Above, Below, Around, Beyond’- KG Expedition ,16th March, 2022

Environmental awareness offers opportunities for students to engage in real world issues that transcend classroom walls. While making connections between classroom learning and complex environmental issues, they acquire the necessary skills to become creative problem solvers and powerful advocates. While working on the expedition- ‘Above, Below, Around, Beyond’, the learners inquired about water conservation, calculated their water footprint, found out where they use the maximum amount of water in their households, and discussed ways to reduce wastage. They went on to present their findings to their peers in creative ways. Not only did this lead to lively discussions in the class, but the children also understood the concept of virtual water, which is the amount of embedded water required to produce, package and transport a commodity, and discussed ways to reduce it.

Grade 6 learns about Wetlands - 23rd February, 2022

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year to mark the importance of Wetlands and create awareness on conserving the existing Wetlands. Wetlands are known as the kidneys of the earth and play a vital role in creating a perfect balance in the ecosystem. The students of Grade 6 inquired about the types of wetlands and presented their findings on swamps, marshes, bogs and fens. They integrated it with their ongoing Expedition – Our City – Noida and learnt that Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of Ramsar sites in India, Sunderbans are the largest wetlands of India,while Renuka wetlands of Himachal Pradesh are the smallest. They were excited to know that wetlands are home to various species of insectivore plants. They searched about Surajpur wetlands near Noida, an excellent example of an urban wetland in the Yamuna River basin and a suitable breeding ground for various animals. The learners explored the steps taken to conserve a wetland. The sessions focused on arousing interest in students to take suitable action, and become nature warriors calling for sustainable use of natural resources.

The Only Way To Learn Mathematics Is To Do Mathematics”. Paul Halmos -23rd February, 2022

Mathematical ideas are not just calculations on a page but instead are concepts to be discussed and reasoned through. This helps nurture analytical thinking and logical abilities in children. When this simple to complex math is linked with fun, it makes the process not only interesting, but effective. The play-way method moves math instructions beyond rote memorization to a more expansive understanding of the subject.
Grade 1 students at The Heritage School learned the concept of money and market through an online shopping activity. The ‘Bholaram ki Dukaan’ was bombarded with orders placed by the students. These little customers placed their orders after applying the calculation skills previously learnt. This hands-on learning helped them to sort the coins and notes of different denominations and also made them understand how simple addition can be applied to money.
The fun activity concluded with the children taking away a shopping bag full of vegetables, laughter and lots of learning.

Grade 4 Expedition - Toys -1st February, 2022

Play is central to a child’s learning and development. When children play, it gives them many fun-filled opportunities to think and strengthen social bonding with their peers and family. Toy-Play is an important tool for development of cognitive, perceptual, motor and psycho-motor skills in children. The best toys engage a child’s senses, nurture their creativity and kindle their curiosity. Grade IV students started their expeditionary journey to learn about different materials used in making toys, depending on the availability of such materials locally and cultural contexts influencing the selection. They inquired about the history of toy making and how toys have evolved over a period of time. They explored the earliest toys made of clay and wood, to the largest soft toy placed in Mexico in present times. They learnt about the first National Toy Fair organised by India in February 2021 and also went on a virtual trip to the International Shankar’s Doll Museum. They learnt about Channapatna, in Karnataka - the Toy’s Town of India, and the history of toy making in this village. As part of their expedition culmination activity, the students created toys using waste materials and were able to share the properties of the materials used by them. The students were apprised of the need for buying local products made by expert Indian toymakers and manufacturing toys in India.

Grade 1 Understands ‘Weather Wonders’ -31st January, 2022

"The hands are the instrument of a man's intelligence." Maria Montessori Stimulating students’ curiosity by encouraging questioning and tinkering, building lessons around relatable themes and events, and offering opportunities to validate hypothesis is integral to the teaching-learning process. Practical hands-on experiences and scientific experiments play a crucial role in the intellectual development of a child. They enhance skills of astute observation, logical reasoning and critical analysis in children. At The Heritage School, it serves as the core learning module for all subjects. As a part of the expedition ‘Weather Wonders,’ Grade 1 learners turned into little scientists as they made their own thermometers to understand how hot and cold stimuli impact mercury levels in thermometers. While they enjoyed the process, their understanding about different weather conditions and how they impact living conditions became clearer.

Middle Program Celebrates Republic Day -26th January, 2022

“It is not enough to have just a politically independent India. What is also needed is to have an Indian Nation where every citizen will have religious and political rights, so that every person will have equal opportunity to develop.” These were the words of BR Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, who believed that respect and reverence towards fellowmen are fundamental to the growth of a country. In a week dedicated to the theme- 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' India @75, the students of the Middle Program were familiarized with the dedication of millions of Indians across the length and breadth of our country, in creating an independent unified nation, despite its cultural and religious diversities. The students learnt how the Supreme Document that unites citizens of India – The Constitution of India was created by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr B.R Ambedkar, Sarojini Naidu and many other members of the constituent assembly, whose vision and foresight gave it the necessary shape and structure. While reaffirming their sentiments of secularism, patriotism and love for the country, the students learnt the significance of Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Secularism and Federalism, and pledged to contribute towards building a stronger and better India.

