Academics
At A.J. Hr. Sec. School, Puducherry, Belief and Courage, Education for Life, Excellence in Education and Commitment to a meaningful Education are of prime importance. Quality education is provided to each and every child. A.J. HSS believes that love for education should be developed for children in the initial years and conditions should be created for them to pursue a positive approach in life.
A unidirectional teaching method is being increasingly substituted by a multidirectional group workshop method. Here the teacher becomes the group co-ordinator initiating work, nurturing students without the phobia of examinations and homework. Emphasis is on development of oral and written expression. Home assignments are not a carry-over of classwork but oriented towards honing individual talents.
Accreditation
A.J. HSS is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which is the largest educational board in the country and is duly recognized by the Department of Education, Government of NCT Delhi.
Curriculum - Middle, High & Secondary Level
A.J. Higher Secondary School, Puducherry is affiliated to CBSE with classes from Nursery to X. The school follows the CBSE curriculum in Classes IX to X and uses NCERT books in various subjects. In Classes I-VIII also, the school follows primarily NCERT books and guidelines.
Curriculum
A child’s first experiences of school are some of the most important experiences in life, setting an approach to learning that can become a lifetime’s habit. Children need to feel safe, and have classrooms that combine wonder and energy and foster a tone that allows even the most quiet and sensitive child an equal opportunity to interact with teachers, assistants and fellow students. The early childhood years focus on learning through experience, interaction and inquiry. Classrooms are vibrant and colorful centres of happy activity. Even our youngest students are proud of their environment and eager to express their joy in learning. Parents enjoy the class presentations, assemblies and performances which occur throughout the year. They can watch their child develop social and academic skills day by day, and take pleasure in knowing how well they are being nurtured and inspired. The children will also enjoy trips and outings, picnics and play together, and become passionate about the things they are learning! At A.J. HSS we provide education with an objective to empower students to make decisions, to find creative solutions and plan effective action strategies. The curriculum is structured in a manner that keeps your child in touch with the ever-changing world trends, right from the junior years to the senior level. We constantly revamp, reinvent and evaluate the classroom and teaching strategy to create the most appropriate education that your child deserves. The study programme for all learning levels is unique because it is a cross-fertilization of the finest teaching methodologies.
Kindergarten Level
Our concept is based on the idea that children are better able to learn and learn better when they are happy and feel comfortable, free and safe. They retain the most knowledge when they are able to experience and try things out on their own while the image of the world for children is made up of a mosaic of various fragments that are they then learn to connect and find associations between the fragments.
We see education as a walk through a world full of a huge variety of topics and pictures, all of which are interconnected. Rhythm is a part of song, song is a part of music and music is a part of life.
Teaching itself reflects this concept and is divided into thematic blocks within which children gather knowledge from the world around them and themselves, helping them acquire well-rounded abilities and life skills. Art, movement and games are all educational resources and help develop critical thinking skills. The individual topics are formally assigned their own specific time and space but are free to intermingle and frequently smoothly integrate with subsequent topics that are covered. We take great care to ensure that theory is well connected to practice and that children learn through hands on and direct experience in the form of various excursions, trips, sittings, performances and more. Well-rounded development of his or her emotional, social and cognitive abilities is also critical.
Our goal is to create an environment in which children can feel happy and safe while ensuring that parents will have a welcoming feeling of acceptance. Our aim is to ensure our "Belief and Courage, Education for Life" operate in the form of an open community with open lines of communication and close ties where children, their parents and employees all have their own irreplaceable place. For this very reason we offer parents the option to participate in regular formal and informal meetings and to have an influence on events in our community. Every month we keep parents informed of the latest news, on what has been going on and what is coming up in the near future. We consider open and direct communication to be one of the basic pillars for successful and, more importantly, constructive cooperation between our kindergarten and families.
Children at this stage:
- Identify self by specific abilities, characteristics and preferences (e.g., by gender, age, as part of a family, friends, colours, food etc.)
- Develop a sense of balance and physical coordination through play.
- Learn language through activities like role play, storytelling, poetry recitation, singing and reading age appropriate and level based books.
