EUREKA NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS Founded by AID INDIA and Banca Sella ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT – 2013-’14 On 3 rd June 2013, both Eureka Schools opened with full gusto, throwing their gates open to the eighth batch of students. Eureka School, Koovathur had a total of 145 students enrolled, while Eureka School, Vembakkam commenced with 156 students on roll. Based on our decision taken in consultation with parents at the end of the previous academic year, both Eureka Schools commenced the academic year 2013-’14 as English medium schools. Textbooks with English medium of instruction were provided for all subjects except Tamil. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES Infrastructure Upgrade At both schools, all exterior walls were painted bright yellow and the inner walls of the classrooms were painted off white/cream. New blackboards in customized animal shapes were made for all classrooms, emphasizing the child-centric atmosphere. Eureka School, Vembakkam got a major upgrade with a whole new classroom block consisting of 4 airy and spacious classrooms constructed this year to accommodate the increasing number of students. The container room is proposed to be transformed into the school library. In addition, a new toilet block with 6 toilets and wash basins for girls as well as 4 toilets, 6 urinals and wash basins for boys was constructed. Both schools also got new name boards. Above – pictures of Eureka School, Koovathur; Below – Pictures of Eureka School, Vembakkam
Transcript
EUREKA NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS Founded by AID INDIA and Banca Sella
ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT – 2013-’14
On 3rd June 2013, both Eureka Schools opened with full gusto, throwing their gates open to the
eighth batch of students. Eureka School, Koovathur had a total of 145 students enrolled, while
Eureka School, Vembakkam commenced with 156 students on roll.
Based on our decision taken in consultation with parents at the end of the previous academic year,
both Eureka Schools commenced the academic year 2013-’14 as English medium schools.
Textbooks with English medium of instruction were provided for all subjects except Tamil.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Infrastructure Upgrade
At both schools, all exterior walls were painted bright yellow and the inner walls of the classrooms
were painted off white/cream. New blackboards in customized animal shapes were made for all
classrooms, emphasizing the child-centric atmosphere.
Eureka School, Vembakkam got a major upgrade with a whole new classroom block consisting of 4
airy and spacious classrooms constructed this year to accommodate the increasing number of
students. The container room is proposed to be transformed into the school library.
In addition, a new toilet block with 6 toilets and wash basins for girls as well as 4 toilets, 6 urinals
and wash basins for boys was constructed. Both schools also got new name boards.
Above – pictures of Eureka School, Koovathur; Below – Pictures of Eureka School, Vembakkam
At both schools, fencing work with cement poles and chain links was completed to demarcate
the land encompassing the school boundary. New gates were also installed.
Repair work was undertaken to fix the library roof and classrooms flooring at Eureka School,
Koovathur.
About 15 coconut trees and a number of flowering plants and crotons were planted in Eureka
School, Koovathur. These are being maintained by the school gardener.
New classroom block and toilet block at Eureka School, Vembakkam
New logo for Eureka Schools
In May, we announced a logo design contest to get a new logo
designed for Eureka Schools. In a 3-week time span, we received 20
entries. The winning entry was submitted by Tanay Joshi, a Pune-
based undergraduate student. This was further redesigned to arrive
at our current logo. Tanay was gifted a HCL Tablet in recognition of
his efforts.
TEACHING LEARNING MATERIALS
Starter pack for children
New uniforms
This year, we decided to change the colour and the pattern of the Eureka School uniform worn by
students. This was done both in order to increase children’s comfort level, as well as to ensure that
kids adorn a smarter look. The changed uniforms are red and fawn checked frocks for kindergarten
girls and red and fawn checked kurtas (tunics) with fawn pants for girls in Classes 1 to 5. For all
boys, the new uniform is red and fawn checked collared shirts with fawn shorts. We provided
stitched uniforms based on measurements. Children, parents and teachers like the new uniforms a
lot.
We also got new sports uniforms, T-shirts and shorts in 4 different colours – yellow, green, red and
dark blue for all students. For Class 4 and 5 girls, the uniform has the same T-shirt but pants instead
of shorts.
