AGA KHAN EDUCATION SERVICE, INDIA INQ’ED
Foreword
Farhad Merchant, CEO, Aga Khan Education Service, India (AKESI)
This has been a truly momentous year. We have seen success at the Aga Khan Schools, due to the collaborations across functions, themes and units. AKESI has been awarded the coveted and India’ s only “Best School Chain of the Year” award from IDA 2022. AKESI also featured among India’ s Most Respected Education Brands and India’s Most Respected Early Childhood Education Brands (top 10 in the country for 3 years in a row) by EducationWorld. We are also proud to be selected from among 8,23,000 schools across India to receive the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar, by Government of India, for our exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene.
We have continued to contribute to the thought leadership in the sector. Each of our Schools, Staff and Students have received awards in various categories, at the National and State/Regional levels. This is a testimony to the work we have been doing, under the guidance of His Highness the Aga Khan. We are indeed grateful for this guidance and the strong values that are woven within the fabric of the organization.
As the year comes to a close, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the AKESI family for contributing towards shaping the future of our children. Through the pandemic, we focused our efforts in strengthening the organization, and communication became a key tool, for us to stay in touch with each of you, through this period. Through 2022, we have continued to take various initiatives promoting: an ethical operational framework; culture of collaboration; fairness; transparency; better communication and engagement; financial sustainability; brand building and visibility; bringing in operational efficiencies through technology and automation; addressing compliance matters; safeguarding; and environment sustainability. We hope to continue our work with renewed energy in 2023.
There have been some very significant achievements this year and I would like to offer my gratitude to each of you for your contribution towards the cause of excellence in quality education. We each have a different role to play in nurturing the young minds that are entrusted to us. Education is not only the subjects we teach in the classrooms, but the consciousness and awareness that we bring to our children, and the curiosity we encourage in them, of the world around us. The environment of collaboration and creativity that we create across AKESI, embodies our culture and ethics. We need to consciously create conducive environments that allow us to build on the strength of our diversity. We must continue to inspire children and build their aspirations to be the best that they can be. Pressures from the external world will always exist, but it is our moral responsibility to develop our children in a manner that equip them for the future. We need to develop in them, a love for learning and the spirit of inquiry. We should help them learn how to learn. With this parting thought, I convey my best wishes for a blessed 2023!
INQ’ED: an interesting play on words, conveying the significance of this newsletter.
Pronounced as “Inked”, it conveys information “captured on paper”. Further, in the spirit of blended learning, it uses a blend of “Inq” for “Inquiry” and “Ed” for “Education”. Thus, it signifies the importance of Inquiry-based Education.
“There is no greater form of preparation for change than education...there is no better investment that the individual, parents and the nation can make than an investment in education of the highest possible quality.”
-His Highness the Aga Khan
FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL
Across the AKESI network, the pre-primary students were welcomed with open arms and broad smiles on their first day at school. These students had been deprived of the ‘school experience’ due to the pandemic and were setting foot into school for the first time ever.
At the Diamond Jubilee High School, Hyderabad (DJHSH), children and parents were greeted with enthusiastic Mickey and Minnie mascots, who walked and danced around to welcome them.
At the Aga Khan Preschools (AKP), teachers organized beautiful table-top activities, art activities and outdoor play to engage students in fun ways. In addition to this, the photo-booth helped the parents and students capture the spirit of the day.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
The Science teachers were engaged in a two-day professional development workshop which focused on the key areas of a scientific inquiry. Through hands-on activities like – designing and testing a working model of a parachute, teachers reflected on how scientists work, and explored the different components of scientific inquiry. In the end, teachers identified opportunities for incorporating scientific inquiry into their lessons through the lesson plans, to help learners become critical thinkers.
SEMINAR: FOUNDATION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT
The foundational years of a child’s life are significant to their overall growth and development. It helps a child develop confidence, individuality, independence and many other life skills. Aga Khan School, Sidhpur (AKSS) organized a seminar on ‘Foundation of Child Development’ for all parents. This session was facilitated by the team from AKP, Rajkot. Through games and other fun activities, parents were enlightened about how the quality of a child's early experiences, makes a critical difference in their development and lays a strong foundation for learning, health and behaviour throughout their life. Further, the seminar stressed on the role of family and school in a child’s life. The event was an eye-opener and helped the parents deep dive into an important topic.
LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
Aga Khan Education Service, India (AKESI) and the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad (AKAH) are looking at different ways of collaborating.
Towards this endeavour, Mr. Jeff Doerfler (Deputy Head – AKAH) was invited to the Aga Khan Hostel, Hyderabad (AKHH). During his visit, he interacted with the Dorm Parents to understand their challenges, explained how to engage students more effectively and talked about the core principles of pastoral care. Further, he spoke to the students about team building, helping others and empathy. The dorm parents and students had a wonderful experience as they learnt through fun and games.
