St Francis School ICSE

About the programme:

‘ROOTS’, as the name implies, is a resource room designed to provide the right grounding for children with learning difficulties or challenges and keep them anchored during their foundational years at school. It is a deeply inspired initiative that is set up primarily with the aim of facilitating growth, enhancing the learning atmosphere, and empowering educators to meet the needs of children who learn differently.

What is a resource room?

A resource room is a separate remedial classroom run by special educators who are proficient in teaching children with learning disabilities. Students who are assessed and found to be ‘at risk’ will be enrolled in the programme where they will be given specialised instruction and remediation. Special educators generally use a one-on-one approach or small groups to make learning more individually suited, meaningful and fun.

Why is it necessary?

Inclusive Education! Statistics around the world, including India, show that approximately 10% of children in a regular classroom are found to have a specific learning condition. Many even go unidentified until they are in higher classes. Early intervention will allow for individual needs to be supported by the Individualised Education Programme (IEP). The key focus therefore, is to allow children to recognise their strengths and build on them in order to grow exponentially in the face of unending expectations in the world of education.

How it works?

The special educators work in collaboration with teachers and parents. The teachers are trained to identify children in their classrooms who might benefit from the programme and bring it to the notice of the special educators. The special educators are also trained to conduct informal screenings and assessments. Before enrolling the student in ROOTS, parents of the respective child will be informed; a meeting will be set up and then remedial classes will commence. All activities will happen only during the prescribed school hours. If your child has already been formally assessed and found to have a learning disability, you may bring it to the notice of the class teacher or the special educator so that remedial support can be initiated.

*ROOTS has been set-up in collaboration with Pledge Academy, a center for counselling, special education and training for women and children. If you require any further information on learning difficulties or specific learning conditions, you may visit the website:

In a world of conformity and well-defined expectations, we need to be different, to make a difference! Here at St. Francis, we believe in investing in the future of children and discovering new ways to build a network of support to further our commitment to education.

https://www.pledgeacademy.in/

Facilities & Teaching Aids The school provides for, and teachers and students get to use, a number of different facilities and teaching aids for theirs studies. For the pre-primary and lower primary sections, we have large, well-ventilated classrooms. There are special activity areas, large play grounds and a nature park within the school campus. Several teaching aids are utilized including toys, puppets, beads, shapes, animal cut-outs, flash cards, cassettes, CD’s, colourful large reading books. The school has a well-equipped library with reliable and stimulating learning material. As of today, the library has more 2000 books catering to all age groups. In addition, newspapers, periodicals and journals are also available. There are also software materials available for study. Students have a library period every week where they can, under a teacher’s supervision, relax and read any book of interest. Junior classes up to Standard III can also avail of a large play area within the school during the week. The main building houses the administrative offices, principal’s office, conference room and a visitor’s lounge. The classrooms are well ventilated, naturally lit, and spacious. There is sufficient space to move about and also to display, exhibit informational and creative work of students on bulletin boards. Other Facilities Include: - A huge play ground with courts for basketballs, badminton, football, cricket, volleyball, throwball etc. A beautiful park and the natural ambience of our Sevasadan instituition for our young children to explore. Indoor games: Caroms, Chess, Table tennis. Science Laboratories: Physics, Chemistry and Biology Labs which are provided with sophisticated equipment and gadgets and a proposed Math Laboratory. A large multipurpose Audio-Visual Room with an LCD projector, DVD, television, Computer and a library of educational films. Computer Labs with adequate infrastructure, hardware and software to enable individual students to use the computer during their classes. Controlled intranet and internet access help students share and learn, and also provides a mechanism for teachers to explore and introduce e-learning in their classes. A plethora of activities to reinforce classroom learning. Computer aided teaching. Bio-visual charts Several trips and outings are organized throughout the year, they serve to provide first-hand information and learning under the supervision of teachers.

Evaluation For continuous assessment and to encourage learning by doing, worksheets and projects are done in all the subjects for all the class. Projects are done under the guidance of the teacher in the classroom. Marks will be awarded for the worksheets and projects which will be added to the unit test and term exam marks. All the classes from Nursery to Std IX will have 2 Unit tests and 2 Term Exams. SR.K.G. – STD III Unit Tests & Term Exams 50 Marks [40+5 (Project) + 5 (Average of worksheet)] STD IV – STD IX Unit Tests – 50 Marks [45+5 (Average of worksheets)] Term Exams – 100 Marks [80+10 (Project) + 10 (Average of worksheets)] STD X Unit Tests – 50 Marks [45+5 (Average of worksheets)] Mid Term & Model Exams – 80 Marks [As per ICSE board pattern] Please Note: 1. Worksheets will be surprise (the dates will not be announced in advance) tests of 10 marks each, after every chapter / lesson completed. 2. Project topics will be given well in advance and the students should come well prepared with the required materials on the day when the project work has been scheduled. Projects should be creative and original. 3. Worksheets, project and practical exams will not be conducted again. 4. Students who are absent for the Tests and Terminal Examinations for any reason other than sickness justified by a doctor’s certificate, will be considered as having failed. 5. No examinations will be held before the time fixed for the examination. No re-examination will be conducted in case of students absenting themselves from any examination or test. 6. Serious misconduct or malpractice in an examination disqualifies a child for the whole examination. 7. Worksheets, projects and practicals will not be conducted again.

