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Auxilium is a girls' school in Wadala, Dadar Mumbai. It has 2051 students from Kindergarten to Grade 10. We have been working with the Skills Builder programme for three years. We initially joined the Skills Builder partnership with the aim to widen students’ horizons beyond the curriculum and prepare them for the world of work and wider society. Over the past three years we have accomplished these goals and equipped our students with essential skills which are enhancing their holistic development.
Overall impact
The impact of the Skills Builder programme can be seen throughout the school. The students use the eight skills to help them feel confident in a variety of situations. Understanding the skills empowered our students to listen carefully, speak their thoughts confidently, to analyze problems, to open their minds and generate creative ideas. The students are more resilient in working towards their goals, and they are less likely to limit themselves in envisaging what they can achieve. Their leadership and teamwork skills mean they can work together to achieve any given task.
Keep it simple
Skills Builder classes take place every day after lunch for 30 minutes. The Skills Leader shares the lesson plan with teachers. Staff are kept up to date with Skills Builder through regular staff meetings and training, ensuring that everyone is using a common language. We celebrate the hard work and dedication of the Skills Leader and co-ordinators during our annual day. The school development plan uploaded on the website “Shaala Siddhi” includes the incorporation of Skills Builders in the teaching and the learning process.
Start early, keep going
At our institute Skills Builder is involved in every section of the school, from kindergarten to secondary. Each section has incorporated Skills Builder in diverse ways and are growing and benefiting from it. The kindergarten teachers focus on building the skills of Listening and Speaking in the students through video presentations and fun interactions in the classroom and the student’s report card is designed to illustrate the student’s progress in the Skills Builder skills. The primary section have their Skills Builder class twice every week wherein the emphasis is laid on the building of the skills through fun activities ensuring to impart a wholesome experience which is both educational and enjoyable. The secondary section learn and develop the skills through a daily 30 minute class. Our main aim is to strike a balance between the theoretical and practical aspect of Skills Builder Programme thus we create opportunities for our students in the form of co-curricular activities. The secondary students are also involved in creation of resources through the house system for reinforcement in the form of charts that are displayed in the school.
Measure it
We have designed our own assessments to measure students’ understanding of the essential skills. The assessments incorporate objective questions such as multiple choice, match the column, true or false, right or wrong, match with the picture etc. After each assessment the marks obtained by the students are recorded by the teacher in the final assessment sheet. 33 students were rewarded with a certificate for achieving the parameters marked out for assessing Advance level of Skills Builder. Student planners (almanacs) include a page for self-assessment, consisting of a diagram to help them to assess their skills monthly and identify the areas of improvement.
Focus tightly
We welcomed our students back to school with fun reinforcement activities planned for them to revisit the skills learned in the previous year. Skills Builder chart displays allow students to revisit the skills both in and outside the classroom. A power point presentation was made that encapsulated all the steps of all the skills accomplished till this year for the students to revisit and revise. We also focus tightly through are regular Skills Builder classes across kindergarten, primary and secondary sections. Also in their student planner, all the steps of the eight skills are printed as a reminder for the students
Keep practising
The skills learned are practised frequently, as they are included in all the co-curricular activities at the institute. From celebrations to in-house competitions, student councils hold the responsibility of planning, organizing and executing under the supervision of teachers thereby giving the students a great opportunity to practise and use the skills learned in class. These extra-curricular activities give students the opportunity to practise and reinforce the skills learned in lesson time.
Bring it to life
Skills Builder has been brought to life through the two large-scale events at Auxilium - the Ward Level Science Exhibition and Auxilium Global Connect (AGC). In the planning and organizing of the Science Exhibition Skills Builder played a crucial role. We made sure the skills were visible throughout the event to spread the word to the visiting schools. Auxilium Global Connect is an annual event wherein the students work on a project throughout the year. Students have the opportunity to present the activities accomplished and the role of Skills Builder in achieving them to parents and visitors on the exhibition day. Both these events were a fantastic opportunity for students to apply many of the essential skill steps, as well as showcasing them to the wider community.
What's next
We have many exciting plans to take the Skills Builder programme forward. We have designed summer break homework for the students to revisit and use the skills learned over the year. The Skills Builder section in the student planner for the new academic year is designed in a way wherein the student can self-assess their progress. Another addition will be the google forms that will be given to the students to record their responses and use the data for a more accurate picture of the areas that need reinforcement. We also plan to organize a Challenge Day for the students using resources provided by the Skills Builder Team. We also wish to reinforce steps of each skill through morning assemblies wherein the students delivering the morning assembly will read out a particular step and will encourage the students to focus on it consciously through the day.
We are now aiming for flagship award, and we aspire to take Skills Builder to the other schools in the vicinity.