On the 7th, 8th and 12th June, the teachers of Junior School came together for detailed planning, sharing and presentation for the coming weeks.
The Virtual Staff Meetings and Training Sessions for the Junior School staff were conducted by the Headmistress, Mrs. Ritu Kaushal, on 7th and 8th June, 2021.
The following points were discussed on 7th June.
• Parents need to download the Redox App to check notifications from the school.
• Absentees must submit a leave application if absent for 3 days or more.
• All teachers need to post a PPT on Class Rules and Code of Conduct in their classrooms.
• All FA 1 Question papers should be submitted on time along with the answer sheets and blue prints.
• All teachers need to post videos about the World Goals and 5 Ps shared by Miss Grace David and discuss the same with the students.
• Teachers need to mention the competencies and learning outcomes appropriately in their lesson plans.
• Co scholastic teachers need to assist class teachers in following up with fee defaulters.
• Every class must prepare for the upcoming morning assemblies.
On 8th June, teachers from Classes 1 to 3 shared presentations about integrating EVS skills with language, mathematics and other subjects as recommended by CBSE.
This exercise made the staff members more aware of how to prepare EVS integrated lessons through language and maths. Both the sessions were informative and enriching. They were interactive wherein teachers also shared their experiences. Some of them put forth their suggestions too.
We at St. Columba’s strategically plan our lessons in the Junior School rooted in concepts of Social Justice and SDGs. Under the guidance of our respected Headmistress Mrs. Ritu Kaushal, the teachers took up the task of researching and preparing informative presentations on Experiential Learning and Art Integration.
On 12th June, Saturday, an interesting Quiz Session was organised by Mrs. Natasha Sehgal where thought provoking questions were posed to the Junior School staff about the concepts and application of Social Justice and SDGs. The teachers surely had fun as they competed to give the correct answers while Mrs. Pooja Guglani recorded the scores. It was indeed 'Learning with Fun'.
Post the Quiz, a session about Experiential Learning was conducted by Mrs. Anjali Sharma, Mrs. Megha Rawat and Mrs Rashmi Sehgal. They explained the meaning of Experiential Learning and how it is different from hands on activities and traditional learning methods. They elaborated that Experiential Learning is learning through experience. It is not just hands on experience but reflecting on prior knowledge and getting new experiences. It contains the elements of experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting. Different activities to incorporate Experiential Learning in our curriculum were also suggested.
Later a presentation on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)was given by Mrs. Rita Cherobian, Mrs. Shama Tiwari and Mrs. Ritu Joseph. The reasons for the need of SDGs were explained in detail by the teachers. Various aspects like providing clean drinking water to the people, protecting animal life, ensuring respect and equal opportunities to girl child and women, complex governance, laws regarding domestic violence were discussed. Besides this, the 5 P’s and 3 A’s-like awareness among children, action and accountability were also talked about.
An interesting presentation about Art Integrated learning and Art Education was shared by Mrs Nikita Malagar, Mrs. Natasha Sehgal and Mrs. Rupa Dey. The teachers explained in detail how Art is a means to explore verbal and non-verbal communication. It develops awareness about the different art forms, art material, famous artists, techniques, textures, patterns and rhythm. Whereas Art Integrated Learning (AIL) involves all the three domains like cognitive, psycho-motor and affective. It is an approach to teaching in which student construct and demonstrate understanding through an Art form. It is experiential in nature and makes all children respond with their imagination. It is very effective as it makes learning joyful.
The teachers of classes KG-3 shared their basic structure of PO slides with Mrs Kaushal. She gave various inputs were to the teachers upon how to work further on slides.
It was indeed great learning day for the Junior School Staff.
