Every once in a while, we encourage parents to sit with our students and work on hands-on activities via workshops. All the parents have to do is come to school on Saturdays with our students and have fun – no initial preparation required (we’re hassle free for parents 🤩)!
Some workshops are also serious in nature like the goal setting workshop for higher classes, where our young adults sit with the teacher and parents to set their target goals in examinations.
Ganpati Idol Making
Students create eco-friendly Ganpati idols in school and take them back home just a week before Ganesh Chaturthi. This inculcates a sense of responsibility and love toward Nature among our students, while celebrating a festival. The shadoo mati is provided by the school. Students have to bring basic stuff like old cloth, bowl for water, old newspapers to lay out, toothpicks or matchsticks to make designs, paint brush to smoothen out the cracks etc.
Students of KG to Std. 5 do this activity with their parents on an Electric Saturday morning
Students of Std 6 to 10 do this activity independently, on a school day, during school hours.
Lantern Making (KG to Std. 5)
Just a few days before Diwali, as we all get into the mood for the biggest holiday of the year, our students participate in a lantern making activity in the school. This is a 1 hour activity. The kit with the paper and decorative material required for the lantern is provided by the school. Students have to bring basic stuff like old cloth, scissors, old newspapers to lay out, something smooth like a writing pad so they can draw easily, sketchpens and whatever decorative material they wish to use.
Students of KG to Std. 5 do this activity with their parents on an Electric Saturday morning
Students of Std 6 to 10 do this activity independently, on a school day, during school hours.
Garba (KG to Std. 2)
When Navratri is around the corner, we have a super fun Garba workshop for the students (and parents!) of Nursery to Std. 2. Did you know that Garba actually makes for a great full-body workout? This Electric Saturday creates fun memories for the parents and kids and also burns some calories along the way! Win-win!
Each session is for 1 hour. The teachers teach Garba steps and then the group performs together as a group to foot-tapping music. There are also vendors selling food and drink – if parents feel the need to regain their energy during the session!
And that’s not all – we have prizes for the Best Dressed Parent and Child on that day! So parents and children come dressed up in their finest traditional attire ready to have a Grand Garba morning at Walnut! This is an Electric Saturday that we dance away.
What about Std. 3 to Std. 10? They do this activity independently, on a school day, during school hours. It’s the last working day before Dasara, when we have the Navratri party. They come all dressed up and dance away!
Goal Settting
The 10th grade holds a special place in a student’s life, as it marks the beginning of their official academic record. Beyond that, it’s a year filled with opportunities, responsibilities, and the potential for great achievements.
The way to achieve success not only academically but in life as well is only through discipline, consistency and hard work. Shortcuts may seem tempting, but they seldom lead to lasting accomplishments. As a school, it is our responsibility to instill long term values. Hence, we encourage our students to make a mindful promise to themselves – a promise to work hard and to be serious about it.
To help our students channelize their efforts, we follow a goal setting exercise to “put things down on paper”.
How do we do this?
- Get an estimate from the student for achievable goals
- Teachers review these goals and keep them realistic
- An “agreement” between the teacher and the student is made
- The agreement is on a “stamp paper”
- The agreement has clearly defined goals
- Parents are the witnesses
- Signed in a closed room setting
Like with our office work, these goals also need tweaking from time to time.
We have a formal process in place for periodic review after every prelim:
- Have the goals been reached? What was the deviation?
- Were they working as per plan?
- What adjustments can be made?
This ability to be agile and adaptive is a valuable life skill. Through continual self-assessment and tweaking their approach, students learn to stay on track.
The key here is to keep doing this as a habit, not as a one-time activity to achieve success. It is just a matter of time!
While the teachers do the heavy lifting of teaching, testing and assisting students, parents have to just make sure that the guidelines given are being followed. So this is again, a hassle-free process for parents – even in Std. 10!
Here are some guidelines that parents need to follow:
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- Create a realistic routine to follow – can simply follow the Time Management ideas given
- Print it and put it up in an easily visible common area
Success often follows a hockey stick progression – initially challenging, but gradually becoming more manageable. This is where the compounding effect of hard work truly shines. We want our students to get into a virtuous cycle of achievement.
