‘My 5-year-old’s vocabulary and reading skills have improved tremendously, thanks to Apeejay Model town’

Guneet Monda is a single mom and a freelance social media manager. She also chips in with her family business of drug manufacturing. Her son, Shahraan Singh, studies in UKG, Apeejay School, Model Town, Jalandhar. In an interview, she explains how the school has made online learning more effective.

Why did you pick Apeejay over other schools?

My family and I have a long and fruitful association with Apeejay. I did my classes 11 and 12 from Apeejay Model Town. My mother was among the first batch of students to complete her schooling from the school. Both my siblings also attended Apeejay. My brother has finished his MBBS and will soon fly to the US for his MD while my sister is a dentist. You will be surprised to know that during my time Apeejay sent a batch of students on an educational trip to NASA. No school in Jalandhar was doing that. My experience with the teachers and staff was also very good. As you can see, it was natural for me to pick Apeejay. The icing on the cake is that the school is just a stone’s throw away from my residence. 

How has your experience been till now?

Due to Covid-19, my son is yet to take physical classes, but that doesn’t mean he missed out on learning. I sit along with my son during online classes and I have seen how fun and attractive classes are. In fact, he was so fond of her LKG class teacher, Saloni Ma’am, that he was always more than eager to attend classes. As the students can’t step out of their homes, the school takes them on a virtual tour to places such as Disneyland to keep them upbeat. Teachers are doing a commendable job in teaching phonics to little ones as a result they can easily spell 5 to 6 letter words. Their vocabulary and reading have improved tremendously. The teachers also give supplementary classes called ‘Beyond books’ to students. They are extremely beneficial as they help students learn something new. The teachers also encourage students to converse in English while also giving emphasis to Hindi.

Online teaching is quite challenging. How have the teachers responded to this challenge?

The teachers at Apeejay pay adequate attention to every student. What I like the most about them is that they are not in a mad rush to complete syllabus as every kid has learning preferences and styles that are best suited to their way of learning. I believe children can learn to their best of ability only when there’s a strong bond between teachers and students. Shahraan shares a fantastic rapport with his class teacher. Students are taught karate, yoga, computers, drawing and many other interesting things. You would be surprised to know that students are also taught coding.

Share with us your memorable moments.

On Mothers’ Day, the school organised an exclusive session for mothers to express themselves in any manner as they desire. I broke down in the class talking about my experience of being a single mother. After the session, I got so many supporting messages from other moms. It really touched my heart.

“I am really happy with school. It has built a strong foundation for every student. I also like that the school keeps on organising interesting activities to rope in family members of students. Recently, they held grooming sessions for grandmothers. The school also pays heed to the feedback of parents. ” 

-Guneet Monda