‘My daughter, who studies at Apeejay School, Saket, is a fluent reader and can solve math problems with ease even in kindergarten’

An alumnus of Apeejay School Saket, Dr. Priyanka Singh completed her schooling in 2004. After more than a decade, the ophthalmologist practising at NEYTRA Eye Care in Saket enrolled her daughter in Nursery at the same school last year. On being asked why, she says, ‘this is my alma mater and I trust the school for delivering quality education.’ In an interview, the doctor-mother talks about her experience and highlights how her daughter, Nyra Pol, has progressed in her kindergarten classes.  Edited excerpts

Is your daughter’s experience with the school the same as yours?

Well, yes. If I have to draw a parallel from my years at school, I would say that Apeejay School, Saket has maintained its superior quality of education in all these years. I recall my time in classes 11 and 12, when I had a pressure to crack MBBS examinations. Apeejay equipped me for them, and only because of that, I was able to crack the examinations in my first attempt.

What could be some of the interesting developments that you have noticed in Nyra?

She attends her online classes at school regularly. She is the youngest amongst her peers and since an early age, she has been a quick-learner. She has started speaking early, and has good reading ability. She is able to grasp concepts quickly and perform basic addition and subtraction tasks.

Does the school have a different approach? How has Apeejay School helped Nyra?

To help students learn, the school introduces different themes each month based on their thematic-learning approach. For example: the theme for this month is environment, so for the entire month students will observe its various aspects and keep learning more about it. This activity helps them gain knowledge about various topics, and enhances their thinking ability and awareness. Due to this methodology, Nyra has begun to develop a lot of curiosity and she wants to know the how’s and why’s of everything.    

The school continues to polish and nurture her abilities. I am very happy that she is progressing well. She has been a shy kid but since her admission at the school, she has become more confident. Teachers at Apeejay have taken extra steps for my daughter and have made her feel very comfortable. Yash Ma’am and Heena Ma’am both know how to address, manage and encourage students. I would say that Apeejay gives its 100 per cent to students.

Have you taken any special initiatives for Nyra to learn at home during the pandemic?

Yes, I am doing a few things. I play games with her such as finding things around the house. I organise activities such as jumping, yoga, and exercise at least 3-4 times in a week. Each evening when I come home, we practise reading together from any of her favourite story books.  

Since you are an ophthalmologist, could you give some tips on how young parents can help maintain eye-care for their children?

Yes absolutely. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, children are mostly tied to their mobile, iPad, or laptop screens at home. Due to this, there have increased cases of eye-related problems in young learners. Some early symptoms parents must look out for would be slanting of the head to look clearly, rubbing the eyes often, etc.