AFFILIATED TO CBSE : 1130643
AFFILIATED TO CBSE : 1130643
1. In what form is your collaboration with The Shri Ram School?
The collaboration with The Shri Ram School is through their consultancy wing, Shri Educare Limited. Shri Educare Limited provides ‘The Kalyani School’ with the curriculum, best practices and methodologies followed by The Shri Ram School. It also provides intensive training sessions to the entire staff at ‘The Kalyani School’. These training sessions are conducted throughout the year, and include modules that strengthen pedagogy, academics and activities at ‘The Kalyani School’.
2. How is The Kalyani School different from other CBSE schools, as nowadays almost every school has activity-based learning?
The Kalyani School provides high quality education, wherein the focus is on enquiry and discovery, which ensures lifelong learning. Our teachers are “Facilitators”, who guide students in their learning, by providing them with hands-on experiences that not only generate interest, but also foster creativity. Out – of – the – box thinking is encouraged and it motivates students to approach situations and problems from different perspectives. This, in turn, develops in them a thirst for knowledge and the skill of self-learning.
3. Why is your fee on the higher side compared to some of the other established schools in Pune?
To provide high quality education in a state of the art environment, it is essential that the school has world class infrastructure and other facilities. The faculty that is appointed is highly qualified and experienced. The teacher-student ratio is low in order to be able to give individual attention to the children.
To ensure all of the above, we have established a fee structure that is in compliance with all legal guidelines laid down by the educational authorities.
4. Who are your competitors?
In keeping with the philosophy of the school, we do not compete or compare, and only work towards “bettering our best.” The educational experience we provide works towards motivating children to compete with themselves and reach their true potential. The distinct ethos and philosophy of the school makes it stand apart from all existing educational institutions and carves a unique niche for itself in the educational domain.
5. What is your teacher-student ratio, and how many sections are there in each grade?
With a maximum of 30 students in a class, we have a whole school teacher-student ratio of 1:10. There are two teachers in Jr. KG, Sr. KG and Grades I to III. The whole school has four sections per grade.
6. What are your key differentiators?
7. How many faculty members do you have and what do you look for in a candidate while hiring them?
Ably led by our Principal, Mrs. Nirmal Waddan, who has over three decades of experience in the teaching field, our team of “Facilitators” are qualified and experienced. Mrs. Waddan was the Principal of a CBSE school for 4 years before joining ‘The Kalyani School’ and was also an administrator in an International School.
Innovation, out-of-the-box thinking, sensitivity, high moral values, a passion for the teaching-learning process, excellent communication skills, thorough content knowledge in their subject, a willingness to learn, the ability to improvise and a commitment to the profession are the main skills and characteristics we look for in the teachers we appoint.
8. What is a typical student workload?
Learning at ‘The Kalyani School’ is a joyful and stress-free experience. A well planned homework schedule and an ongoing assessment routine, ensures that children learn for the love of learning and not just to score marks and grades. Projects are done in school, and parents would only need to help the children collect the required information and material to bring back to class to complete the given project. This helps develop organisation skills and enables children to work both individually and in groups.
Assessments at the Junior School level (Jr. KG to Grade V) focus on Understanding, Application and Effort. Academic rigour is increased gradually and children are guided towards formal examinations seamlessly, to ensure that the transition from Junior to Middle School is easy and devoid of undue stress. From Grade VI onwards, the school follows the CBSE pattern of assessments with Periodic and Half-Yearly Assessments.
9. How is a typical day at The Kalyani School different from a day in any other school?
The well designed balance of Scholastic and Co-Scholastic activities throughout the day ensures that children are not cooped up in classrooms all day. A five-minute meditation exercise to center themselves and the unique DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Programme are scheduled into the Time Table of each class. The whole school building is in itself a teaching aid and every available space serves as learning spaces for the children in a multitude of ways.
Quality Circle Time is a weekly activity aimed at creating trust, communication, confidence, values and strong bonds in the children. The Home Room period at the beginning of the day provides for a good start to each day at school.
10. Since you do not have any written exams till Grade IV, how do you assess the students?
Formal exams begin in Grade IV for the students at The Kalyani School. Till Grade III, the assessments are ongoing and anecdotal records are maintained of every child’s progress. Children are assessed for Understanding, Application and Effort. Our report cards are very informative and comprehensive and provide specific feedback about each student, along with recommendations from the teachers, where applicable.
