“WHAT DO you want to be when you grow up?” Like every other kid in an average Indian household, Ishita Katyal too was inundated with this age old question by guests visiting her house. But she didn’t want to wait too long to be someone; she wanted to make an instant impact.
And her dream came true on Children’s day , when she became the youngest Indian to deliver a talk at the TED Youth conference in New York. A student of VIBGYOR High School, Balewadi, Ishita delivered her talk titled ‘What do you want to be now ‘, challenging the system which thinks children are too small to make any difference. Her 4 minute speech received a huge applause from the crowd.
The TEDx Program is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences. Ishita’s journey with TEDx began ealier this year, when she visited an event organized by TEDx Pune, founded in 2009.
“She enjoyed the sessions thoroughly. After the event, she took the initiative and asked the organizers if she could also be a part of their team. The response from the organisers was positive; however the only condition was that she had to pass two rounds of Skype interviews, conducted by Global TEDx volunteers. She cleared both the rounds to become the youngest organizer of TEDx youth events in the Asia-Pacific region “ said Ishita’s mother Nancy Katyal.
As a youth organizer, Ishita successfully organized the first TEDx event in her school on February 7. When the opportunity to go to New York came , she grabbed it “She is very clear about what she wants. She didn’t hesitate for even a second. At the main event , when she stood on the stage to speak, I felt nervous because she was the youngest and had to speak without holding any paper in her hand. But she spoke well” said Nancy.
Ishita admitted that she was a bit nervous when her name was announced, but said that as soon as she went on stage, everything became normal. “When I finished my speech, I was relieved because it was exactly how I imagined it to be. It was midnight in India, but my friends and relatives called me after the talk to convey their best wishes” said the fifth grader.
Pooja Sajanani, a student of VIBGYOR High School, Vadodara has topped nationally in Business Studies subject¬¬¬ at the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) AS Level. The final subject ranking was announced by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) on Tuesday, for the examination held in November 2014.
This is not the first time for Pooja Sajanani to be awarded with the national level ranking. She was also a country topper in the Economics subject at CIE IGCSE Grade X for the examination held in November 2013. She is currently pursuing CIE A level in VIBGYOR High.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Dilip George, Principal, VIBGYOR High School, Vadodara, said, “This proud achievement adds another feather of glory to VIBGYOR High’s elevating academic success. I congratulate Pooja Sajanani and Mr. Vijay Paliwal, Business Studies Teacher for their hardwork. Such national level achievement is a testimony to VIBGYOR High’s excellent teaching standards which goes to show that AS level programme at our school is one of the best in the country.”
Sharing her happiness, Pooja Sajanani, said, “I am very thankful to my school principal and teachers for lending me their support and guidance to prepare for the examination. Our school had conducted various training workshops and mock examinations to help us cope with time management and perform better. For which, I shall always be thankful to my school.”
“We congratulate our students from India for another year of remarkable performance and high achievement. Such accomplishments are the result of their hard work and the support of their teachers, schools and parents. At Cambridge we are committed to helping prepare students for life, and we wish all of our students success in their future endeavours,” said Ruchira Ghosh, Regional Director South Asia, Cambridge International Examinations.
Proud moment of VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon with Devansh Saluja, the student of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) AS level, being declared as a National Topper in Biology. The student appeared for his AS level examinations in November 2014 and secured A Grade in all the subjects. Currently, he is appearing for his A level examinations. 51 students appeared from the school in AS level in November 2014.
Commenting on the achievement Mr. Shim Mathew, Director Principal, VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon, said, “Devansh is a very hard working and a brilliant student. With the support from his parents and teachers, he has put in a lot of efforts to achieve this success. I would like to congratulate Devansh on his achievement and wish him a good luck for his A level examinations.”
Expressing his views on his success, Devansh Saluja, student of VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon, said, “I am feeling elated on achieving this success. I am thankful to my parents, teachers and school for providing the required support and encouragement as this was not possible otherwise. I am also thankful to all the people in my life who taught me the three steps to success – create an inner drive to succeed, working smart instead of working hard and believing in yourself.”
“We congratulate our students from India for another year of remarkable performance and high achievement. Such accomplishments are the result of their hard work and the support of their teachers, schools and parents. At Cambridge we are committed to helping prepare students for life, and we wish all of our students success in their future endeavours,” said Ruchira Ghosh, Regional Director South Asia, Cambridge International Examinations.
VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon offers all the four stages of Cambridge International Examinations – Primary Programme, Checkpoint, IGSCE and the A Levels. The school further offers State-of-the-art facilities like the ICT Lab with supervised Internet connectivity, science and math labs, classrooms that are conducive to learning, well-equipped library facilitating the international curriculum, interactive whiteboards and other audio-visual aids that further supplement classroom teaching.
Shruthi Yalamalli Arun, the young and dynamic Principal of VIBGYOR High, Electronic City, one of the leading international schools in India… She is a woman of the modern era, who firmly believes that every woman should work not only for financial independence, but also for her own identity, career goals and recognition, just like any man. Academician, environmentalist and an active marathon runner, these are some of the varied facets of her personality. Recently, she received the elite International School Award for her school from the Director, British Council.
Excerpts from the chat.
Q1. Tell our readers briefly about yourself.
A Bangalorean, I grew up in this IT hub, resisting the pressures to become either an engineer or a doctor. Early on, during my college and university days, I was actively involved in environmental projects of research and activism, working voluntarily with various NGOs. The foray into teaching was something that just happened, for lack of other opportunities during the postings of my husband, who was an officer in the Army then. Having started by teaching Post Graduate students, I eventually moved into school teaching and loved it. Although, this move was questioned by many, I chose to stick to what I liked doing, giving it my all and grew from strength to strength.
Q2. Was there a teacher/mentor that had a particular impact in shaping up your career?
Although there are many mentors who I would have drawn inspiration from and learnt from in big and small ways, I think no one has had greater impact on my career than my parents. My father has been an exemplary professional all his working life, and I get my zeal, sincerity and strong work ethic from him. My mother has largely shaped my personality in a way that greatly helps me be a good people manager ,which is imperative to a leadership role. She drilled into me from very early years, the need to find your own in a man’s world. Also, I wouldn’t have had the single-minded focus to go out there and build my career, if it wasn’t for her strong, bankable support in caring for my young son. The encouraging and no-demanding presence of my husband has helped too. And yes, naming a teacher who had a lasting impact on my life is something that I must do and that is this extremely gentle American teacher called Mr. Dennis Poland, who taught me for a few years that I spent out of the country, when I was in Primary School. He was extremely encouraging and led his students gently and yet, most effectively on the path of learning. He loved what he did. And that is most important for a successful career, to love what you do.
Q3. Can you tell us about the award which you received recently? What it means for you?
VIBGYOR High, Electronic City, along with four other branches of the Group of Schools,received the British Council International School Award (ISA) for the years 2015- 2018 for ‘Outstanding Development of the International Dimension in the Curriculum’. The ISA is an elite, globally recognised benchmarking scheme that accredits schools as having an outstanding level of support for nurturing global citizenship in students and enriching teaching and learning. Applying for the ISA was an initiative where we sought to acquire formal accreditation and recognition for VIBGYOR High’s philosophy, curriculum and teaching practices, which have always embraced internationalism. More than 2,000 schools across India, sought accreditation this year, of which 252 schools across India and only 17 schools from Bangalore have received it. So it was a moment of great pride for the entire VIBGYOR family when we received this most coveted Award. This is an important milestone in our journey and we look forward to take the school to the zenith of glory, as envisaged by our Director of Academics, Ms. Kavita Sahay, who has been a strong pillar of support and encouragement to us. I would also like to thank Mr. Rustom Kerawalla, Chairman and Managing Director, VIBGYOR High Chain of schools for empowering us with his vision.
Q4. As you are passionate about environmental issues, what is your view on environmental conservation education amongst children?
Environmentalism cannot be viewed as an activity in isolation. It has to be a way of life for conservation to be effective and meaningful. This is only possible if children learn its importance from very young and impressionable years. Tomorrow’s leaders need to be equipped for tomorrow’s challenges, and we must adequately prepare our children for the future they will inherit. That requires a commitment to providing children with environmental conservation education. In the long-term, creating awareness about conservation among children will pay off when they become decision-makers, managers and users.
Q5. Finally in your opinion how does VIBGYOR set itself apart from other international schools?
Founded in 2004, VIBGYOR High is one of the leading chains of schools in India, known for its quality holistic education. We cater to students from Pre-primary to Grade 12, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:10 on an average. A diverse, experiential and integrated learning programme that recognises the child as an active agent in his/her own learning is the key highlight of VIBGYOR’s curriculum. VIBGYOR High provides a mixed spectrum of national and international boards of education such as ICSE, CBSE and Cambridge International Examinations (IGCSE and A-levels) and is set to explore new horizons with 20 schools in six major cities, reaching out to more than 25,000 students nationwide.
