Middle School
Education - The BPS Way!
Like schools around the world, BPS has been thrust into a distance learning scenario during the COVID-19 pandemic. In organizing for online learning, we have sought to take our students’ most important needs into account: the need for structure during a time when much of what was “normal” has been upended; the need for social-emotional wellbeing and pastoral support; and the need to engage in the relationships and community that are at the heart of the BPS experience.
At the same time, we have sought to continuously challenge our students, using a variety of educational technologies and best practices in online learning. We are mindful of the ways that we can guide our students into an independence appropriate for their age and development; help them establish organizational skills to keep pace with their online coursework; and support them as they internalize a sense of accountability that will foster leadership and maturity.
Through distance learning, we have set our sights on helping our students become proficient in the skills required in the digital age - skills that will benefit them throughout college, career, and citizenship.
BPS is paying special attention to the ways that we can maintain a strong sense of community in online spaces. In addition to the relationships created within classes, students participate in online group meetings each morning, rotating between school-wide assemblies, homeroom (year-level) gatherings, and smaller advisor group meetings. Students and parents are invited as a family to attend a regularly scheduled online session called “Decoding Distance Learning,” where questions can be answered and up-to-date information can be shared. Teachers meet together weekly to celebrate successes, discuss challenges, and share tips for teaching in the digital context.
Through distance learning, we have set our sights on helping our students become proficient in the skills required in the digital age – skills that will benefit them throughout college, career, and citizenship. The best hope of our distance learning programme is to create lasting advancements to our teaching and learning practices, elevating education at BPS and eliciting greatness from our students and ourselves.
Importance Of Contextual Learning
In today’s time, there are many schools that still follow the conventional methods of teaching the learners in their classrooms. Emphasis relies on memorization of the facts and rote learning. There is little application of knowledge by the learners and teaching is through direct instructions and lecture methods with little or no attention to social and emotional development. As a result, the learners do not enjoy the learning process.
At Bharti Public School, Swasthya Vihar the focus is on “contextual teaching and learning” rather than a conventional method of learning. Contextual learning is based on a constructivist theory of teaching and learning. Learning takes place when teachers are able to present information in a way that students are able to construct meaning based on their own experiences. Contextual teaching and learning as an approach can be applied in developing some language skills also such as speaking and writing.
In this case, a qualitative case study research design was conducted by Satriani, Emilia and Gunawan (2012) to investigate that strategy whether it can improve the student’s writing ability or not. As the result, the teaching writing by using contextual teaching and learning was successful to improve students’ recount writing skill.
The English teachers at BPS thus provide structured lessons in reading comprehension, note-taking, summarising, effective sentence construction, paragraphing, grammar and vocabulary development. They emphasize that through this the learners are acquiring tools and processes that will enable them to perform more efficiently and intelligently – in all disciplines and in their future too. Writing tasks are also administered based on experiences that are familiar to learners and have the appearance of being related to real-life situations.
In TOK (Theory of Knowledge) sessions, the learners learn the concept of primary knowledge and shared knowledge. Primary knowledge is what you call as your own. Shared knowledge is what comes from other’s experiences. As and when you learn from other’s experiences and utilize these understandings in your own context, they then become your personal knowledge. The pursuit of mankind is to enhance and their share knowledge. To this effect, a more constructivist approach is quite essential. The more they know what their knowledge is worth in future, the more they would love to invest!
Contextual learning motivates and encourages the learners to introspect and explore their talent and learning. They will able to express themselves with precision and confidence and will thus achieve high standards in schools and universities.
The Significance of Extra-Curricular Activities in Your Child’s Future
All work and no play makes everyone dull. It’s a universally accepted fact, and hence it’s more than necessary for your child to be doing things other than just studying. Every parent looks out for the best for their children, they decide between the best CBSE schools in India and weigh the schools well to see if it offers the right mix of different things.
