The School Sections

Kindergarten and Lower Primary Section

When a visitor walks through the gates of the kindergarten (‘KG' – children of four
and one-half years of age) and the Lower Primary (‘LP' - children from five to eight years of age) sections of the school, she sees a world of chaotic activity: running, laughing children being chased, children digging furiously in the sand, water splashing, swings flying, a small knot of children bending over a picture book, a house built of bits of coloured cloth, a lively cricket game, a group of easels with brightly painted pictures, a table of children busily cutting and pasting and so on. There is no apparent organization. The pace is swift, the mood, lively and energetic. Yet this enthusiastic learning environment is carefully orchestrated and planned.

“I could see the way the children are very carefully looked after, the way the activities are organized, accurate and flexible, and the way the teachers are trained and involved.” Visitor to the school

The environment is especially prepared to expand the child's expressed interests, and all the activities and resources grow out of and build on those interests. The classroom areas, organized according to subject, contain varied activities planned by the teachers, who are also trained to take up spontaneous activities suggested by the children. All the toys, learning aids, and materials in the school are accessible to the children to play with or explore at their own pace. No activity is compulsory; the child is free to move wherever he wishes.
The happiness of the child and his love for learning are the main aims of teachers in the KG and LP. The teachers build strong, trusting relationships with the children, and the children develop a deep sense of self-worth. This provides the foundation for the children's future learning and growth in the school.

Upper Primary Section

A visit to the upper primary section (‘UP' - children from nine to eleven years) reveals a slightly more focused atmosphere — still bustling with energy and enthusiasm, as in the LP, but with activities that accommodate a longer attention span and more in-depth curiosity. You may see children working on longer-term projects, building models, planting gardens, presenting plays, undertaking elaborate science experiments, and organizing exhibitions of their work. And because in the UP years the children naturally emphasize their peer relationships and social development, you may also see marathon cricket games, panchayat meetings, and groups of girls in dance practice and earnest discussion.

The teachers continue to establish close and trusting relationships with the children. The love of learning and the happiness of the child continue to be the primary aims, but the teachers also put emphasis on social development. Children of this age need to acquire the social traits of respect for others, co-operation, and flexibility, which do not come naturally, and children have to be shown that it is to their benefit to acquire these qualities.

In the classrooms and outdoors, different planned activities are prepared for the children, according to their interests. Homework activities, maths activities, laboratory practicals, computer games, library activities, study habits activities, other subject activities and a special activity for the children in the last year of the UP, take place on a daily basis. The child is free to move where he wishes in the school.

In the UP section, examinations are introduced through “Examfests”. The atmosphere of “Examfest” is lively and enthusiastic. The children themselves submit questions for the exams prepared by the teachers and they can help their friends with the answers. The children also prepare projects and make presentations. The aim is to introduce the children to exams and projects in a fun way, to help prepare the children for the more formal exams they will encounter in the high school section.

High School and Plus-2 Sections

Stepping into the High School and Plus-2 Sections (‘HS/Plus-2’- children from twelve to seventeen years of age) is stepping into a quieter and more concentrated world, but one related organically to the active world of the LP and UP. Here in the HS/Plus-2, the children meet in formal classes, but the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, full of laughter and questioning. Students move freely throughout the campus — no “hall passes” required here — and are often seen in friendly huddles with their teachers andfriends.

The same kind of social development that takes place in the UP continues in the HS/Plus-2, and the teacher-student relationship is open, trusting, and supportive. The children of the HS/Plus-2 have a formal schedule of classes in individual subjects, in order to prepare for the external examinations that are the major qualifying exams in India. Though the classes are more formal, they have a friendly and lively atmosphere, and by this point in their education the children know very well how to use their teachers as a resource. They freely ask questions, express their doubts, and probe their teachers'knowledge. They are their own motivation. The children also engage in advanced and detailed projects in addition to their formal schedule of classes. The teachers continue to provide the child with emotional security and this frees the mind for learning. This is as important for the children in the HS/Plus-2 as it is for the younger children in the school. When the Plus-2 children graduate, they are qualified to go on to pursue university studies.

The school is affiliated with the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations which offers the ICSE and ISC external examinations. The school also has an affiliation with Clonlara School (Michigan, U.S.A.) which has sanctioned Sri Atmananda Memorial School classes for credit towards its American high school diploma. The HS/Plus-2 children choose whether to take the ICSE and ISC examinations or whether to pursue the Clonlara option.