Nethra Ramakrishana, Head Girl, Grade XII, 2024-25
My day, like that of most students, begins at 6:00 a.m. Every morning, I wake up and get dressed for school – My school, one of the best schools in Faridabad. I love the feel of a freshly pressed linen shirt. After a quick breakfast, I get on the school bus – one of the many in our massive transport fleet – and spend the short journey talking to my friends or revising topics from the previous day. We arrive at school around 7:45, and trek up twelve flights of stairs to our classrooms on the fourth floor. Our AC – which we jokingly call ‘Blizzard’ – is a more-than-welcome breath of cool air in these hot summer months.
As the Head Girl, I am on duty during the morning prayer. Precisely at 8:00 a.m., as the opening notes of the prayer sound through our PA system; council members are stationed at every corner to ensure decorum in the morning and to guide students during the prayer and yoga session. There are teachers on duty on each floor as well, who work with the council and are always ready to support the students. Council members are occasionally stationed in the classrooms themselves if a teacher is temporarily unavailable.
We have an hour-long Skill Development slot at the beginning of each day, during which various activities – ranging from quizzes to logical reasoning tests – are conducted. At this time, we are free to approach our teachers for any clarifications, or to work on any assignments or practice work we may have. This is an excellent way to start our day, and we treat it as something of a mental warm-up session.
Our school values extra-curricular activities and their role in shaping our personality as well. It is not uncommon to see students meeting for various extra-curriculars, especially our Model United Nations team, and there are always opportunities to participate in competitions ranging from moot courts to sporting events. The school hosts several educational excursions to venues such as the Parliament, the Meteorological Centre, the National Museum and others.
As a CBSE affiliated School, at Manav Rachna International School, Charmwood, our day comprises 6 academic slots, with a break at 11:40 for lunch. In senior secondary schools that follow the CBSE curriculum, students’ timetables are varied, as we each have a unique subject combination. I study Physics, Mathematics, Political Science, Economics, and English, with Legal Studies as a VIth subject, which makes for an interesting schedule and exposure to a vast range of subject matter that has helped me develop a well-rounded approach to my education. This is testament to our school’s support for diverse educational needs in the modern era.
Despite my unconventional subjects, I sit with the science stream students, and we attend most of our classes together, except for the 5th subject where students re-organize themselves as per their subject choice. The options for this are endless, with many students (such as me) selecting subjects like Economics or Math, others choosing Entrepreneurship, still others choosing languages, or even subjects such as Physical Education, Fine Arts or Hindustani Music.
Students always look forward to hands-on learning at our science labs as they learn how to conduct scientific experiments under the patient guidance of our wonderful faculty. Classes are almost always abuzz with some exciting activity or the other.
After four slots (of approximately 50 minutes each), we break for lunch. Students rush to the canteen on the ground floor, excited to buy the fresh, home-style lunches. The Rajma Chawal is a popular choice. Others move to other classrooms to sit with friends who have selected different subjects. Discussions range from what they studied that morning to what music they are currently listening to, resulting in a rich exchange of ideas, knowledge and opinions.
We have two more slots after lunch and are then permitted to disperse at 2:00 p.m. The school offers multiple transport options, and the bus network covers a fairly wide region. Each bus also has an assigned faculty member, a conductor and a member of the housekeeping staff to attend to the junior-most commuters. Those living close to campus may also choose to walk home or travel with their parents. I typically arrive home by 3:10 or so, being the last stop on the route.
Recently, our school partnered with G.H. Academy to offer high school students regular access to ‘excellence classes’, curated specifically to train us for competitive exams such as JEE, NEET and CUET. These sessions, held for 1.5 -3 hours a day, provide avenues for us to explore more complex material and broaden our understanding of a subject. While these classes do mean that our schedules change day to day, the school management has done a spectacular job of integrating them with our timetable so that we get an adequate number of classes in preparation for our Board Exams as well.
So far, ‘excellence classes’ have been restricted only to science subjects, such as physics and math, but we hope to see them expand to other disciplines and offer us the opportunity to go above and beyond the high school syllabus.
If you are a student, curious about how we spend our days at our school and are looking for the best CBSE school in Faridabad, then just look up CBSE Schools near me and find the closest MRIS branch in your locality.
