Decennary of Merit-Celebrating 10 years of brilliance at ARDEE School

Feb. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- 7th February, 2013, New Delhi: The Ardee Schools, one of the premiere institutions offering pure international Montessori education in India, celebrated a decade of excellence at its Annual Day today at their Sujan Singh Marg, Golf Links campus. Founded and established in 2003 by Late Mr Ashok Varma and his daughter Ms. Shefali Varma, this school has been rated amongst the top 3 schools in the National Capital Region in a survey conducted by Education World for two consecutive years.

Ms. Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and she inaugurated the event by the ceremonial lighting of the lamp and a motivational speech on The Ardee Schools remarkable contribution in promoting Montessori education in India.

Among the other prominent persons present at the School Annual Day function were Ms. Ratna Dhamija (Head, Australian Council for Educational Research), popular designer- Mandira Koirala  and so on- and school academician Ms. Chanda Raisinghani, Director Education, Ardee Schools, Gurgaon.

“The Ardee Group is a progressive organisation which focuses on quality and nation-building enterprises and our education venture is an important component of this. Having built and nurtured this flagship Ardee School over the years today is indeed a proud moment for me as the school celebrates its 10th anniversary. I dedicate this achievement to my father who believed in me and to all the teachers who have raised the bar of education excellence at the school through a shared belief in the importance of providing quality education and changing lives. I and the rest of the Ardee School family look forward to being a part of many more such milestones in Gurgaon and Goa!” said Ms. Shefali Varma, Chairperson, The Ardee Group, expressing her elation over the new milestone achieved by The Ardee School, Delhi.

The Ardee junior school Gurgaon’s annual day with participating Ardeeians of ages 5 to 10 years saw unusual events where academics was brought out into the field instead of sports and these were interwoven with art-centric themes and performances. With the challenging theme ‘Noble Nobel’, the occasion witnessed a plethora of events inspired by Nobel Laureates. A theme to inspire students to respect and recognize the highest degree of excellence in various fields. Students of Gurgaon Ardee Schools gave stellar performances.

Exciting science concepts of the students were exhibited in the various events which paid tribute to Nobel award winners in the arena of science which fascinated the audience by the imaginative display of lights, colours and sounds with spell-binding effects.

Sub-atomic particles & helium actually unfolded on field to create elements & compounds as a tribute to Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan.
While the scientific fraternity the world over ponders over how life began on earth, Ardeeians here effortlessly created the very essence of life –the DNA- as a tribute to Dr Hargobind  Khorana.

From displaying work showing why the ocean is blue to other properties of light, students honoured the physicist of the century CV Raman whose spectroscope still finds a prominent place in optics. Each event, instead of rehearsed role play had elementary Montessori classroom learning presented on the field. One of the impressive concept showcased was the “peace education” activity, dedicated to Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. As most educationists battle with handling the teaching of peace, Montessori classified it into 4 categories: taking care of self, environment, community & culture, the understanding of which emerged lucidly with this display by the peacekeepers.

As a tribute to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen a Complex subject like Economics was worked at with Montessori math apparatus in 10000000 to work out the GDP and per capita income of an imaginary island – amazing indeed.

The Ardeeians also remembered the greatest Nobel Laureate of the nation, Rabindranath Tagore, where the students constructed pyramids that presented Tagore as a polymath: an Educationist, Author, Musician and Artist.

Fusion of art & music was magical with the melodious tunes of Tagore as students rendered some of his musical masterpieces like “eklachalo re”, “gram chada” and “paglahawa” coordinating with 8 to 10 year old children painting masterpieces of Gurudev. The audience had the pleasure of viewing an enactment of Tagore’s much-beloved ‘Kabuliwala’ by the little 6 & 7 year old artists of Ardee whose superb confidence & acting skills elicited effusive praise.

“We at Ardee School work with a vision and commitment to create enriching learning landscapes for our students that would prepare the child for the journey of life and not just for passing exams. The Montessori Method assists the child to build his own thinking paradigm which helps him/her in making their own decisions, to find one’s own path to fulfilment and to dare to be the change. The creativity and originality of these children has made these ten years a very rewarding experience for Parents and teachers & the community as well, “said Ms. Chanda Raisinghani.

5 year old ardeeians participated in sports events like the YogAasan – sports using breathing techniques and body postures – and the Karate Display, which showcased self defence techniques.

Audience were spell bound as the ardee creche children comprising of children of construction labourers joined hands with the ardee school children in a spirited match of tug of war. This is part of an ongoing “outreach” initiative of the school.

The Ardee Annual Day was a cultural treat and concluded with an exquisite ballet performance which represented the school colours as peace birds with wind beneath their wings.

As parent of 4 sons, Aditi Singh of Max health care once said “Ardee to us means an institution where our children are not just taught but are EDUCATED.
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About ARDEE SCHOOLS:
Ardee Schools are premier institutions set-up by Ms. Shefali Varma, and among the best in the country which offer international Montessori education in India. The schools operational in Delhi, Gurgaon & Goa are run by Ardee Foundation, a charitable unit of Ardee Group. These exemplary educational institutions are value-driven and their inherent philosophy ‘Be the Change’ draws from Mahatma Gandhi’s famous words- “To see the change, be the change”.
These schools have challenged the run-of-the-mill and monotonous CBSE teaching methods of the education system by enriching the curriculum with pure Montessori methodology.
The curriculum draws from the Montessori approach, where children are free to choose their activities within a structured environment. The teaching pattern at these schools is not limited to books; it is much beyond that. Learning is nurtured through practical experience. For example respect for all, cutting across class & caste barriers is experienced as all students, teachers, support staff and even the director wear the same school uniform twelve months of the year. Montessori Method requires trained teachers and usage of didactic apparatus both of which have been successfully integrated by Ardee Schools by conducting a 9 month teacher training programme.