Primary Years in MRIS-14, Faridabad comprises Grades II-V. At the Primary level, we implant the seeds of lifelong learning by focusing on the overall development of our students, so that they can forge ahead on their adventure. Our well-planned school curriculum sparks the spirit of inquiry and encourages children to be independent learners by providing them opportunities of hands-on exploration. It prepares the students effectively to take responsibility and initiative as they move into this more structured phase of their schooling.
A wide array of well-planned activities is used by our faculty to deliver the curriculum content. It is at this stage that the students begin to grasp complex concepts and connect with the real world through the prism of academic domains thus they are engaged into scientific investigations, dramatics, role plays, recitation, flipped classroom sessions, peer tutoring etc. to broaden their perspective.
It’s not all academic, though. Innovative modules bring alive our vision. The students are engaged into a multitude of Co-curricular activities. Community Outreach Programs, Field-Trips, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) are an integral part for the curriculum of Primary Wing. The seven pillars of the learning areas- Languages and Literacy, Numeracy, CREST, Sports and Well-Being, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Life Skills- Soft Skills and Technical Skills seamlessly integrate with our arts and sports curriculum, and then goes beyond classroom learning to local and global contexts, Thus fostering the spirit of learning through questioning and discovery.
CREST
CREST is a unique programme developed by MRIS to promote Conceptual Learning through Reasoning, Exploration, Skilling and Technology. It is based on the recommendation of the NCF and it derives its essence from NCERT guidelines. It also incorporates elements of NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards, USA) as well as other International curricula towards nurturing 21st Century skills in children from the very beginning of their formal education. The CREST curriculum keeps the students constructively engaged and develops skills like Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Cooperation, Communication and creativity. It promotes an integrated and child centered approach towards learning. The curriculum focuses on children’s experiences and their active participation. The identified concepts, skills, issues/concerns included in the CREST curriculum are developed with age appropriate understanding of the child progressing gradually from self to the immediate surrounding and further to the wider environment. It also focuses on building concepts based on activities, investigations, and sensory experiences.
VISUAL ARTS
The visual arts can create a positive learning environment where students have the opportunity to express their own ideas, imagination, and creativity. Students are able to develop different ways of thinking and look at the world from a different perspective. Art instruction helps children with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness. Visual arts teach learners about color, layout, perspective, and balance: all techniques that are necessary in presentations (visual, digital) of academic work.
PERFORMING ARTS
The performing arts encourage children to explore their emotions, expand their imagination and help them develop their own, unique voice. Each discipline of music, dance and drama engages a child’s brain, body and emotions in different ways to encourage their confidence and find joy in self-expression. Our students are engaged in a wide array of performing art activities, to develop a creative mind and fostering personalities and imaginations as they make their journey through school, to become happy and well-rounded individuals.The theater curriculum includes acting techniques, improvisation, dialogue delivery, directing etc. It attracts those students who are inclined towards drama and acting and want to make a career in it.
SOFT SKILLS
Soft skills, sometimes called key skills, core skills, key competencies are those desirable qualities that apply across life situations—traits such as integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility, flexibility, and teamwork. Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes, and social and emotional intelligence quotients among others that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals.
Four traits that the curriculum focuses on are: (1) Empathy and Compassion, (2) Values, (3) Response-ability, and (4) Pro-social skills.
These traits and attitudes for character development are nurtured by giving children the opportunity to modify behaviour by exercising, applying, practicing and demonstrating these through learning opportunities provided in the session flow while working on the four basic themes for each group with the aim of developing self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-improvement.
MULTILINGUALISM
“Integrated, challenging & comprehensive International curriculum”
Manav Rachna Schools have a comprehensive curriculum of excellence with global dimension that accommodates diverse learning needs of students and makes teaching learning a joyful experience for students and teachers at primary level beginning from Class 5 itself. Age appropriate learning opportunities coupled with co- curricular activities and the most modern infrastructure support teaching learning in all the schools. The schools look after the diverse needs of the different children and help them achieve the best as per their capacity and potential. Helping children learn-academically, socially, emotionally, spiritually and physically is the real purpose of schools. Children’s learning must respect the past, respond to their current & future personal needs, their future career needs & the needs of the varied societies and cultural groups they are likely to play a part in; the Manav Rachna curriculum is built around all these needs. We also offer a choice between Sanskrit / French/Hindi/ Spanish as II Language in Grade 5. Smart Class modules, group work, group discussions, interaction, experimentation, project work, dramatization, power point presentations are the tools used to facilitate the teaching – learning process at Senior School level.