Inner wear – sleeveless vests for boys and slips for girls were also provided along with the school
uniforms.
Footwear – A pair of black and grey floaters was also introduced this year, as part of the new school
uniform. Teachers have written children’s names on the floaters in white ink to avoid mix ups!
Diary – A colourful handbook was given to children and teachers in both schools outlining the
school policies, rules, important events and holidays, with space for children and teachers to write
daily notes.
Notebooks and stationery – Notebooks of excellent quality were purchased from Seshasayee Paper
and Board Pvt. Ltd. and provided to students. These included a total of about 5,500 notebooks for
301 students such as ruled, un-ruled, checked, double lined, four lined, record and long sized
notebooks. In addition, children were also given drawing notebooks and scrap books. Stationery
such as pencils, erasers, pens and crayons were also given to students.
Workbooks - Workbooks on English phonics, Tamil writing and Math problems were provided to all
students from Classes 1 to 5. LKG & UKG students were provided Eureka workbooks covering skills
in language, math and cognition.
Teaching Learning Material such as posters, flipcharts, flashcards
and DVDs were provided to teachers based on their requests
corresponding to lesson plans.
This year, we took steps in order to help teachers organize their
materials and students’ work in a better manner, as well as to save
time spent on using common materials. Every classroom was
provided a storage unit that could be hung on a wall and each
teacher was provided a personal stationery kit comprising a stapler,
scissors, tape, gum, post-it notes, board pins, paper clips, markers,
sketch pens, ruler, etc. in a colourful pouch.
Based on teachers’ requests, we initiated uniform saris for them this year.
TRAINING
In line with our plans for the forthcoming school year, periodic training
programs were conducted for teachers throughout the academic year.
Special emphasis was given on improving teachers’ skills in English
reading and speaking, given our shift to English medium of instruction.
Summer workshop on Spoken English & Computer skills for teachers
A 5-day training program was conducted for teachers in each of our 2
schools during the last 2 weeks of May 2013. The primary focus was on
encouraging teachers to practise and improve their English speaking
skills as well as to clarify grammar concepts. In addition, teachers were
also trained on the basics of using computers and accessing resources
on the internet as well as email.
This training was conducted by a team of 5 energetic interns - Devan
and Marion, interns from Mc Gill University, Canada– Mithun Ganesh, a
Eureka Fellow recruited for a few months specifically for English
improvement, Mathujitha Sankaran from the European College of
Liberal Arts, Germany and Aghilah Nadaraj from AID US. They used
interesting activities like ‘Spin a story’, role play, English talk, etc.
getting teachers to work in pairs as well as in groups. Teachers were
very appreciative of this training program and said it helped boost their
confidence to speak in English.
Term-1 training
Training related to the plan for the first school term from June to Sep.
was done in Chennai from June 14th to 16th for teachers from both
schools. The key aspects covered were as below:
Lesson plan discussion and demo for all subjects and classes
Training for HMs on School administration by Mr. C.
Lakshminarayanan, former School Inspector, Kendriya Vidyalaya
Schools
Session on classroom management for teachers by by Mr. C. Lak
shminarayanan
Art & craft workshop by Revathi Devraj
Spoken English sessions by interns
Discussion on school annual calendar and timetable
Term – 2 training
Training related to the second school term from Oct. to Dec. was
held in Chennai on Sep. 30 and Oct. 1st for teachers from both
schools. The main focus points were:
Lesson plans, skill charts, assessment tools and worksheet
preparation across subjects
Session on Classroom management and Role of teachers by
Apart from the Eureka School team, others involved in the training
program were Ms. Subha, former teacher at a private school in
Chennai, who conducted training on Social Science for teachers.
Mr. Damodaran, Mr. Richard and Ms. Devi, AID INDIA resource
persons conducted training on Tamil and Ms. Gomathi conducted
training on Science for teachers.
Term – 3 training
This training was done on Jan. 4th at Eureka School, Koovathur.
Teachers from Eureka School, Vembakkam came to Koovathur for
the training program.
At this full day workshop, teachers divided into groups based on
their subject and different resource persons handled sessions for
each subject. The most important part was the demo by teachers
and subsequent feedback given by the panel of resource persons
to improve their lesson delivery.
