When it comes to innovative and progressive education, Ekya Schools are always at the forefront, spearheading the way.
At Ekya, we conduct a “Learning Showcase” at the end of each term for our parents, wherein our students share samples of their work and share with them some information on the school’s creative and pioneering approaches to teaching and learning.
On Saturday, September 25, 2021, parents had the opportunity to venture into the lives of students and teachers and see what sets Ekya School, Byrathi apart from others. The Learning Showcase session of Grades 2-4 commenced with the Head Of School, Ms. Shubhra Sinha rendering a warm welcome to the parents and acquainting them with the objective behind this endeavor. She apprised them about the ingeniously and effectively crafted teaching tools that were incorporated and implemented during the first term to assure that the students’ analytical, creative, application, comprehension as well as writing skills were contributed, applied, and enhanced during their course of learning. The plan of action, objectives, and goals stipulated for the upcoming term was also revealed to the parents to encourage them to be supportive and be a part of their child’s learning journey.
Students of Grades 2- 4, from our institution, showcased projects and exhibits that reflected their learning through their inquiry-based, student-centered and interdisciplinary approach to learning – and exemplify Ekya’ Byrathi’s goals for the year which are developing writing skills in all languages, creating awareness and appreciation of different learning tools, embody the characters of an outstanding citizen, heighten community bonding and responsibility towards the world at large.
The entire emphasis was on what the students were executed in the classroom, and how the online teaching and learning is manifested in our institution during this virtual scenario. This was clearly evident in the demonstrations of their science projects, language skills, mathematical analysis, social science activities, computer applications, visual art designs, and awareness of health through physical education.
Displaying their efforts were the primary students, through creative presentations, written work, drawings, comic strips, experiments, recitations, and speeches with liveliness and enthusiasm that made parents delighted about the progress of their children.
The showcase also exhibited the efforts of the teachers in ensuring the learning process was simple and purposeful for the students through their advice, direction, and counsel. Their guidance and instructions have demonstrated the determination and tenacious energy invested by them to enhance the quality of student learning.
At the end of the session, the feedback form which was shared with the parents was filled with affirmations and appreciations. This Learning Showcase was a tremendous success, thanks to the commitment and enthusiasm of all our teachers and students who worked together to make it possible.
Here’s a glimpse into the meaningful and enriching day filled with fun and exuberance.
“The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future.” This quote by F. Sionil Jose highlights the importance of teachers in people’s lives. A large part of our world view, our ethics, our values can be attributed to our teachers who taught and mentored us in our formative years. In India, Teachers’ Day is a way of showing gratitude towards teachers.
This year, as we have virtual schooling, Ekya Schools celebrated Teachers’ Day a little differently. On Book Nook, our very own digital library, our team of librarians, had posted a discussion where students were given a free hand in expressing their gratitude by way of audio videos, e-cards, and thank you notes.
We are delighted to share that we received over 500 responses from our students for their teachers.
Below are some snapshots of their messages. Their words of appreciation made our teachers feel so special. These lovely messages go a long way in encouraging our teachers in doing their best for our student community.
PRIMARY SCHOOLThe Learning Showcase is a regular event organized at Ekya School, Byrathi. During this event, students across grades showcase their work to their family members. This year since classes are being held online, we held this event as a virtual Showcase. The students of Grades 5-9 joined this session along with friends and family and spoke about the learning that happened in class with the assistance of discussion tools, visible thinking routines, and differentiation strategies.
The Head of School began by sharing a few words on the curriculum followed at Byrathi and the various programs offered and encouraged them to share the same with friends and family. The students of Grade 9 flagged off this event by speaking about the IGCSE curriculum, subjects offered and the various methods used to help them grasp concepts and understand better. Learning tools such as the Jigsaw puzzle, creative comparisons, six thinking hats, creative hunt, and step inside were used to reiterate learning and enable long-term retention of the same.
The students of Grade 8 introduced the ICSE curriculum and spoke about the various subjects offered and the co-curricular programs that have been made available. Writing frameworks such as Descriptive writing, summary writing, and picture compositions were introduced in order to improve the written skills of students. Learning and discussion tools such as what makes you say that hands-on experimentation and the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning framework were employed across subjects to aid better understanding and skill-building. This was followed by subject-wise presentations from the students of Grades 5-7. In the subject of English, imagine-if, see-think-me-we, poetry writing on the topic of shape and concrete were used to create memorable learning experiences. Students spoke about how they used these tools across the topics that they studied.
Learning a new language is quite challenging but at Byrathi it has been a memorable experience. Students discussed that they had employed various skill-building methods to help them speak, read and write fluently in Hindi and Kannada. French is a foreign language that is being offered as a third language option for Grades 5-7. A short skit on French cuisine and desserts was put together by the students. Performing arts is a co-curricular subject offered to all students in which they learn the nuances of music, dance, and drama. Students shared videos of the songs, dance moves that they learnt in class.
A hands-on activity in Science was done and videos of student work were displayed during the session. In Math, tools such as outside in, see-think-wonder, let’s get creative were used for explanation and aid understanding of the topic at hand. In VA, students showcased their paintings, drawing, and the various art forms that they had done such as, Kalamkari, Gond, Warli, and Madhubani.
Social Science was made interesting via a flipped classroom model in which students turned teachers and explained parts of the topic to the class, a comic strip was created in order to understand the lesson on the constitution, up and down poem was a writing framework used to summarize their learning of a topic.
Computer science lessons were demonstrated using paint and the software that students were learning about. The last showcase was on physical education and students played videos of the overs, workout sessions, and exercises that they practiced during class.
The session came to a close with the vote of thanks shared by one of the students and a pad let link was shared to collect feedback on the event. Parents were thrilled and appreciated the efforts of all the staff and students.
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