U-11 Boys and U-13 Girls Basketball teams of VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon, achieved remarkable success in the 2nd Don Bosco Inter-School Basketball tournament 2015 held on October 28, 2015. This is the second year of the tournament, which was organized by Don Bosco School, Matunga at its school premises.
The U-11 Boys team of VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon, won with an outstanding score of 31-19 against the Don Bosco Matunga School. Star player Arjav Shah, student of VIBGYOR High, was awarded the Best Player Trophy to appreciate his commendable performance in the tournament. Adding to the list of achievements of the school, Advait Jajodia, a part of U-13 Boys team, was awarded the Best Defensive Player of the tournament. In the final match, Arjav scored 10 points for the team, while Dev Premi, Kevin Chitania and Soham Jakhotia scored 4, 5 and 4 points respectively.
On the other hand, the U-13 Girls team of VIBGYOR High School, Goregaon, won with a score of 27-13 against St. Anthony School, Chembur. Champion player Tvisha Gala was also awarded with the Best Player Trophy for her exceptional performance in the tournament. Aakansha Jain, Tanya Shetty, Tvisha Gala and Anushka Bereja scored 10, 6, 4 and 4 points respectively achieving a glorious victory for the team.
VIBGYOR High has a specially designed curriculum for sports that provides professional training and guidance to the students imparted by skilled and expert coaches. The students are offered dedicated time-slots every week to enhance their athletic skills, helping them win at various sports competitions.
Today, meaningful, useful education is something all students need regardless of the career choices they will eventually make. Learning for the child takes place in many ways and the curriculum accords equal importance to what a child learns and the process by which he or she learns it. The curriculum recognizes that the child should be an active agent in his or her own learning and that the child’s existing knowledge and environmental experience should be the starting point for new knowledge. When children are accorded a positive school experience which includes development of their literacy, numeracy and communication skills, this in turn enhances their self-esteem and confidence and their motivation to learn is increased.
The main focus of our educational programme is on the HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT of the students, equipping them with the essential skills of the technically evolving 21st century. With this end in view, we have designed a unique curriculum that is based on the Principles of Integrated Learning and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Our teaching methodology is an eclectic mix of cognitive and experiential and activity based learning strategies that cater to the three learning styles – VISUAL, AUDITORY and KINESTHETIC learners (VAK model). Our teaching modules are replete with Hands-on-learning activities, audio-visual aids, experimentations, investigations and research activities that form a part of the Enquiry-based and Project Based Learning Strategies.
The above diagram represents the structure of the curriculum and the intervening methodologies that define the teaching pedagogy at VIBGYOR HIGH
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is any learning that supports students in applying their knowledge and conceptual understanding to real-world problems or situations where the instructor directs and facilitates learning. This is a holistic perspective that combines experience, perception, cognition and behavior. Experiential learning teaches students the competencies they need for real-world success.
Enquiry based Learning
Enquiry-based approach to teaching and learning is its potential to increase intellectual engagement and foster deep understanding through the development of a hands-on, minds-on and ‘research-based disposition’ towards teaching and learning. Inquiry honours the complex, interconnected nature of knowledge construction, striving to provide opportunities for both teachers and students to collaboratively build, test and reflect on their learning.
Project Based Learning
The core idea of project-based learning is that real-world problems capture students’ interest and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context.
Multiple Intelligences
Multiple Intelligence forms the core of the teaching process at VIBGYOR High as we endeavour to create learning opportunities to cultivate each intelligence. A unit of study is approached from different perspectives in order to draw out the latent abilities of the student in each of the domains: Linguistic, Mathematical, Musical, Visual-Spatial, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalist.
Mind Maps
Mind Maps are based on the congnitivist approach to learning. This teaching methodology focuses on creating cognitive structures for learning that will facilitate understanding and easy recall. The use of mind maps train students to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and aids in studying and organizing information, solving problems and making decisions in their later years.
VAK Model
This model consists of creating different sensory experiences to aid Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic learning. Through this model, the concept is internalized through activities that generate visual auditories and Kinestethic memories that form the basis for future learning.
At VIBGYOR High, we recognize the importance of making real world connections between the subject taught, and the students’ experiences, through these teaching methodologies that encourage the students to become reflexive and critical thinkers and active participants in a dynamically changing world.
Article by Ms. Kavita Sahay published in Career 360 magazine