Ms. Kavitha, former teacher at The School, a Krishnamoorthy
Foundation of India initiative participated in this training program
and provided valuable inputs on including daily life examples in the
lessons.
All teachers remarked that having the training at Eureka School,
Koovathur had made it more enjoyable for them.
.
ASSESSMENTS
Periodic assessments were conducted through the year to assess children’s skills in Tamil, Math and
English. Moreover, children’s performance in Science and Social Science was assessed through a
written test in a format similar to the regular term exams.
Assessment Results – Eureka School, Koovathur
The results of the assessment done in Eureka School Koovathur during April 2014 are given below.
Graph K.1 – Koovathur LKG Assessment Results
Graph K.2 – Koovathur UKG Assessment Results
0102030405060708090
100
Tamil English Math Cognitive
% o
f ch
ildre
n
LKG Assessment Results
Basic Advanced
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Tamil English Math Cognitive
% o
f ch
ildre
n
UKG Assessment Results
Basic Advanced
SKILLS TESTED
Tamil - Basic
Easy Vocabulary
Simple instructions
Pic description
Beginning sounds
Tamil - Advanced
Reading letters
Difficult vocabulary
English - Basic
Easy vocabulary
Beginning sounds
English - Advanced
Reading letters
Difficult vocabulary
Simple instructions
Math - Basic
Least & most
Counting
1-d No. identification
Number order
Math - Advanced
2-d No. identification
Ascending order
1-d addition
Cognitive
Pattern matching
Sorting
Sequencing
Overall, Koovathur LKG children have performed well in Basic
English, Math and cognitive skills as well as Advanced Tamil skills.
More focus is needed on Advanced Math and English skills.
Overall, Koovathur UKG children have performed well in both
Basic and Advanced skills across different subjects. Advanced
math skills, however, could be given more attention.
Graph K.3 – Koovathur Tamil Assessment Results – Class 1 to 5
Graph K.4 – Koovathur English Assessment Results – Class 1 to 5
Graph K.5 – Koovathur Math Assessment Results – Class 1 to 5
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -22 kids
Std. 2 -24 kids
Std. 3 -21 kids
Std. 4 -13 kids
Std. 5 -10 kids
Tamil assessment results
>=75%
50% to 75%
<= 50%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -24 kids
Std. 2 -24 kids
Std. 3 -21 kids
Std. 4 -13 kids
Std. 5 -10 kids
English assessment results
>=75%
50% to 75%
<= 50%
The performance of
Classes 1 and 4 are good
overall, with more than
40% top performers and
40% average performers.
Classes 5, 3 and 2 need a
lot of attention to improve
the performance of
children who have scored
less than 50%.
Specific focus is needed on
writing and grammar.
Skills tested:
Listening comprehension
Reading
Reading comprehension
Writing
Grammar
Across classes, children fared the
best in listening comprehension,
followed by reading and then
writing.
In grammar, most children got
little or no marks.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -22 kids
Std. 2 -24 kids
Std. 3 -21 kids
Std. 4 -13 kids
Std. 5 -10 kids
Math assessment results
>=75%
50-75%
<50%
Overall, skills tested include
number concepts, arithmetic
operations, time, currency,
shapes, measurement,
patterns, fractions and data
representation. Skills children
found difficult (in addition to
word problems, overall) were:
Std. 1 – 1D+1D Addition
Std. 2 – Number concepts
Std. 3 – 2D X 1D Multiplication
Std. 4 – 3D X 2D Multiplication
Std. 5 – 3D/2D Division
Assessment Results – Eureka School, Vembakkam
The results of the assessment done in Eureka School Vembakkam during April 2014 are given
below.