SPORTS & WELL BEING
We have a variety of sports facilities spread over the campus as well as Sports Academy located within Faridabad. At Manav Rachna, sports and games curriculum is an integral and compulsory part of the education process. Sports help to build character and teach the importance of discipline in life. It inculcates a respect for rules and allows the participants to learn the value of self -control. Sports play a pivotal role in shaping one’s personality and maintaining good health. We’ve specially developed a sports environment that matches international standards and gives a truly global experience to all our students. All of which is provided to them on the campus. Basketball, Football, Cricket, Table Tennis, Swimming, Badminton, Chess, Billiards, Carom, Shooting are the sports played to name a few. Shooting is one sport among many in which Manav Rachna has set up its center of excellence. The Shooting Range provides training, practice opportunities for budding and established shooters. Manav Rachna has produced numbers of national and international shooters. Sports and wellness has long been used as a tool to improve mental, physical and social well-being. Involving in sports brings a feeling of togetherness and group efforts. It helps students to push their extreme and to coordinate with others.
FUTURE SKILLS AND SUSTAINABILITY
We all agree that Technology has the power to transform how children learn – but walk into some classrooms and you could be forgiven for thinking you were entering a time warp. In Primary Comprehensive Project based Modules comprising Tinkering, Media and Design along with Soft Skills are undertaken. At the very first level, students tinker and throttle their skills to make something new and set up a landmark for the future world. While teaching DT, students are encouraged to explore real-world problems without easy solutions. They are expected to take charge of their own learning, work together in teams rather than individually and understand that there are no “right answers” to the greatest of challenges/problems. It includes “building up” ideas, with few, or no, limits at a stretch during a brainstorming session. This helps reduce fear of failure in the participant (s)/students and encourages the process of input and participation from all. In simple words – physical computing is a process where all the input and output devices work together as a single entity on the direction of a brain like object that could be a microcontroller board of a kind using Sensors, IOT (Internet of Things), Arduino, Raspberry Pi and many more.
THE ROLE OF THE CLANS
The endeavor of our school is to provide students with opportunities to engage with teachers; to develop a structured partnership, thereby endowing them with practical skills in communication, planning and project. This enables them to take responsibility for activities, demonstrate their capabilities of managing and bringing the assigned tasks to successful completion. Healthy competition is also important to enhance and set benchmarks for performance levels.
Research shows that enablement and healthy competition prepare students for life, and a futuristic society. It stimulates the holistic development of a child focusing on cognitive, kinesthetic and other areas of development. The clans facilitate the environment for students to engage across physical infrastructure. The activities done during the Clan Block create an environment, which not only promotes academic excellence, but also caters to personal development, keeping the fun factor alive. It helps to promote friendship and respect amongst the students. Clans competitions help to create a sense of responsibility, loyalty and tolerance towards seniors, peers and the parent institution.
SPECIAL ASSEMBLIES
Manav Rachna schools have always aimed at developing a child harmoniously and
holistically by emphasizing on his physical, cognitive, aesthetic, spiritual and social needs. They provide freedom and space for individual expression and growth to become self-reliant, self-motivated and a confident human being. Multiculturalism being an important part of a successful curriculum and an important feature of holistic development of a child has always been incorporated well in MRIS-14. The grand assemblies focusing on the celebration of each festival, be it Onam, Pongal, Baisakhi , Halloween Day, Deepawali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, Guru Purab, Christmas along with the National Festivals etc
are celebrated in great zeal and excitement.The various competitions which cater to diversification also set an excellent example of multiculturalism in the school’s curriculum. Various Clan Competitions like ‘Inter Clan Extempore Competition’ and ‘Inter Clan Solo Dance Competition’ and such more competitions talk volume of incorporation of Multiculturalism in the curriculum.
Learning a new language trains the brain, improves memory and allows you to develop your cognitive and learning skills. Doing it then, at an age when it is easier to assimilate new concepts and words easily, immediately and naturally, is important. Varied and effective tools are used to integrate linguistic skills into the curriculum. The blended learning models for language use technology and traditional classroom teaching to engage children and illuminate concepts. A wide range of activities enable kids to effectively imbibe various aspects of language acquisition. The needs of diverse learners are met by our dedicated teachers through differentiated teaching methods. We lay emphasis upon effective acquisition of language, be it our ancient language Sanskrit, mother tongue Hindi, official language of trade English or be it any global language such as German, Spanish and French. The curriculum is firmly supported by the four pillars of language development- Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. The activities and modules are wisely planned, keeping all these aspects in mind. Having a well thought-out pedagogy can improve the quality of your teaching and the way students learn, helping them gain a deeper grasp of fundamental material. Some of the effective pedagogical methods in our class are:-
- Guided Reading Sessions: The students are assisted by our teachers during the guided reading sessions, wherein they learn the basics of language acquisition and
focus upon pronunciation, fluency and diction. - Read Aloud: As the students progress to the higher grades, they are encouraged to read aloud and summarize their readings.
- Flip Teaching: Teaching is a performative art that demands impeccable language delivery. Through flip teaching, the students learn to research and come across as legible speakers.
- Role Play: The best way to understand something is to get into its skin. Students are encouraged to perform creative role plays which develop their cognitive as well critical thinking abilities along with development of spoken and expressive language.
- Creative Learning: To facilitate all the four aspects of language development (listening, speaking, reading, writing), various creative tools such as reading/listening/picture comprehensions, journal writing, extempore, etc are used frequently in the classrooms.