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Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS

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Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS
Context
Our school is 31 years old and teaches learners from K to 12, with the motto of “BHAKTHI, GNANAM AND SEVA” (Devotion, Knowledge and Service). We conduct various international events and activities in collaboration with our partner schools: Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, France, UK, Greece and Egypt. Every year we go on International Educational trips to understand the culture and system of education in different parts of the world. Our journey with the Skills Builder Accelerator+ Program has been for the last four years. Our school has also joined hands with the British council UK, The Economist Educational Foundation UK in bringing internationalism integrated to skills building to a global benchmark.
Overall impact
As a Skill Builder school for the last four years, we have brought in a series of new initiatives and implementations. All teachers across the school are involved in improving the essential skills of students. We have also planned a series of effective Teacher Training sessions on the effective usage of Hub resources and assessment formats from the Skill Builder Team. This has improved the professional knowledge of our teachers. As a result, for the last couple of years, skill development has become a part of our curriculum and a well-planned time table. This helps us to manage our academic syllabus and also assess the students on the most important essential skills. Our students involve themselves in many activities and showcase their skills in various categories. We have seen them become confident and independent. Our school activities and events are testimony to the improvement that we have seen among our children. The Skills Builder programme also had a great impact on the parents after the orientation programme conducted for them. All these have helped us to move forward in the Skills Builder Accelerator programme with confidence.
Keep it simple
The Skills Builder logo is displayed on the Student Handbook, so that it is clear to students, parents and other stakeholders. Each and every topic of the lesson is connected with the essential skills ensuring a common language. Essential skills are a key part of our annual activities, exhibitions and showcases, many of which are attended by parents and other members of our community.
Start early, keep going
We have a Global Accelerator+ programme from Kindergarten classes till grade 12. We have a WOW curriculum at our school, which develops the three Ls, Language, Leadership and Life Skills. Every topic in the WOW curriculum is embedded with the essential skill building curriculum across classes that enables teachers to focus on building Listening, Creativity, Teamwork, Speaking and Adapting skills.
Measure it
Students’ assessments are done periodically to track progress, this makes the process simple to learn and assess the progress continuously. Teachers use offline assessment to gauge the level of the class against the Universal Framework. We also have periodic assessments to know each student’s skill set and their development. Teachers maintain a case study of each and every child and it is submitted to the next class teacher for understanding the students’ progress across grades. Our student handbook also has a ‘Good Communicator’ page to assess the student’s Speaking skills. We also have a section for Goals for the Month in the student handbook which allows older learners to complete self-analysis, helping them understand their achievements for the month. Our competitions and exhibitions are organized to focus on the development of the skills in our students. The work of the students is reviewed by the guests and visitors and students are awarded through a ‘motivational card’. For example our inter school competitions for students had a series of planned competitions based on skills. Our Exhibition ‘Skill Sift’, is yet another testimony of assessing the students’ skills where students presented their talents in Speaking and Creativity with science experiments and working models which kindled their curiosity and love of science. In another example, a team of students also presented a glimpse of important monuments of different countries which enhanced their knowledge not only about their own country but also countries across the globe. TEDx Talk was hosted by the school where we provided opportunities for students from different schools to compete with each other to understand their own strengths and weaknesses related to essential skill development. These activities give us a clear idea on our students' levels of attainment in essential skills.
Focus tightly
The Global Accelerator programme is taken by the designated teachers during the two periods allotted for the programme. These teachers are given extensive training and they focus on building the essential skills of the students with the help of Skills Builder resources. Teachers plan for the session a week prior. Teachers have framed the learning outcomes based on ASK (Attitude, Skill and Knowledge) Model. Also each and every competition conducted in the school is also mapped with the Skill Builder Universal Framework and the learning outcome is clearly defined.
Keep practising
Skill building is also integrated in the curriculum and not just alone as a separate subject. This is helping the teachers to engage children with focus on skills development and assessing them continuously. The students are introduced to the essential skill at the Kindergarten level via Circle Time, during this time, they are allowed to interact with their classmates to develop their communication skills. We also have projects throughout the year. A few examples are International Panel discussions, Inter School Competition, Topical Talk- Global Event by The Economist, WOW Leadership programme and a variety of activities to enhance the skills of the students. Every year, the students’ articles are published in the school magazine VOYAGE and in prominent Educational Newspapers. This helps the students to exhibit creative and writing skills. We also have a literary club where students engage in poetry, theatre and drama at higher grades. Students are also engaged in fruitful discussions through Debate sessions, which also improves their Speaking and Problem-Solving skills. An event titled “Talent Hunt Show” is organized year on year for the newly joined students of the school, across grades.
Bring it to life
We engage the students in many community activities and ensure that they practice what they learn. Many projects were conducted in association with VIDHAI Recycling to clean the environment, segregate and recycle plastic waste. The students engage in a community outreach program to create awareness on matters related to environmental conservation and protection through rally, street play etc. The posters for any events were made by students and the students anchor all the school related events to showcase their skills. Parent testimony videos are great examples of how our parents are happy with the programme. Students are motivated to initiate fund raising campaigns for many social causes. They donate their unused toys to the needy children in association with local Non-Governmental Service organizations.
What's next
We are looking forward to continuing our journey with Skills Builder and to further embedding the skills into school life. We will continue to incorporate the skills further into written policy to highlight their significance and ensure consistency across the school and our wider community.
India