20TH NATIONAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF SAHODAYA SCHOOL

Theme ‘Future Ready Schools’ The 20th Annual National Sahodaya Conference was held on 8th Nov – 10th Nov, 13 at Hotel Radisson Blu, Amritsar(Punjab), hosted by Amritsar Sahodaya School Complex. Mrs. Deepti Sharma, Principal and Mr. Harish Sharma, Manager of Pragyan Public School along with 20 schools and 150 principals and teachers of all over India attended the conference. The conference commenced with ‘Shabad’, a welcome song and keynote addressed by Mr. Rajeev Sethi, Chairman, Asian Heritage Foundation. Mr. Simon Breakspear, Head of Learning Strategy for Declara Palo Alto, California was present there. “Challenges for 21st century Education” which was the subject of his speech, made for truly interesting and enriching listening. Ms. Manju Singh, Prof. Raghu Raman, Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay and Mrs. Suresh Ahlawat were the Eminent speakers of the day. According to them, In implementing pathways to creating ‘Future Ready School’s the focus need to be on Child Centred education and learning processes and embedding technology in all aspects of school education. The Day 1 came to an end with a cultural Program followed by Dinner. Ms. Amrita Burman, Director, Sunbeam Group of Schools, recommended there should be School Cinemas in process of learning. Dr. Sadha Parashar, Director, CBSE, re-stressed the idea of “Future Ready Schools: Inovation at CBSE”. Many Sessions were: >> Learning Unlimited- A neurocognitive understanding by Mr. G. Balasubramaniam. >> Hands on Learning by Mr. Mukesh Shelat. >> Empowering teachers through technology by Prof. KR Srivathsan. The Theme ‘Future Ready Schools’ expressed the concern of the conference on these issues. Under the overall umbrella of this theme it focused its deliberations on Day 3: >> Ms. Angela French-Administering Test and Assessment Criteria >> Mr. Ashok Kumar Tangri- Quality Assessments >> Ms. Ameeta Mulla Wattal- Moderator >> Dr. Navina Jafa- Enhancing Lifelong Learning through Heritage Education >> Mr. Rajiv Sharma- Heritage Education for the 21st Century Learner in the age of Google and Watsapp >> Mr. Vijay Mehra- Involving students in Heritage Preservation. Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr. Ajaib Singh Brar along with Mr. Vineet Joshi, Chairman, CBSE, Delhi was present in the Veledictory Session. Dr. Ajaib Sing Brar Said, “There is an urgent need to personalize education. Assembly line education prepares assembly line workers. It is important that understand the students have differential learning patterns & nurture them accordingly. This will make teachers global leaders & students global learners.” Mr. Vineet Joshi addressed ‘It is essential for schools to have counselors so students can make as informed choice while selecting subjects in higher classes’.