Graph V.1 – Vembakkam LKG Assessment Results
Graph V.2 – Vembakkam UKG Assessment Results
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Tamil English Math Cognitive
% o
f ch
ildre
n
LKG Assessment results
Basic Advanced
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Tamil English Math Cognitive
% o
f ch
ildre
n
UKG Assessment Results
Basic Advanced
SKILLS TESTED
Tamil - Basic
Easy Vocabulary
Simple instructions
Pic description
Beginning sounds
Tamil - Advanced
Reading letters
Difficult vocabulary
English - Basic
Easy vocabulary
Beginning sounds
English - Advanced
Reading letters
Difficult vocabulary
Simple instructions
Math - Basic
Least & most
Counting
1-d No. identification
Number order
Math - Advanced
2-d No. identification
Ascending order
1-d addition
Cognitive
Pattern matching
Sorting
Sequencing
Overall, Vembakkam LKG children have performed very well in all
Basic skills across subjects. More focus is needed mainly on
Advanced Math skills.
Overall, Vembakkam UKG children have performed well in all
Basic skills across subjects. More focus is needed mainly on
Advanced Math skills.
Graph V.3 – Vembakkam Tamil Assessment Results – Class 1 to 5
Graph V.4- Vembakkam English Assessment results – Class 1 to 5
Graph V.5- Vembakkam Math Assessment results – Class 1 to 5
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -30 kids
Std. 2 -24 kids
Std. 3 -22 kids
Std. 4 -11 kids
Std. 5 -13 kids
Tamil assessment results
>=75%
50% to 75%
<= 50%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -30 kids
Std. 2 -22 kids
Std. 3 -23 kids
Std. 4 -11 kids
Std. 5 -13 kids
English assessment results
>=75%
50% to 75%
<= 50%
The performance of Class 4
is good overall.
Classes 2 and 5 have
performed well with 40%
top performers and almost
50% average performers.
Class 1 needs the
maximum attention to
improve the performance
of 70% children who have
scored less than 50%.
Skills tested:
Listening comprehension
Reading
Reading comprehension
Writing
Grammar
Across classes, children fared the
best in listening comprehension,
followed by reading and then
writing.
Std. 1 and 3 require the maximum
attention.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Std. 1 -30 kids
Std. 2 -22 kids
Std. 3 -23 kids
Std. 4 -11 kids
Std. 5 -13 kids
Math assessment results
>=75%
50-75%
<50%
Overall, skills tested include
number concepts, arithmetic
operations, time, currency,
shapes, measurement,
patterns, fractions and data
representation. Skills children
found difficult (in addition to
word problems, overall) were:
Std. 1 – 2D Number concepts
Std. 2 – 2D-1D Subtraction
Std. 3 – 2D X 1D Multiplication
Std. 4 – 3D X 2D Multiplication
Std. 5 – 3D/2D Division
EVENTS
Independence Day Celebration - Both Eureka Schools celebrated India’s 66th year of Independence
on 15th August, 2013. At Eureka School, Vembakkam, students did a March past and a drill, guided
by an NSS volunteer from a neighbouring college. The local panchayat leader and other well-
wishers participated in the program. Class 5 students delivered a speech about famous freedom
fighters. The National Flag was hoisted, followed by sweets distribution. Moreover, a few tree
saplings were planted to honour this special day. At Eureka School, Koovathur, despite heavy rains,
about 70 students and all teachers turned up to celebrate this special day. However, besides flag
hoisting, they were unable to do any of their other planned programs.
Kindergarten Day
Eureka School Koovathur celebrated their Kindergarten Day on 20th
Sep, 2013. The main purpose was to keep parents abreast of
children’s achievements at the end of Term-1 with specific regard
to English skills, since our school converted to English medium of
instruction.
All students in both LKG and UKG sang popular English rhymes and
songs. They also sang a song emphasizing the sound made by each
letter in the English alphabet. Finally, UKG students posed simple
questions in English such as ‘What is your name?’, ‘How old are
you?’, ‘What colour do you like?’, etc. and LKG students answered
these questions in English.
24 parents participated in this event and were very happy to
witness their children answering simple questions in English.
Teachers also used this opportunity to explain to parents about the
adverse health effects of junk food such as oily and spicy savouries,
which they send with their children for snack time. They counselled
parents on the need to send healthy and nutritious snacks and also
provided a few simple recipes for the same!
