Page 17 - DAIS Insignia 2020-21

PRIMARY Keeping in mind how our kids are crazy about critters, we reached out to them to celebrate Pet Week. Their excitement knew no bounds, as they
clicked pictures with their pets and shared information about them, played 'pet games' and swayed to 'pet tunes'.
The Primary school paid tribute to our nation in true patriotism. During the 'Freedom Week' all the classes were involved in a multitude of
activities, including interactive sessions with veterans from the Armed Forces, dance, music, drama, yoga, art, storytelling and quizzes, which
SCHOOL evoked the spirit of nationalism and stirred the young ones with pride and respect for our nation.
For the Teachers' Day celebration, the Student Council put together an entertaining celebration on the digital platform. It was an interactive
event for teachers, that included a 'How well do you know your school?' Quiz, melodious songs and high energy dances.
In order to promote the Hindi language and its learning, we celebrated 'Hindi Divas' on a large scale. Our in-house language teachers brought in
real-life conversations, language learning and cultural exchange into the classroom. Our guest speaker showcased and performed stories
through a puppet show, to instill in children the need to preserve and develop our multilingual culture. This was further reinforced through the
Hindi Elocution Competition, where the students performed in the target language with clarity, candor, conviction and confidence.
“Education is a shared commitment between Our annual English Elocution Competition and Western / Indian Music Competition were performed online too. The choice of poems and
songs was delightful, rhythmic and vivid. The children gave a stimulating performance and tugged at each one's heartstrings, demonstrating
dedicated teachers, motivated students and passion and mastery.
enthusiastic parents with high expectations.” Ms. Farida Taraporevala At every class level, we celebrated the birth anniversary of the 'Father of the Nation' on Gandhi Jayanti, inculcating pride and patriotic fervour
(Head-Primary) amongst our students. The activities conducted ranged from song, dance and art; to enactments, presentations and in-class competitions.
At our annual Art Competition, the students competed house-wise, with the overarching theme “BE THE CHANGE”. Our budding artists
showcased their innate talents and artistic abilities through their choice of drawing and colouring technique.
This quote by Bob Beauprez rightly encompasses the Dussehra, the festival celebrating the victory of goodness, was celebrated at every class level, with storytelling, art, creative writing, role play,
philosophy of partnership, that we endorse at DAIS. song, dance, and drama to learn about our culture and festivals.
Although COVID-19 has unearthed unique To celebrate the Christmas spirit of 'Caring and Sharing', our children produced artistic works that were merged to create collages, sent out as
challenges and priorities; and impacted nearly all Christmas Greetings to every parent of the DAIS community.
aspects of school life, we believe that the strong
relationships we hold with students, families, and As 2021 crept into our lives, we kept the Primary spirit of performance and participation going, with the celebration of Republic Day. Patriotic
each other, will guide us through these uncertain song and dance performances were a salute to the martyrs and legends, who worked and continue to work tirelessly for the welfare, wellbeing
times together. and progress of our nation.
To promote high levels of literacy and to instill important social skills in our students, we were back with our Read Aloud Project. The theme this
With the sudden shift away from the classroom, and year was 'Gratitude', a feeling we all have experienced often in the last year. Our goal was to create a culture of kindness in the classroom, the
the adoption of online learning, we restructured some community, and beyond. Our parent volunteers picked out appropriate stories to read to the children, followed by activities that ranged from Art
of our systems, ensuring instructional quality. We and Craft, Scavenger Hunt, designing and creating cards with thank you messages, dramatization, quizzes, 'Gratitude Jar', cooking, and lots n'
doubled down on our commitment to deliver lots of sharing of feelings.
excellence and transitioned to online teaching via MS
Teams as the learning platform. Undeterred, we Before we ended this unique yet spectacular year, we conducted an online Math Whiz, to challenge our primary schoolers with problems to test
continued to have a successful year and we would love Ms. Vimi Lima Santos their numeracy skills and have some online fun.
to share with you, some of the highlights of the year Ms. Mahrookh Tangri (Deputy Head - Research We are proud of our children's success in individual events outside the school, in sports and academics, in spite of the limitations they faced this
gone by. This report summarizes the work, learning, (Deputy Head-Primary) and Learning - Primary) year. They triumphed at the National Science Olympiad (NSO), International Math Olympiad (IMO), Mental Math Olympiad, Trinity College
activities and achievements of our Primary School London Exams and Robotics. Besides these, some of our students participated at the inter-school, state and national level in sports like chess,
learning community over the past 12 months. confirming our school's ethos of commitment to excellence.