Spatial Relationships -22nd December

Geometry is a real life understanding of spatial relationships for problem solving and higher-order thinking skills. When introduced to geometry, understanding shapes is often the first step students take. Learning about 3D shapes not only helps children identify and organize visual information, but also helps the development of skills in other areas including reading, math and science, where children are required to process the shape and scale of information. Our students of Nursery enjoyed making a cube shape with play dough. Besides helping in strengthening the fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, the activity proved to be fascinating for students as they experienced the transition of shape from a square (2D) to a cube (3D).

Text to Text Connections -21st December

Reading comes alive when we recognize how the ideas in a text connect to our experiences and beliefs, events happening in the larger world, our understanding of history, and our knowledge of other texts. When students are given a purpose for their reading, they are able to better comprehend and make meaning of the ideas in the text. Good readers draw on prior knowledge and experience to help them understand what they are reading and are thus able to use that knowledge to make connections. Not only does it helps contextualize the reading in a broader scheme of learning objectives, but also enriches the understanding and comprehension abilities of the students. The students of Kindergarten took their first exploratory steps into this domain as they mapped text-to-text connections between three texts read as part of the expedition ‘Turn a New Leaf’. It was thrilling to see the insights and observations that they shared with their peers as they talked about the three texts- Tree, Bear Hug, and Charlie Crow in the Snow.

Measurement -20th December

National Pollution Control Day 2021 -17th December

Environmental pollution, directly and indirectly, affects the quality of life more than one can imagine. Desertification, deforestation, acidification of oceans, erosion of biodiversity, and multiple forms of pollution all count among the many forms of environmental deterioration caused by human activity. We at Heritage School strongly believe in sensitizing the young generation towards a greener planet as they are the change makers for the future. On National Pollution Control Day, which is observed in December every year, the students of Grade 3 made connections and expressed their understanding by creating images of oil spills, garbage patches in the ocean, dumping of toxic wastes and acid rain. They also conducted an awareness campaign by addressing other students on the subject.

"Much is known by reading, more is mastered by doing." - T. F. Hodge -15th December

Measurement concepts play a significant role in the development of problem-solving skills in children and help them make sense of the world around them. It is crucial that children develop the basic concepts of measurement through play. With this thought in mind Grade 2 students made a simple balance using some basic household materials. Before commencing the process, the students were encouraged to make predictions about the weight of the objects and identify which of the two seemed heavier. They made observations and discussed their results. The abstract concept became a concrete learning experience through the fun activity.

Grade VI students actively participated in the Wildlife Week celebrations and were oriented on the importance of conserving the rich fauna of our country. They integrated their research with the ongoing expedition ‘World on my Table’ and learnt about some famous Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks, namely the Aralam National Park, Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Gir National Park in Gujarat. They shared some interesting facts related to tigers, lion-tailed macaques, lions and antelopes with their peers.

VIRTUAL PICNIC-KG-A: 26TH OCTOBER

Expedition is a process of exploration with a specific focus through which the children get a chance to discover new aspects of a topic through self-led investigation. The students of KG went on a journey to investigate the origins, importance, and diversity of food as well as how food is inextricably linked to our social and emotional lives. From talking about our favourite foods, to finding out what ingredients go into them, organizing those ingredients into five food groups, and then learning about the sources and origins of those ingredients, we retraced the journey of food backwards from the fork to the farm. Then, we set out to discover how varied food is across our country and the world. The expedition culminated in an exploration of our own food heritage as we hosted a virtual picnic where the children included a food itm from theeir state as well as a food item they have never tried in their baskets. As we read stories, shared a laugh while saying tongue twisters, and went on a challenging scavenger hunt, we also shared our cultures with each other by introducing everyone to foods from our states. Trying new things together brought us closer as we all ended the expedition with a resolution to keep an open mind towards new foods.

Role-play, a playful activity is pure fun and so very vital to a child’s learning. Sparking and enhancing creativity and imagination in children, helps in developing speaking and listening skills in children besides giving them the opportunity to reflect on their knowledge and develop it further. Assuming the role of a character in a story helps the children take their understanding beyond the text as they make connections with the story, the characters and their motivations.The students of Kindergarten combined literacy with the expedition ‘The Food We Eat’as they read the story ‘The Little Red Hen’ and engaged in a role-play activity where they assumed the role of one of the characters and explained the story from the character’s point of view. Children’s creativity and their acting chops were at full display as they expressed themselves and elucidated on why they chose to act as the character did in the story. This activity helped the children to critically examine and understand the story from various perspectives, augmenting their literacy skills.