Gift Exchange Program – Eureka School students decided to celebrate the Joy of Giving week by
making and gifting hand-made gifts to children from other schools. In addition, they tied up with
schools that invited them over to spend a day with their children. The idea was that there would be
an exchange of ideas and experiences among children and teachers in both schools.
As part of this program, children from Classes 4 & 5 in Eureka School, Koovathur visited Chettinad
Hari Shree Vidyalayam on Oct. 9th, 2013. Our children had a wonderful time learning art & craft,
dhandiya dance, team sports, music, science and English from their peers in Hari Shree, guided by
their teachers, who were wonderful hosts. Our students gifted hand-made straw cups, masks, etc.
and in turn, the hosts gave them a few gifts. Moreover, the school also gifted our children sports
materials – some purchased and some used items donated by children. In all, it was a truly
memorable day for our students as well as the hosts.
On Oct. 17th, Class 4 & 5 children visited the Isai Ambalam School and the Aikiyam School at
Auroville for the gift exchange program. At Isai Ambalam School, children received a warm
welcome and exchanged the gifts they had made with their peers in the host school. Further, they
were engaged in art class and a phonics class, where they performed really well, to the glee of the
host school teachers. At Aikiyam School, the children got a tour of the school – including the art
therapy class, play therapy class and carpentry unit. They also tried their hands at some of the
games and got to interact with the students.
ABC Nee Vaasi – an English reading game show
With the increased focus on English, we conducted “ABC Nee
Vaasi!”, a unique game to improve and showcase the students’
English reading skills of students. This game show was
conducted on Nov. 30th at Sir P.T. Thyagaraya Hall in Chennai.
All 96 students studying in Classes 1 to 5 in Eureka School
Vembakkam participated in this game show.
Each class had 4 to 5 teams. Each class played 3 games in a quiz
format in line with their reading goal. Every child had a chance
to participate on stage. Everyone was astounded by the
confidence and speed with which the children read English
words, sentences and stories. The audience was especially
stunned in the 'Word Search' game, where Class 3 children had
to find four-letter words hidden in a grid of letters. They were
so fast, that each time before the adults in the audience could
spot each word; the kids would run up and point to it!
Sports Day Celebrations
Both schools held Sports Day celebrations, commemorating Children’s Day – Vembakkam on
Nov. 14th and Koovathur on Nov. 15th. Every student from LKG to Class 5 participated in this
event.
This year, we introduced the concept of “Houses” – dividing children in each class into Yellow
House, Red House, Blue House and Green House. Students were divided in to 3 groups – Sub
Juniors (LKG and UKG), Juniors (Classes 1 & 2) and Seniors (Classes 3 to 5). Each group had 4
individual events and 1 team event. There was a lot of energy and excitement as children
competed in various games, amidst loud cheering from their “House members”. Some of the
games played were water filling in bottles, frog race, running race, lemon and spoon, tug-off
war and pass the ball.
Winners in individual events were given trophies and winners in team events were awarded
medals and certificates. Red House in Koovathur and Green House in Vembakkam won the
coveted rolling trophy for the winning house.
70 parents landed up in Chennai to motivate their children and
witness their talents in the game show. Volunteers from Sella
Synergy, Chennai, AID INDIA's volunteer group as well as
VidyaMandir School, Mylapore took up various tasks for the
event on the event day.
Dr. Vasanthi Devi, special guest for the event expressed that it
was the first time she had seen high quality outcomes in English
being demonstrated for rural children. We could see the joy in
the faces of parents. One parent who was very keen to share his
thoughts, came up on stage, but became too emotional to
speak. He shared later that he was so moved to see his son
reading English, whereas he himself had dropped out of school.
Eureka School teachers worked very hard for this and we were
really glad that kids had achieved the goals. Starting from just 6
children who could read English in August, teachers ensured
that the number of children who could read touched 59!
The same event was held at J.R, Mahal, a wedding hall in
Koovathur on Dec. 11th. The hall was filled with excited parents
and several local dignitaries such as the MLA, Block Councillor,
Panchayat President and Principals of Private and Government schools. The same event format was
followed and children did really well. Volunteers from IIT Madras helped organize the event and
kept score and time. All children were given participation prizes.