TALENT BUZZ
Continuing the spirit of collaboration, interns from the Aga Khan Academy hosted a ‘Talent Buzz’ for the students of Diamond Jubilee High School, Hyderabad. 25 students were shortlisted to showcase their talent of choice, on stage. The event was received with a lot of excitement, with students eagerly awaiting the next edition. To know more about the event, Click here
STUDENT CABINET
As with all Aga Khan Schools across India, Little Star High School, Adilabad (LSHSA), conducted its student cabinet elections for the academic year. The process involved students electing a Head Boy, Head Girl, Assistant Head Boy, Assistant Head Girl, respective House Captains, Sports Captain & Vice-Captain. 26 students nominated themselves for different positions with nearly 530 students casting their votes.
FIRST GLOBAL AKS MUN
The first ever, International Aga Khan Schools Model United Nations (AKS MUN) was held on November 24th and 25th, 2022. With applications from students in the Aga Khan Schools globally, it was challenging to select the 135 students that would represent the 6 committees and 87 countries. After rigorous scrutiny of the position paper, the final delegates, Chairs and Co-Chairs (Officebearers) were selected from across various countries to represent the UNSC, WHO, UN WFP, ICJ, WTO-OPEC and UNHRC. With insights and conversations with notable leaders, such as Ms. Kanta Singh (UN Women’s Deputy Country Representative for India) and Justice Albie Sachs (an awardwinning judge, activist and author) engaging with students and providing insights from their experiences, the event truly modelled the core values of ‘professionalism’, ‘integrity’ and ‘respect for diversity’ laid down by the United Nations. To know more about the event, Click here.
TEACHER TRAINING
A four day in-person Annual Training Program (ATP) was conducted at Rajkot for the AKP teachers. Training was conducted by the AKP faculty and a Jolly Phonics expert from Mumbai. Teachers were trained on pedagogy and phonics with different activities. During the training, a fun competition was conducted on preparing low-cost Teaching-Learning Materials (TLMs) using waste material. The best three TLMs were given special recognition, based on time taken and the type of resources used.
JOURNEY FROM SOUND TO SENTENCE
DJHSH conducted its third Jolly Phonics session titled ‘Journey from Sound to Sentence: Let’ s Make Reading Fun’ for this academic year. In the previous two sessions, parents were trained in phonics but were unsure of its application in their daily life. During this session, these concerns were addressed. Parents have been roped in as ‘partners’ in the child’s learning, to help the school bridge the literacy gap among students. To know more about the event, Click here
PRESCHOOL VOLUNTEER INDUCTION
AKESI is working with Local Management Committees (LMCs) to run its preschools at the local level. The appointment of LMCs has been done for this academic year. To train the new volunteers, a day-long annual LMC induction program was organized to orient them about the organization’ s policies and processes, as well as their roles and responsibilities. In addition to this, team building sessions were arranged to foster collaboration within the team.
MATHEMATICS EXHIBITION
Little Star High School, Adilabad (LSHSA) celebrated National Mathematics Day (commemorating the birth anniversary of the legendary Indian mathematician Sir Srinivasa Ramanujan) by conducting a Mathematics Exhibition on December 22, 2022. Around 245 models were prepared and displayed by students in the exhibition which helped them to deepen their understanding of the mathematical concepts and apply them in everyday life. The chief guest for the event, Mr. N. Natarajan (Additional Collector of Adilabad), appreciated the students for their creativity and innovation. To know more about the event, Click here
JOY OF GIVING
To develop the joy of giving among the preschool students at early age, ‘Danostav’ was organized at Aga Khan Preschool, Ranavav from 2-7 October, 2022. The parents were motivated to encourage their wards to share. The students started to come with small quantities of food items such as grain, oil, sugar etc. and at the end of the event a huge collection was made and handed over to the Andh Sarvoday Mandal, Porbandar.
BEACH CLEAN-UP DRIVE
To celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, the Aga Khan School, Mundra (AKSM) participated in a beach cleanup drive. The school selected 50 NCC cadets from Grades 9-12 who helped pick and sort the waste they collected. They also helped raise awareness on beach cleanliness and to reduce the usage of plastic. To know more about the event, Click here
WORLD EARTH DAY
Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal (PJHSW), celebrated World Earth Day to enlighten the students about ‘individual’ as well as ‘collective’ accountability in their thoughts and actions towards the planet. It urged students to think deeply about the consequences of their actions on ‘ecological sustainability’ and ‘environmental protection’. To mark this day, students participated in various activities which served as reminders towards their responsibility of being ‘stewards’ of Mother Earth.
NATURE INSPIRED LITERACY
Diamond Jubilee High School, Mumbai (DJHSM) hosted ‘Nature Inspired Literacy’, an event to celebrate the advent of the monsoon season. Students enjoyed their creative and imaginative play with natural and recycled materials like – stones, pebbles, leaves, seeds, shells, twigs, and flower petals. Some interesting activities included, creating ‘leafy letter puzzles’ in which students matched the shapes of the letters with the shapes of the leaves. They also created their own unique environmental print with loose parts and recycled materials. Students wrote tricky words and created lowercase letters using the material provided. They even solved puzzles and created symmetry drawings. This event combined the simplicity and beauty of nature during the monsoons, to inspire young minds to stay immersed in nature.