Secondary Preparation to face the outside world. During these last two years of their school, children develop self esteem by honing their study skills and strengthening their ability to cope with stress, improving their communication skills, developing assertiveness and peer-refusal skills. Children become independent and learn to set academic goals. They participate in rigorous and regular testing that promotes self-discipline and confidence. They learn to build self-esteem, self-respect and courage to explore. Students get maximum attention from teachers and parents at this stage. They are provided with life-skills to face the world with confidence. Children learn to: 1. Identify criteria to evaluate a situation, object or event. 2. Present findings fairly clearly and adding emphasis to key points. 3. Develop lines of enquiry – identify, collect, organize and analyse relevant information. 4. Decide how best to represent conclusions and what further questions to ask. The subjects offered include: Group I: English (Language and Literature), Second Language (Hindi/Kannada), History, Civics & Geography Group II: Mathematics and Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) or Maths and Environment Science Group III: Computer Applications or Physical Education or Art For Groups I & II 80 Marks are allotted for the theory paper and 20 marks for projects/assessments/practicals. For Group III 100 marks each is allotted for theory and practicals. SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work) is compulsory and grades are awarded in the school which will be counted towards the awarding of the pass certificate of the ICSE Board.

Higher Primary The focus is on all round development. This is a critical period in education. Life really comes alive with this vivacious, confused, boisterous and intelligent group of students. Mathematics is divided into Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. General science becomes more detailed as Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Social Studies branches out into History, Geography and Civics. During the years, children are taught to write independently and creatively for specific purposes, pleasure and learning; to organize ideas into coherent structures and paragraphs; to read extensively and discuss personal reading with others; to plan, analyse and develop lines of enquiry to find solutions; to collect, organize and represent information and interpret results. This is a time…… 1. To channel the naturally exuberant, Imaginative energy of the children into activity which is not merely enjoyable but which also has a developmental pay off. 2. To provide children with opportunities to question, explore and assess situations, form their own values, makes decisions. 3. To imbibe core life-skills, strategies and techniques. 4. To learn discipline and time management skills with respect to preparing for test & examination. The subjects offered include: English, Second Language (Hindi, Kannada), Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, History and Civics, Geography, Computer Science, Value education/Catechism, Physical Training, Art, and Singing.

Primary Focus in Early Development Children are introduced progressively to the world if integrated knowledge, while particularly strengthening their attitude in the core subjects of English, mathematics, General Science & Social Studies. The focus is to read, understand and interpret texts; to select, retrieve and describe information, event or ideas; to recognize patterns and relationships and find solutions, to develop thinking and compete tasks; and to understand, recall and respond. This is the time of multi- dimensional learning. A wide range of classroom activities serve as stimuli for reading and writing. The course curriculum includes: 1. Carefully structured activities with clearly articulated education and language teaching aims. 2. Introduction to the study of computers. 3. Projects to bring about disciplined work habits. 4. Physical training to develop agility, fitness, discipline. 5. Value education to inculcate moral values and ethics. The Subjects offered include: English, second language (Hindi, Kannada), General Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, Value Education/Catechism, Physical Training, Art and Singing. In addition to the above, Social Studies is included in class IV and a third language (Hindi/Kannada) is introduced in class V

Pre - Primary Teachers aim to train the children to speak competently and creatively, to use phonics to read unknown words; to participate in conversations; to develop thinking and complete tasks; to understand, recall and respond. The Course Curriculum: The focus of teaching in this section is primarily towards a wide range of class room activities that serve as stimuli for the students to learn. Literacy – easy words and repetition of phrases in easily understandable sentences. Numeracy – simple number concepts: more, less, large, small, full, empty and counting. Spoken English – develop speaking using pictures, colours, toys, puppets. Story time – promotes listening skills, visualizing skills and the imagination through story telling. Rhymes – help children identify sounds and movements in a rhythmic way. Colouring – enables the exploration of colours with crayons, chalk and water colours.