Pongal celebrations
At Eureka School, Koovathur, Pongal celebrations were made more
special by the visit of the Banca Sella Italy and Chennai team, including
Pietro Sella. The team undertook a tour of the classrooms and
interacted with teachers and students. They also celebrated Pongal
with our students and distributed gift packs comprising stationery,
books and cakes for children and sweets & savouries to teachers.
At Eureka School, Vembakkam, teachers made Pongal and vegetable
rice at school. Along with children, they enjoyed a hearty meal and
prayed for a good harvest season.
Republic Day celebrations - Both schools celebrated India’s Republic Day on 26th January 2014. The
Indian flag was hoisted and students from Classes 4 & 5 delivered short speeches about the
achievements of eminent freedom fighters. Well-wishers and parents participated in the event and
distributed chocolates to children.
Excursion - This year, children from Classes 1 to 5 in both schools
went on their annual excursion in Feb. 2014. 80 students from
Eureka School Vembakkam, accompanied by 10 teachers visited
the Arignar Anna Zoological Park at Vandalur and the Bird
Sanctuary at Vedanthangal on Feb. 21, 2014. They had a lovely
day watching birds and animals at their best.
On Feb. 22nd, 40 students from
Classes 1 to 5 in Eureka School, Koovathur had a different experience
visiting the Government Museum at Egmore, Chennai and the Madras
Lighthouse at Santhome. Several Chennai-based volunteers helped
guide students at the museum, where children saw exhibits related to
origami, currency, fossils, etc. The star attraction was the life-sized
dinosaur exhibit which actually moved and ‘roared’ – children’s
excitement knew no bounds when they witnessed this demonstration.
They also had a great view from the top of the lighthouse and frolicked
in the beach waters.
Science Project Day
Eureka School Koovathur celebrated the National Science Day on Feb. 28, 2014. Every student from
LKG to Class 5 participated in the Science Day activities - which involved a mix of show & tell,
experiment demonstration & explanation, model display and other activities. About 40 parents
turned up to witness their children’s prowess in science. Moreover, Principal and teachers from
Government High School, Anaicut as well as volunteers, Ms. Kavitha Rajaram, working with Tata
Consultancy Services and Priyanka participated in this event and encouraged students and teachers.
Every classroom had lively exhibits related to their chosen topic. Children in UKG blindfolded their
parents, gave them a cut fruit/vegetable dipped in salt/sweet jam and asked them to identify it
correctly. Class 3 had Nutrition as their topic. Here, children presented the diet chart of their class
over a week, while the teacher presented the height, weight and BMI of each child, highlighting the
need for a nutritious diet to parents. Children in Classes 4 & 5 demonstrated models they had made
such as the volcano, windmill, etc. Parents and visitors were all praise for the children’s confidence
and knowledge in science.
Annual Day celebrations
Eureka School Koovathur celebrated their Annual Day on April 4th at a wedding hall near Koovathur.
Eureka School Vembakkam celebrated their Annual Day on April 5th in the school premises. Stage
decorations and set backdrops were made by the Principal and teachers. Parents were thrilled with
their children’s fluency in delivering dialogues and songs in the following programs.
Common programs at both schools
Welcome song in English by LKG students
Lively rendition of songs from Karadi Rhymes &
Genki English
Folk dances
Koovathur highlights
A witty play on the importance of each body
part
An English play based on the story book “Is this
a nest?” set in the backdrop of a forest
Silambam demonstration
Vembakkam highlights
Play depicting ancient history
Phonics song
Prize distribution
Prizes were distributed to students who had
obtained 100% attendance.
This was followed by the Graduation Ceremony
for Class 5 students, who would be passing out
in April. Certificates were given to each
student, and s(he) was adorned with a sash and
a graduation robe, along with a photo with
his/her parent.
The ‘Best outgoing student award’, a brand new bicycle was given to 1 student in Class 5 for
accomplishment in academics and extra-curricular activities. At Eureka School Koovathur, this award went
to Saranya, while at Eureka School, Vembakkam, Pratheepa won the award.
The Panchayat President, Principals from nearby schools and volunteers & staff from AID INDIA
participated in the Annual Day program.