Firstly, choosing a good school that has excellent sports facilities and extra-curricular activities is essential. Secondly, choosing from the CBSE schools in Delhi that focuses on all-round development, rather than just studies is important. Having extra-curricular activities as a part of the curriculum makes it compulsory for students to get out of their comfort zone and participate. We at Bharti Public School, offer excellent facilities and pay full attention to not just studies but extra-curricular activities too.
Let’s know the significance of extra-curricular and how they can affect your child’s future
Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Yes, thinking skills go beyond the traditional book route. When children only study from books, they develop a pattern of thinking. On the other hand, by investing time in extra-curricular activities, your child can enhance their thinking , reasoning and social skills as well. Sometimes these skills are applied in a fraction of second; for example, when playing squash or football. Developing such quick-thinking skills will stay with your child for a long time.
Each activity/ sport comes with its own set of soft skills as well, situations of collaborating with a team , taking a lead as captain, making independent decisions are some traits that can be groomed above & beyond the skills being taught.
Boosts Self Confidence
Not all students are equal, and while some may excel in academics, others can shine in sports and co-curricular activities. Whether your child likes to paint, sing or play football – appreciating them for things other than academics will boost their self-esteem. When your child realises they are good at something, it will make them more confident in different real-life situations. Hence, extra-curricular activities help children in building confidence.
Improves Social Skills
It is a fact that smartphones have made us more anti-social than ever and children are most affected by this new pocket accessory. Participation in extra-curricular activities puts children in situations where they must socialise with other children. Making new friends and meeting students with similar interest will be a boon to your child’s life. It will foster better communication skills and leadership abilities too. It fosters traits of responsibility and hard work. These group activities further help students take their mind off from disturbing behaviours and other activities that might be inappropriate for them.
Better Time Management Skills
We at Bharti Public School, Swasthya Vihar one of the best CBSE schools in East Delhi teach skills in time management actively – something that is highly valuable in today’s world. Balancing an active timetable for the day teaches students valuable time management skills.
Parents should focus on 360-degree development of their child – where academics and extracurricular activities go hand in hand. In short, instead of only focusing on the pros and cons of each board, parents should give equal weightage to academics and extra-curricular activities.
Our school has facilities for sports basketball courts, football field, volleyball court, an athletics track, etc. Our students have participated in various national and international competitions and succeeded on various occasions.
So, it’s time to choose from the best CBSE school in India!
How To Keep Your Child Safe While On The Internet
The internet can be a nasty place, between predators, malware, explicit content and often parents find themselves in a never-ending cycle of gloom as they try to fend off every threat that their children might face online.
When parents act as positive guardians to their children, they are putting the right tools in place to keep their children safe while also teaching them how to do it themselves. They also need to be aware of the dangers of responding to messages from strangers and they should feel secure enough to tell their parents about the same. This is going to be more important since many companies are now coming up with different messenger/services, especially for children. Here are some tips for cyber safety for your children –
1. Setting Up Parents Controls And Settings
There is various software that can block out the websites not suited for children, as well as control how much screen time the kids can get each day. You can also block certain domains at the router level. iOS and Android to offer parental controls to keep kids safe on the phone.
2. Basic Security Tools
Installing a firewall and antivirus software on computers ensures that you are up to date on software patches. The safer you keep your computer, the safer your kids will be. Always make sure that the computer is kept in open sight that will make sure that the children aren’t heading anywhere they are supposed not to.
3. Set Reasonable Time And Usage Limits
Set rules about what your child can and can’t do when on the internet. Set time limits on their computer use. If they are researching homework, then it shouldn’t be included in the time limits. But make sure that they are actually using it for homework.
4. Make YouTube Safe For Your Kids
YouTube is the new children’s TV. It is one of the most popular sites, but not all videos are appropriate for children. You can switch on the Restricted Mode in the settings and it will hide the videos that are flagged as containing inappropriate content.
While these are precautionary steps to prevent the young minds from the dark side of the internet, there is always a fear of them falling into this trap. It is therefore recommended that instead of helicoptering over them all the time, they are made aware of the challenges so that they may recognize the signs and save themselves. It is time to have an open, candid conversation with your children and be a confidante and guide whom they can turn to in time of doubt and need.