Teaching beyond books, developing inquisitiveness among students
Education involves a right balance of academic and co-curricular activities. How is your institution providing this balance to the students?
We have a well-qualified and trained academic staff which leaves no stone unturned to provide quality education to the students. Books are not our limit; we teach beyond books; in fact, we develop their inquisitiveness so that they can dive into the vast, unfathomable ocean of knowledge. At the same time, we keep them updated with the prescribed ICSE and ISC syllabi. We feel pride at the realisation that we have nurtured tri-city toppers in the past years. Participation in co-curricular events like debates, Ted Talks, drama, music, computers, declamations, story-telling, wall magazine drafting, movie and book reviews is encouraged. The students participate in inter-house and inter-school events and win many accolades and laurels for the school. Research-based learning is encouraged.
Motto of your school and how are students being trained to follow it?
The motto of our school is ‘Vidya, Vinay, Veerta’. ‘Vidya’ implies attaining the wisdom to judge what is right and what is wrong. ‘Vinay’ refers to humility, gratitude and compassion for our environment as well as people around us. ‘Veerta’ is the trait to accept with courage the challenges of life and overcome obstacles, not leaving the path of righteousness. Our students are trained to organise events and understand the importance of teamwork. In order to develop leadership qualities, we have the Prefect Council, which efficiently discharges its duties with the help of the teachers and Housemasters and the HODs. Charity work activities and visits to the less privileged people teach compassion to the students. Our students are taught that it is better to fail than to win by adopting unfair means.
As head of the institution what is your vision and how you are making it a reality?
Our school is not just a ‘building’. It is the embodiment of the ‘vision’ of a Maharaja, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala. He aspired to establish an institution that would cater to the holistic development of the children in the tricity by providing quality education as well as exemplary sports facilities and opportunities. I, too, nurture a vision of materialising the vision of the patrons of our school. I dream of creating YPS, Mohali, a happy place for all to dwell in. When we inherit such an enriched legacy, the responsibility on our shoulders is multi-fold. My academic, administrative and support staff leave no stone unturned to fulfil the dream of the Maharaja. It is our constant endeavour to provide the atmosphere of a ‘Home’ for our students. I am happy that the EduWorld has ranked us the best day-cum-boarding school in Punjab and we stand at the seventh position in India, as far as our infrastructure and academics is concerned.
What are the assessment practices used in your school?
We believe that assessment of a child’s performance is an on-going process. We encourage students to compete with themselves. Formative and summative assessments help the teachers and students to enhance effective learning. Formative assessments include assessment of in-class quizzes, dictation, group reading and chart-making activities. Summative assessments are the regular assessments: Weekly, half yearly and annual. We do not believe in pressurising the children; neither do we compare children on the basis of their marks. But, it is equally important to assess the potential and progress of the child so that effective measures, pedagogy and strategies can be devised to help the children to progress in various subjects. Besides these, various skills — listening, speaking and recitation — are also assessed. Projects and assignments given for the winter and summer break are assessed.
Sports and co-curricular activities for students, offered by your school.
It is a matter of pride for us that we have one of the best infrastructure in our sports complex, conducive for promoting various indoor as well as outdoor sports like cricket, basketball, golf, tennis, badminton, squash, hockey, handball, volleyball, archery, horse-riding. Our swimming pool is a ‘Swimmer’s Paradise’.
NEP-2020 has laid a special emphasis on vocational skills and entrepreneurships. How is your school providing these two through curriculum?
We organise hobby classes for all students on various days to hone the vocational skills of the students. Every day, one hour is spent on a hobby of his/her choice. The proposed hobbies are: cooking, baking, knitting, stitching, photography, pottery, art & craft, robotics, music, gardening, dance, computer, Jui-Jitsu, and creative writing. The objective of organising these hobbies is to make the students future-ready. Future is uncertain. We wish to equip them with some skills which will surely help them at home as well as in life and maybe to adopt these as a profession. We provide opportunities for internships in famous companies. Career workshops and seminars by our well-settled alumni and famous dignitaries are an attraction for most of the career-conscious students. Visit to the educational fairs in renowned universities and colleges adds to the knowledge and experience of the students. Our students participate in business quizzes in and outside our school. Exchange programmes are undertaken to give sufficient exposure to the students. Financial literacy has been introduced as a subject, keeping in mind the widely spreading scope of business in today’s world.
What measures has the school taken to help students cope with stress and to develop their EQ?
We encourage our students to ‘Grow & Glow’. A well-equipped and furnished library provides reading facility to the students. Cyber safety workshops are organised to increase awareness of cybercrime so that students do not fall prey to it. Stress management talks and workshops are conducted. From time to time, the teachers discuss the individual problems of the students with them as well as their parents because we realise that parents and teachers need to work in sync with each other for the holistic development of the students. The Counselling Cell is active in diagnosing any kind of problem that the child might be facing. We have introduced the Red Rose Project, whereby the students are divided into groups. Each group is under the supervision of a group leader who provides peer support to the students of his/her group and provides emotional and physical support to each child.