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
Teacher recruitment
We recruited Mr. M.N. Jayakumar as the new Headmaster for Eureka School, Koovathur. A very
systematic and motivated person, Mr. Jayakumar has been contributing immensely to the smooth
functioning of the school.
To provide children enhanced teaching of English, we recruited Ms. Jayalakshmi Ramkumar, English
Teacher from Kalpakkam. With prior experience in teaching English in private schools, Ms.
Jayalakshmi conversed with our students in fluent English, thus improving their confidence in
English speaking.
In order to provide individual attention during the crucial early years, we recruited 1 additional
teacher for each kindergarten class in both schools.
Quality improvement
Genki English – With the increased emphasis on English, we decided to implement Genki English, a
DVD-based set of modules to increase children’s skills in basic English comprehension and speaking,
developed by Richard Graham, a native English speaker who has been teaching English to Japanese
school students. This has a set of over 70 modules on topics such as “Hello, how are you?”, “What’s
the weather like?”, etc. which combines songs, flashcards and activities to motivate children to
listen and speak. Teachers have been conducting these classes with children twice a week using
laptops. Children have been enjoying these classes since they involve a lot of songs and activities.
Distant English classes - This was a new initiative we tried out to enhance teachers’ English listening
and speaking skills. We got one interested English-speaking volunteer tied up with a specific teacher
and got them to have half hour conversations (completely in English) over phone 5 days a week. An
overall structure was provided to volunteers on the conversation content. 10 volunteers signed up
for these classes and at least 20 such conversations happened between each volunteers and teacher
pair. Teachers were very excited about this initiative and got a lot of doubts clarified through
volunteers. Several volunteers also called in regularly and enjoyed these distant classes, which
helped them contribute to the teachers’ overall development.
External consultant – We engaged a consultant, Mr. C. Lakshminarayanan, with over 2 decades of
experience as school inspector for Kendriya Vidyalaya schools for a few months to assess the overall
quality of Eureka Schools and to provide suggestions for improvement. Mr. Lakshminarayanan
visited both Eureka Schools twice, observed teachers classes and took stock of the infrastructure
and processes. He provided us some useful feedback on things that were working well and some
recommendations for change, in order to improve quality.
Football teams formed – At Eureka School, Vembakkam,
football coaching has been going on in full swing, thanks
to Phenomenon Sport. 5 teams have been formed with
children from Classes 3 to 5 and they got new jerseys in 5
colours sponsored by the company. It has been a treat to
watch children play like professionals. The group got our
students to play a proper match in December 2013.
Revamp of Eureka School Koovathur
In January, we undertook a revamp of Eureka School Koovathur, both in terms of infrastructure
improvement as well as setting up of good practices. This was done mainly to provide a boost to
students as well as teachers to enjoy and respect their school environment. The highlight
improvements made were:
Teachers and students were extremely excited at the new enhancements. They have promised to keep
the classrooms and campus clean as well as continue the good practices.
Birthday Chart – Kept in a common area, every class teacher enters names of children in her class celebrating their birthday in a particular month.
Attendance Charts in each class – kids stick a star in the column against their photo for each day attended, thus giving a visual representation & serving as incentive.
Above - A statement about Eureka School teachers
Below – A separate room for the Headmaster with an I-bulletin board for teachers
Left and
right -
Displays
outside each
subject
room
Below – Children’s work and teacher’s lesson plan displayed on display boards inside classrooms
Spreading the word
We have taken the following steps to spread the word about Eureka Schools and keep people updated
about school happenings.
Website – We have set up a separate website for Eureka Schools www.eurekaschool.org where an
overview of Eureka Schools is provided and key events updated periodically.
Facebook page – We have also set up a separate Facebook page for Eureka Schools
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eureka-School/188746754666591, where photos and regular
updates are being posted.
Promotional video – We decided to make a video on Eureka Schools which can be shared with the
external world and help garner support. The video was made by Writer-Director, Mr. Sivakumar
Ananthasubramanian and Assistant Director, Mr. Sarjun Usman. It can be viewed on you tube