THINK GREEN
Schools across AKESI, organized activities to raise awareness on World Environment Day. AKSM through its Eco Club, took the initiative to spread awareness and highlight the importance of eco-friendly actions to save the environment. The school encouraged children in and around Mundra to participate in a poster-making competition on the theme, ‘My Mundra – Green Mundra’. The event was conducted at 10 different locations. With this, students also undertook a tree plantation drive and fed birds.
SEGREGATE – LET’S TAKE THE BAIT!
Recently, a street play was organised by AKSM NCC Cadets of 5 Gujarat Naval Unit Bhuj and other students in the town of Mundra near Baroi road.
The students and cadets did role-plays, enacting various scenes, demonstrating the ill effects of an unclean environment and environmental pollution. The play was performed in Hindi for the benefit of the locals and centered around the significance of ‘waste segregation’ as an important step towards achieving cleanliness. Post this, they marched around the neighbourhood spreading the significance of ‘cleanliness’.
CAMPING UNDER THE STARS
Camping under the starry night is an alluring experience in itself and when an opportunity comes along, it’s an unmissable one. 137 students from DJHSM grades 5 to 9, accompanied by 12 teachers and the School Leadership team chose to spend a night outdoors, camping under the beautiful starry sky. The observation site was located at Dahanu, Maharashtra. Tents were set up in open fields, where students and teachers gazed in fascination at the beautiful night sky. With a complete blackout of artificial lights, the moon, stars, planets and constellations shone in all their celestial glory. Stories about the star constellations like – Orion, the Hunter, Ursa Major, Leo, Virgo, Scorpio and stars like the North Star were shared and these stars identified in their glorious twinkle. This experience left everyone starry-eyed! To know more about the event, Click here
SCHOOL IN THE PARK
To promote learning closer to nature, LSHSA arranged for classes to be taken in the park. Lessons were conducted in the open, under the shade of the trees. Trees, rocks, and benches in the park became display boards. Students participated actively, were full of energy, wonder, and presented their work with joy. To know more about the event, Click here
YOGA – THE PATH TO A HEALTHY LIFE
Yoga is an ancient physical, mental, and spiritual practice that originated in India, and is practiced by young and old alike. Schools across the AKESI network observed International Yoga Day on June 21, 2022. On this special occasion, the daily assembly started with meditation and yoga practice by the local yoga instructor. Students enjoyed learning new asanas and performed them with stunning flexibility. At DJHSM, the Primary and Secondary sections enthusiastically prepared for and participated in an Inter-House Yoga competition. The initiative was entirely student-driven with the House Captains and Vice Captains training their respective houses.
GOING GREEN: PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY!
To commemorate Plastic Bag Free Day, the Diamond Jubilee High School for Girls (DJGS), Mumbai planned various activities across its pre-primary section on 13 July, to help raise awareness about the negative impact of plastic on the environment. Students were engaged in a discussion with their peers in which they came up with solutions on how to protect the environment, eliminate and replace single-use plastic material in the world. To know more about the event, Click here
LITTLE MASTER CHEF
The pre-schoolers of DJGS, donned their ‘toques’ (white hats) and ‘ aprons’ with their mothers to showcase their culinary skills for the ‘Little Master Chef’ event. The event gave students the opportunity to spend quality time with their mothers and playfully explore their senses
A ‘WALK’ TO REMEMBER
The students of DJHSH created a ‘gallery walk’ with photographs of their families, as a part of their learning theme ‘My Family’. Here, students proudly introduced their families to guests. An event of this nature helps students develop their presentation skills, while talking about ‘a much loved’ topic. Strategies like this promote ‘active learning’ and take students one step closer to confidently interacting with people in the real world. To know more about the event, Click here
ANNUAL DAY AT AGA KHAN PRESCHOOLS
AKP celebrated its Annual day for the students with the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’. The toddlers prepared for the event with support from their teachers and parents. Their beautiful performances enthralled the audience. The event was a roaring success!
NCC CAMP
At PJHSW, the first NCC Combined Annual Training Camp (CATC) for 8 (T) Battalion was conducted at Mamnoor Police Training College. During this camp, Four Battalions 10(T), 8(TB), 11(TB) & 1CTR participated and were trained in physical efficiency, parades, weapon training, personality development, leadership skills, discipline, unity, and coordination. Various competitions were conducted among the Battalions. 14 cadets from PJHSW participated and experienced the Indian Armed Forces Management skills like teamwork, time management and self-motivation.
CELEBRATING TELANGANA FORMATION DAY
PJHSW celebrated Telangana Formation Day on June 2, 2022. This day celebrates Telangana’s culture, heritage and architectural magnificence. A special assembly was held with a traditional floral tribute to invoke the blessings of the Almighty, followed by flag-hoisting, and a speech on the illustrious history & heritage of Telangana.
GRADUATION DAY IN KINDERGARTEN
LSHSA and AKSS organized Graduation Day – an event acknowledging the educational achievement of Senior Kindergarten students transitioning into Primary school. To celebrate this milestone, each student was felicitated with a certificate and a unique title which described their personality. The wizardly capes, mortar boards and the applause brought a smile to each child’s face.
