Recognition / registration

Q. To which board is the school affiliated?
A. Akshara School has received an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Govt. of Maharashtra for affiliation to the ICSE Board. Our affiliation with the ICSE Board is under process. As per ICSE rules affiliation is granted only after the school has reached Std. VI.

Q. What is the difference between ICSE and CBSE Board?
A.These are two different all-India education boards with head offices in New Delhi.
ICSE Examination - Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination, this is the Std.10 Board examination conducted by the CISCE - Council for The Indian Schools Certificate Examinations. The Council also conducts the Std. XII Examination called ISC. http://www.cisce.org/
CBSE - Central Board of Secondary Education which conducts Std.X and Std.XII Examinations. http://www.cbse.nic.in/

Q. Is the school recognized by the government?
A. The School is built on a plot allotted for a secondary school building by the MHADA (Mumbai Housing Area Development Authority) and has received all necessary permissions for the same. The School has received an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Govt. of Maharashtra for affiliation to the ICSE Board.

Course and standards offered

Q. Up to which standard is the school going to have in the future?
A. For the academic year 2009-2010 the school has classes from Nursery to Std.VI. Each year a class shall be added till we reach Std.X. We also propose to go up to Std.XII in the future.

Q. How many divisions per standard do you propose to have in the future?
A. We propose a maximum of 2 divisions per standard.

Q. How many years has the school completed?
A. The school has completed 3 academic years.

Q.What is the total strength of students?
A. The total strength of students for 2009-2010 is 142.

Q.What is the teacher-student ratio per class?
A. 1:14 currently and will be a maximum of 1:24s

Selection of students

Q. Does the school give admission to children with special needs?
A. We follow a policy of inclusion and admission shall be granted on case-to-case basis. Admission shall be given, depending on the child's special needs and the support / facilities the school can provide at the time of admission.

Teaching philosophy, methodology, curriculum, syllabus

Q. What is the school's approach to learning?
A.Our curriculum is designed to be thought-provoking and with the aim of helping our students to become life-long learners. We believe the content and process of learning should be appropriate for each age and stage of development of the child. The curriculum focuses on physical, sensory, cognitive, language, social, emotional, personal, and aesthetic aspects, thereby developing the 'whole child'.

Assessment

Q. What is the assessment pattern followed?
A.System of Continuous Assessment is followed. This is in tune with the National Policy on Education 1986/92. Assessment is based on day-to-day observations of each student's work in class.

Q. Do you have exams? What is the pattern?
A. We do not conduct formal examinations, but instead we conduct periodic testing through a variety of oral and written tasks and assignments included in the class work at school. At the secondary and higher secondary level examinations shall be conducted along with continuous assessment.

Q. Assessment is written or oral?
A. Assessment is based on a variety of oral and written assignments.

Q. Do you have weekly or / and monthly tests?
A. Assessment is an ongoing process through the year. Regular tests are conducted as part of the continuous assessment.

Teaching philosophy, methodology, curriculum, syllabus

Q. What is your homework policy?
A. Homework assignments are given maximum twice a week to students in the Primary Section. These include tasks focusing on practice or revision only.

Q. Do you take your students for Field trips? Where and how often?
A. Yes. Students are taken for field trips once in two months. The choice of venue depends on the Project of the month for the respective class or on the theme of the month for the school.

Q. Is Marathi compulsory?
A. Yes, Marathi is compulsory for all students.

Q. What textbooks are being used?
A. We are using a combination of textbooks published by reputed publishers like Orient Longman, Goyal Brothers Prakashan, Oxford India, Ratna Sagar and Macmillan India.

All textbooks are as per ICSE guidelines: 'The ICSE Council prescribes textbooks only for the study of Literature in English and in other Indian Languages. The Council does not prescribe or recommend any textbooks. Schools, therefore, are free to choose the books, which they find suitable for the purpose of competent teaching and efficient learning. The Council reserves the right to declare a particular book or books unsuitable for use in Schools affiliated to it.'

Q. Do you use worksheets / skill sheets?
A. Yes, we do give skill sheets to our students, but these are more for re-cap or for re-enforcement of concepts and content that has already been done in the class. Worksheets are not advisable as a method of teaching.

Q. When do you begin writing?
A. Writing readiness activities are started in Nursery, whereas basic writing skills are started in Junior KG and writing simple words is started in Senior KG. In Std.I our students start writing sentences.

Q. What writing pattern do you follow - cursive writing or print form?
A. We follow print form from the Pre-primary onwards. Some students join us after completing their Pre-primary at another school or even midway through primary and hence they are more familiar with cursive writing. In such cases we do not force the child to change his / her way of writing. Both cursive and print form are accepted by the teachers.

Facilities

Q. Is the classroom setup conducive for teaching?
A.Yes. All classrooms are large, naturally lit and well ventilated. Classrooms are well-equipped with learning aids and teaching materials.

Q. Does the school have a library?
A. Yes. We have a well-equipped library with story books, picture books, magazines, encyclopedias, reference books and other publications in English, Hindi, Marathi and other languages. Additionally every class has a library corner.

Q. Will the parents be allowed to access library books?
A. Yes.

Q. Does the school have a playground?
A. Yes. The School has a play area with outdoor equipment and a sand pit for the Pre-Primary students. We also have a playground in the school campus. Facilities for track and field events, basketball, volleyball, throwball, table tennis, etc. are under construction on campus.

Q. Is there a canteen?
A. Currently we do not have canteen facility, but we do propose to have the canteen ready in the near future.