dec 15. With de-bureaucratisation in the Admissions Procedure of schools, the parents of children seeking admissions have a little less to worry about this term. With the annual admission time being one of the most harrowing times of all, parents have literally breathed a sigh of relief on the Government’s timely intervention and lauded the efforts of Sibal.

Starting with the Grading system to Introduction of new diverse courses in schools, from the Right to Education Bill being passed to the Teacher Training Program being implemented at a nation wide scale, Mr Sibal has been doing a commendable work since day one of his term and I wish him all the best for his future endeavors.

Preschool is the first step in child’s academic journey and can serve as the basis for all future learning. According to the U.S. Department of Education, preschool plays a large role in later academic success. “Children in high quality preschools display better language, cognitive, and social skills than children who attended low quality programs.”

Once your child is ready for the play school, choosing the right preschool become a daunting process. The following steps may help you to sort through the preschool and to decide the right place for your kid

Figure out What is Important to You

Parents are best judge of their child and only they know better what type of the environment will suit their kid best. Think about your child’s personality. Is he shy? Does she make friends quickly? What do you want from your child’s preschool? Are you looking for a rigorous academic program or something more socially-based?

Check with the school to find out the details on age qualifications and other factors such as potty training.
To meet child’s individual needs, you want to find a school that offers small class sizes and low child-teacher ratios. The classroom should have lots of toys and other play items that are clean, safe and in easy reach of little people. If there is an outside play space, make sure it is fenced in and ask if the staff is trained in first aid.

Make sure the schools you are considering employ teachers that have earned early childhood education degrees.
How will your child get to school? Will she ride a bus or will you pick her up and drop her off? How far away is the school from your home? These may seem like secondary concerns, but they are very important. If it takes a long time to get to school, your child may be too excited by the time they get there. At the same time, if preschool also functions as daycare for your child, a long car ride may serve as important quality time for your family. A preschool close to where you live may make it easier for your child to foster the friendships he makes in school.
At some point, doing a site visit to all of your potential choices is necessary. (If a school does not allow you to come for a visit, cross it off your list.) Call ahead to schedule a mutually-convenient time so you’ll be able to meet with either the school principal, director, or a staff member to talk and take a tour of the facilities. You may also want to ask if you can observe a classroom in action. If you are permitted to do so, don’t approach the teacher or children during the lessons and try to stay for at least a half hour so you can get a real feel for how the class runs. After you’ve done a visit on your own, and once you’ve narrowed down your choices, find out if it’s possible to bring your child to the school to see what he thinks. Most schools will welcome the opportunity to meet potential students and a visit will also help your child start to understand what preschool is.

Priority number one in choosing a preschool? Picking the place where your child will be most happy. Academics are important, but your child has a lifetime of formal learning ahead of them. Preschool should be a place where your child learns to love school and learns to love learning.

Basant Panchmi has a specific meaning; Basant means spring, whereas Panchami means the fifth day of the spring. The festival lies in the month of January-February and is celebrated with great fervor in North India. The festival marks the end of the winters and is one of the first festivals of the Year.
On the day of the festival, people dress up in the diverse shades of yellow, as the colour yellow symbolizes the splendor of nature. Kite flying, a popular sport in India, is associated with Basant Panchmi day. It is a day for the young and old alike. No routine work, no studies, only merry making!! And when it comes to celebrations, SHEMROCK is never behind…
The onset of the spring season was welcomed by Shemrockites by dressing up in hues of yellow and orange- it was the special dress code for the day and all the kids looked pretty in their colorful dresses. The School premises also matched up to the occasion in terms of decoration with yellow flowers – Marigolds and Sunflowers adorned the little campus. Little children came dressed as little Sunflowers & Marigold flowers. The food menu for the day was also as per the occasion- Yellow Sweet Rice and Orange Boondi Laddoos were served to the children. SHEMROCK Parents were invited to a Kite Flying Competition where the kids as well as their parents had lots of fun.

For pictures and more info, visit: http://www.shemrock.com/celebration_basant.htm

Keeping in view the directives issued by the Directorate of Education, the sale and submission of forms has to be completed by all schools by January 15. Taking this into consideration most of the city schools have made their forms available for sale online till Jan 15, but a few closed their sale on December 31. This has marked the Round 2 of the Nursery Admissions Game on Friday.

Many parents have been scouting around the capital during the day and surfing school websites in nights – searching for information and collecting forms.

The deadline for submission of forms for these schools is January 15, except Tagore International, Vasant Vihar which closes its submissions on January 7. Amity International, Saket has already put up the first list of shortlisted children. The dates for the informal interaction of the guardians have also been declared.

Some of the schools that completed the sale of their forms on Dec 31 are:-

ONLINE FORMS

* Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar

* Banyan Tree School, Lodhi Road

* Cambridge Primary School, New Friends Colony

* Gyan Bharati School, Saket

* Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, East of Kailash

* Ryan International School, Mayur Vihar Phase III, Rohini and Vasant Kunj PAPER FORMS

* ASN Senior Secondary School, Mayur Vihar Phase-A

* ASN International School, Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar Phase I

* Brian International Senior Secondary School, Vikaspuri

* Modern Convent School, Sector 4, Dwarka

* Sumermal Jain Public School, Janakpuri

* Queen Mary’s School, Mayur Vihar I

* New Green Field School (Nursery, KG) Saket and Alaknanda

* Vishwa Bharati Public School, Sector 6, Dwarka

* St Xavier’s School, Civil Lines

* Kulachi Hansraj Model School, Ashok Vihar, Phase III