‘Apeejay made my daughter independent and self-reliant to face any adversity’

Jayati is Assistant Vice President with the Royal Bank of Scotland while her husband Chintan Goyal is Senior Manager with IDC Technologies. They are proud parents of Hershey Goyal, a class 2 student of Apeejay School Noida. In an informal chat, Jayati explains how the school has made her daughter independent and given emphasis on practical-based learning.

Why did you choose Apeejay?

We purely went by the reputation of the school. It’s known for giving motherly treatment to students. You would be surprised to know that we didn’t seek feedback from parents or others about the school. Still, we did apply in other schools for Nursery admissions as it was necessary to have a backup option in case we can’t get through Apeejay. We knew that unlike others, Apeejay strikes a perfect balance between academics and extracurricular activities. Its infrastructure is also top-notch.

Tell us about the progress made by Hershey over the years?

I would like to especially highlight the pandemic period. The online learning has made my daughter independent and self-reliant to face any adversity.Her speaking and reading skills have also seen an upswing. Initially, I had to help her set up online classes, but now she handles everything on her own, including assignments and homework. She has become an independent learner and that has improved her self-confidence. The credit for it goes to her teachers who have also made her well-versed in online learning etiquette. I would like to share an instance with you. My mother, husband and I were down with Covid so we had to self-isolate ourselves for two weeks to keep Hershey safe. She was confined to a room with an attached bathroom and she handled herself with aplomb. She looked after herself while not compromising on studies. Not once did she complain or get peeved by the whole situation. The credit for her mental fortitude goes to the school.

You talked about the improvement you have seen in Hershey’s speaking and reading skills. Tell us more.

Keeping her age in mind, I can see a remarkable improvement in her English skills. For instance, she learned how to appropriately introduce herself.  Earlier, while introducing herself, she used to simply state her name and nothing else. Teachers taught her how to breeze through self-introduction with a special emphasis on pronunciation.

Are you happy with the teachers?  

Of course. I like the insistence given on practical-based learning. For example, students were recently taught the plant life cycle with hands-on activities. They learned a lot about germination and photosynthesis. The students were asked to give a presentation in their gardens with a pot in their hands. A few days back my daughter was telling me ‘Look it’s autumn, the trees are shedding their leaves.’ As you can see, she is learning a lot of new things. All her class teachers since Nursery have been amazing.  I couldn’t have asked for more.