11. How do students adjust to having two written exams in Grade IV, if they are not used to giving exams before that?
The students are encouraged from a young age to become independent learners and this translates into them being able to adjust to the examination system easily. At The Kalyani School the “How” of learning is focused on and not just the “What” of learning. The skills developed in Junior School prepare them to face formal exams with ease and confidence, and academic rigour is gradually increased over the years.
12. Which streams are you offering for Grades XI and XII?
The streams we are offering are Science, Commerce and Humanities. There is a lot of flexibility in the subject combinations under these streams, but the final decision on the subjects given will be decided based on number of students.
13. What is the admission criteria for Grades XI and XII?
Admission to Grade XI will be based on the student’s performance in the Preliminary Exams of Grade X or the results of the Board Exam, if the student is from a different board. Admission to Grade XII is restricted to students who are already in a CBSE school and who have been pre-registered for the Board Exam.
14. Will you provide Career Guidance to students?
We have an in-house Career Guidance Cell with trained Career Counsellors who conduct regular sessions in school for the same, for all students of Grade IX upwards. They even guide students with their admissions process
15. How do you help Special Needs Students?
We have a full-fledged Pastoral Care Department, which comprises of Counsellors and Remedial Teachers who take care of our students who require extra support. Students with emotional and behavioural issues are referred to the Counsellors, who work in tandem with the teachers and parents of the student, to help them overcome their problems. Students who are weak in academics or those who have Learning Difficulties are referred to the Remedial Teachers, who teach them individually, or in small groups, using special remedial techniques. Students who have severe problems, who are enrolled in the Special Needs Remedial programme, are informally assessed and Individualised Education Plans are made for them.
16. What is Provisional Admission?
In cases where the new candidates do not submit all the required documents or do not visit the school for an informal interaction, will be given admission on a Provisional basis. When all required formalities are completed, the Admission will be regularised.
17. Do you take Mid-Term Admissions?
Mid-Term admissions are only possible in Grades where there is a vacant seat. We strictly allow a maximum of 30 students per section.
18. Does the school conduct seminars, workshops, etc to generate awareness and sensitise students towards social consciousness ?
At The Kalyani School we have a SEN Department named “Pastoral Care.” The Pastoral Care is central to the ethos of our school.
We as a team of School Counsellors and Special Educators cater to and enhance the needs of the child’s emotional, behavioural, academic and social well-being. We believe in stimulating the consciousness of children through various measures.
Following are the numerous measures taken for Students, Teachers and Parents in order to bring about social consciousness:
-Raising a Teen: A workshop for Parents in order to help them understand their teen child, guide them towards adopting different methodologies to deal with their children’s concerns and modify their parenting styles according to their child’s needs.
-Adolescence: For students of Grades VII upwards, to inform them about the transitional stage of their life, to answer their concerns and prepare them to be socially responsible by taking conscious decisions.
-Teacher’s Orientation: An orientation is conducted every year for teachers across all Grades from Jr.KG to Gr XII. It sensitises teachers by making them aware of the commonly prevalent difficulties faced by students and how as teachers they can observe the signs and find ways to help student’s emotional, social and behavioural well-being.
-‘Earn for your Country’ is an initiative taken up by our school to inculcate values amongst students, to show responsible behaviour and in turn earn money. Children are asked to help with some chores at home, for which they are given nominal amounts of money by their parents, which they store in a clay ghullak. At the end of the year, all the students bring their ghullaks to school and the money is used for a noble cause. Previously, the accumulated amount of Rs 80,000/- was utilised to improve the infrastructure of a Zilla Parishad school in Theur.
19. Do you have a Day-Care Facility?
Day-care is only available for students of our school and for the children of staff members.
20. Why did you choose Manjri as a location for your school?
For the curriculum and methodology envisioned by us for The Kalyani School, large open spaces and a pollution free environment are crucial. Finding 9 acres of land in the heart of the city is almost an impossibility. The lush green environment, far from the hustle and bustle of the city provides the right ambience for the setting of a school such as ours. Hence, the decision to build The Kalyani School at Manjri (Budruk), Pune.
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