We kept our parents updated on the children's progress with our 1st virtual Parent-Teacher Meetings. It proved to be a good forum to reflect
The academic year started with uncertainty and it was time to think ahead. We pivoted to the online setting under these unexpected
circumstances, that brought about a drastic technological change in our learners and educators. It developed in our students the ability to be upon each child's progress and areas of development, if any. These conferences were organized one in each term.
independent and self-directed learners. Besides picking up basic computer skills, they became adept at using the web browser, finding resources A rapidly changing world needs an upgraded teacher! As educators, our teachers are lifelong learners. The school enabled professional
through search engines, downloading and installing software, and other new technology skills. Our kindergarten learners too embraced development for teachers, to keep up with trends and best practices in the educational field and to update their pedagogical skills to provide high
technology through guided interactions that kept them involved and engaged. Our students became better collaborators, communicators, quality education to the students. These workshops also included sessions that focused on supporting the social and emotional well-being and
researchers, presenters and problem-solvers on the virtual platform. Behind the scenes planning by the faculty continued remotely, with teachers resilience of teachers, to create a positive school climate. We would like to salute our conscientious and caring faculty and staff who have made a
putting in longer hours, designing productive engagements and exploring online learning software and tools, like Padlet, Flipgrid, Nearpod, huge contribution to our students' learning, providing rich and engaging experiences. Their commitment is exceptional and is demonstrated in all
Kahoot, MS Forms, Canva, Adobe, Google Docs, OneDrive, etc. to facilitate learning. aspects of school life; academic, physical, emotional and social. Thank you dear teachers!
This year our children have put in deliberate effort and displayed enthusiasm in spite of these trying times. They have been so wonderful, both in
The challenge that loomed at us was getting our youngest children online. How were we going to get our newest lot of Lower Kindergarten kids, their behaviour and work ethic, creating an environment conducive to teaching and learning, and making it a joyful experience for all. The
who had never seen the campus, sit in front of a screen and learn? As we know, kindergartners usually need a lot of movement and exploration, students have also invested additional time and energy in distance learning, dealing with the tumultuous nature of technology and sometimes
and these are things that you can't really do remotely, especially when they can only see their friends in tiny boxes through the Teams platform. not feeling in charge of the circumstances. We appreciate your determination, dear learners.
There was also the issue of their socio-emotional development and learning to work in groups that needed to be addressed. So, we requested a
parent or a guardian to sit in during the class sessions, and it worked! We also used small group instruction to help students feel more Dear Parents, you have fostered a sense of support and appreciation that allows us, as educators, to improve our practice daily. In spite of some
comfortable and connected with each other. Our teachers used multiple strategies to help the young students to get to know one another and challenges we faced, we continued to ensure the safety and educational needs of our students. This was possible due to your patience,
motivated them to readily share ideas. We can proudly claim that our teachers did a fantastic job keeping them engaged, confident and excited understanding and your appreciation. We owe you an expression of gratitude for building a stronger working community and supporting us to
about school. Their creativity and desire to learn have been fueled and our children are ready to learn. achieve our goals. Thank you!
We are thankful to our admin and support staff who have put their best foot forward to ensure the smooth transition to the online platform, by
During the academic year 2020-2021, we added to our pool of teachers and are now functioning with two homeroom teachers per class-division and working tirelessly behind the scenes and making things happen almost magically.
a co-teacher assisting the class level. These new faculty members have brought their own vibrancy to our school, enriching our programme and
supporting the mental, physical, and emotional health of our students. We now have amidst us Ms. Vimi Lima Santos who has joined the Primary Our deepest appreciation to Ms. Zarene Munshi, the Consultant and Advisor to the Chairperson for her guidance and astute advice. We treasure
Leadership Team as the Deputy Head of Research and Learning, to align our programme practices and standards, to support quality implementation. everything you have taught us, Ms. Munshi!
With a stronger team, we are ready and recharged to provide our learners with a stimulating curriculum to maximize student success. Thank you to our Vice Chairperson, Mrs. Isha Ambani Piramal for the support you provide to us, as well as for your positive influence in every
venture we undertake.
Academic excellence has been just one aspect of our Primary School goals. We firmly believe in the holistic development of a child and that is why Our heartfelt gratitude to our Founder and Chairperson, Ms. Nita Ambani, who has constantly motivated and inspired us to awaken joy and
our academic programme is varied and necessitates the active involvement of all our students. No stone is left unturned in nudging our children creativity in our children and for her leadership in steering us through these challenging times. Thank you, Ma'am!
towards excellence to thrive within and beyond the classroom. Our teachers put in their best efforts to ensure that our students are encouraged
to 'Dare to Dream and Learn to Excel'. The theme of this year's Insignia is 'Sustainability'. It has been our endeavour to instill in our children the imperatives of sustainability and how
they can play a vital role in meeting the challenges of the future in a globalizing world.
As they say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”- hence at DAIS, our co-curricular activities are an integral part of the school curriculum. Warm regards for a safe and healthy future. Let's all say together, “We shall overcome!”
Participation in the activities helps students in emotional development, social skill development, and overall personality development. However,
keeping in mind the negative impact of too much screen time on our young students, we relaxed our co-curricular programme during the last Farida Taraporevala
academic year. Nevertheless, in order to provide students with an environment for social interactions and skill development, we organized and Head - Primary
conducted several school events, bringing in a sense of normalcy in their lives. Mahrookh Tangri
Deputy Head - Primary
The pandemic lockdown isolated the world. But that did not deter us from celebrating the Earth, which is now healing and is cleaner and
greener than it has been for a very long time. For Earth Day the teachers planned daily challenges, online songs, videos and activities, in Vimi Lima Santos
which every student participated and saluted Mother Earth for her 'sharing and caring' attitude towards mankind. Deputy Head - Research and Learning
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