- Understand to analyse their actions as right or wrong.
- Learn to be friends with children from diverse backgrounds, celebrate various festivals, sing and dance together.
- Learn to live in harmony with their environment, make observations, enquire and ask questions – what, how & why.
- Relate a numeral to its respective quantity, associate value to a number and Identify shapes by names: curved and straight lines, circle, square, triangle and understand spatial relationships.
- Learn to manage their feelings and emotions and learn appropriate behaviour.
- Demonstrate the ability to begin to assume responsibility for their own safety within their environment.
- Learn values, life skills, build relationships and grow up as confident and responsible citizens.
Learning at this stage is experiential, fun & activity based. The pedagogical processes followed are based on developmentally appropriate methods with multiple teaching and learning strategies. The child is the central figure and an active participant in the teaching learning process. Children enjoy the freedom to explore, express, create and interact within their environment and gain knowledge.
At this stage, there is no system of formal assessment.
Primary Level
The primary school curriculum is based on the NCERT guidelines and focuses on laying the foundations of knowledge, skills and attitudes which will guide the young learners for life.
The key learning domains which are focused are:
- Language and Literacy (Listening, Reading, Writing & Communication skills)
- Numeracy (Mathematical thinking and reasoning)
- Personal, Social & Emotional Development (Self Awareness & Social Awareness)
- Discovery of the World – (Environmental awareness)
- Motor Skills development (Physical & Health Education)
- Aesthetics & Creative Expression (Art Education)
Primary (Classes I To V)
At this stage too, the curriculum supports experiential learning, focuses on conceptual clarity by relating learning to everyday life, developing thinking and analytical skills. The curriculum also aims at nurturing the affective domain of the learners through subjects and activities which will help develop the basic life skills in the learner – self-awareness, effective communication skills and emotional strength. The pedagogy at this stage is not absolutely fixed, structured or prescribed but it is multi-dimensional and flexible, which gives the learner ample opportunities to explore and discover.
The learning areas include:
- Languages (English, Hindi) – Acquire the skills of listening, speaking, reading & writing, acquire varied range of vocabulary, develop interpersonal communication skills and express meaningfully. Third Language is introduced in Class IV. These languages are taught through activities with an aim to initiate the language in a fun way. However, a more structured syllabus is followed in the upper primary stage. Students can opt for one of the languages out of French, German and Spanish.
- Mathematics – Performing operation of numbers, understanding shapes, similarities and differences, collecting data, representing and analysing the data, identifying patterns in shapes and numbers etc.
- Environmental Science – To make them aware of their surroundings, appreciative of and sensitive of environmental issues (natural, physical, social and cultural)
- Information & Communication technology
- Visual Arts & Performing Arts
- Physical & Health Education
- Life skills & Value Education
- Math’s Skill & English Skill
- Karate, Yoga, Music, Signing, Classical Dance & Sports.
- English Lab, Math’s Lab, Science Invention & Robotics
Children also get opportunities to join various hobby clubs as per their interest and aptitude. They participate in intra-section and inter-section competitions, class assemblies, annual days, celebrations and social awareness campaigns.
The scheme of periodic assessment, as designed and laid out by the CBSE & NCERT, is followed in the Primary School. Formal test & Exams are introduced in Class I onwards.
Grade VI to VIII
The Middle Years School Program
This curriculum is approached through enquiry, developing the present knowledge of the students into an exciting journey to acquire even more relevant knowledge, stimulating the students’ latent curiosity and honing the skills of research, expression, presentation and application.
Students learn to share experiences, work in teams and transfer knowledge gained in one area to another, through cross-curricular projects and themes.
Grade IX to X
The Senior School Program
The curriculum created for the senior school program creates a connection between learners’ spiritual, ethical, social, cognitive, mental and physical growth and development. We aim at nurturing individuality to enhance one’s innate potentials. Students with their persistent efforts develop scientific outlook and transformative competence in order to meet the demands of changing society. The curriculum is strictly based on CBSE norms, keeping in mind the keeping and goals for achieving success; focussing on the requirements and capabilities of learners and possessing self awareness and exploration of innate values.