‘Within a month of joining offline classes, I can perceive a dramatic transformation in my son’

Raghav Gupta is a businessman dealing in the mica and plywood sector and his wife, Mrs Richa Gupta, is a homemaker. Their daughters Dwitika Gupta and Prakriti Gupta are class 5 and class 1 students at Apeejay School Model Town and son Abhinandan Gupta is a pre-nursery student at Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld, Jalandhar. In an informal interview, Mrs Richa Gupta recollects the dramatic transformation she has witnessed in her son since he joined physical classes at the school. Edited excerpts:

Why did you choose Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld, Jalandhar over other schools for Abhinandan’s admission?

My elder children are Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld alumni. So, I know the school very well. I’ve had a great experience with the school in the past . Rhythms Kinderworld has groomed both my daughters beautifully.

In my circle, I see children who study in other schools of Jalandhar. The way Rhythms Kinderworld grooms the students and the manner in which the teachers put efforts behind the children is commendable. The teachers teach the kids in a very interesting manner.

Please tell me a bit about Abhinandan and take us through his progress at school?

Abhinandan has a very shy nature. Initially he did not mix up well with other kids in his class. But because of the efforts of the teachers, he has now begun interacting with his classmates and he speaks up quite frequently in the class as well. This is a very big change for me. Earlier he was reticent and didn’t talk much with anyone but since joining the school, he has started interacting so much. He is speaking a lot of words, telling me about different colours. It has hardly been a month since he has started going to the school and there is so much transformation.

Abhinandan loves playing with a ball and likes to collect things. Earlier he would throw his things here and there but since joining the school he has learned to pick them up and put them back in their place.

He has learned the poem ‘Bits of paper lying on the floor’ at school. So, whenever he would throw anything at home, I would recite this poem and he would then pick his things. This is the influence of the school.

Are the teachers engaging well with the students?

They are teaching very well. I am very satisfied. I have actually seen the teachers growing over the years. They provide such lovely grooming and upbringing to the students. I would like to thank Nidhi Ma’am, the Principal and Pallavi  Ma’am,  the class teacher, for their consistent efforts.

What is the best thing about Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld?

Everything (laughs) from the atmosphere of the school to even the non-teaching staff at the school which is very helpful and cooperative. From the time when my elder daughter Dwitika was at Apeejay Kinderworld to the present time, in these ten years the school has only gone on to improve in every sphere possible.

How has the experience of the online classes been for Abhinandan?

He did not attend most of the online classes because it was difficult to make him sit for long at one place and I also had to make two more children sit in the morning classes. But the teachers have given a lot of effort in the classes. Out of the classes which Abhinandan has attended, he participated a lot in the class activities especially in the clay-based activities. These activities helped increase the child’s motor abilities.

 Abhinandan used to love to dance to the goodbye songs and sing the welcome prayers. ‘Rolly-Polly’ was his favourite poem. He would even correct Pallavi  Ma’am  if she made a mistake in reciting the poem or in case she forgot to recite it. In the online class, Pallavi  Ma’am would welcome the kids by calling out to them based on the colour of the shirt they had worn. This way she would interact with all the students individually. The teachers made everything so interactive in the online classes.