Importance of Student Support in Residential Schools

Boarding schools offer plenty of advantages which make them a popular choice. Along with the best teaching staff, qualified coaches and excellent campus and dorm infrastructure, the best boarding schools also have an efficient student support system. This ensures that students, both girls and boys, live and learn happily and peacefully, without any disturbance or turmoil in the mind. The best international girls boarding schools in Dehradun or the best co-educational residential schools in Mysore all have an impressive facility of student support.

Let’s take a look at the various levels where student support is extended.

· Homeroom: A homeroom teacher, besides teaching, tends to address individual problems of students in a class. This teacher is like a parent to the children in his/her class and pays attention to details, ranging from attendance and leave record to resolving personal issues and maintenance of academic records.

· Dorm tutoring system: Students may turn to the resident tutors with any academic problem, a topic or a lesson they did not understand at school. Such tutors ensure that students do not face any difficulties in coping up with studies while in the boarding facility, away from home.

· Dorm supervisors: Students can get help from dorm supervisors in case they face problems in the dorm. This can be related to the hostel itself, the amenities, the roommates or even personal problems.

· Counselling: A clinical counsellor is always present to address the students’ problems. Students can visit the counsellor with any kind of problems, such as loneliness, inferiority complexes, being bully victims, depression, aggression, social anxiety, insecurities, interpersonal relationships to name a few to receive help without being judged.

· Special educator: Some children need extra guidance and support when it comes to academics and some usual school activities. A special educator in these schools works with the regular teachers to help such students with their lessons and activities.

Thus, whether you wish to admit your daughter into the best international girls boarding school in Dehradun or your son to a popular boys boarding school in Mumbai, you must choose one with an extensive student support system to ensure your child has a pleasant and happy schooling experience. 

Top Three Advantages of Studying in a CBSE School

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is one of the most extensively recognized education boards of the country, and schools affiliated to it can be found in almost any part of India. This education board aims at providing the students with a curriculum that makes the process of learning extremely engaging, simple and interesting for every child. The best CBSE schoolsin Dehradun are especially renowned for facilitating a system of interactive education and providing its students with an environment that is conducive to learning.

Here are the three major reasons why parents should try to enroll their students into schools affiliated to the CBSE: 

• Student friendly: CBSE holds the reputation of following an extremely student friendly curriculum.  The schools affiliated to this board ideally focus on making sure that their students get the opportunity to enjoy a well-rounded and holistic education with the help of interesting textbooks, interactive teaching methodologies and engaging curriculum and do not face any kind of undue pressure. All the CBSE schools typically follow books designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) that typically feature a host of activities and tasks that enable the students to gain knowledge and learn in a highly enjoyable manner. This factor subsequently goes a long way in minimalizing the tediousness and boredom that is often associated with academics, by making the overall system of learning both exciting and interesting for the students.
• MCQ pattern of examination: The CBSE curriculum puts a major focus on the ‘Multiple Choice Question’ or MCQ pattern of examination. This educational board ideally encourages the students to both learn and understand diverse subjects and topics thoroughly, so as to answer questions and solve problems of an extensive variety rather than just mugging up texts and reproducing them verbatim in the exam. The question papers of the CBSE schools are typically designed with the purpose of testing the overall knowledge of the students as opposed to just their capacity to memorize information and details from the text books. 
• Beneficial for Higher education: Students planning to pursue higher education in institutions like the IITs or AIIMS can significantly benefit from studying at CBSE schools as the national level competitive exams like IIT JEE and NEET are usually conducted by this educational board.

Parents can explore the web to get detailed information about the admission process of the best CBSE schools in Dehradun, Mussoorie and other parts of the country in order to enroll their children there.

Top Three Characteristics of a Good Boarding School

Residential schools are a place where apart from imparting quality academic education, special emphasis is laid on developing the key personality traits of students, nurturing their passions and abilities as well as strengthening their ethical and moral values. Although every parent puts in a lot of thought before finalizing on a school for their child, little bit of extra planning and research is required in case of residential schools as the children not only study but live here. Here’s more on the key features that make for a good residential school.

·         Location:  Boarding schools should ideally be located in a tranquil and relatively secluded area, which is surrounded by ample greenery. This helps in creating the right environment where students can focus on their studies and other extra-curricular activities. For instance, some of the best boys and girls boarding schools can be found in Dehradun, as its secluded atmosphere keeps the students from being   distracted by the typical distractions of urban life, like partying, gaming and clubbing.  The natural surroundings of these schools also encourage the students to participate in sporting activities, exercise regularly and lead a healthy lifestyle.

·         Academics:  Good boarding schools should ideally help students develop a thirst for knowledge.  They should encourage the students to participate in various renowned competitions and fests, such as national and international subject Olympiads. These schools should also aid the students in preparing for competitive exams such as the IIT JEE and NEET, which they might have to face in the future.  

·         All-round development:  In addition to academics, boarding schools should also put a major focus on the all-round growth and development of the students. One of the key reasons behind this being that students studying in residential institutions spend all their time inside the school premises and hence have to learn everything they can at the school itself. These schools should thus try to identify and nurture the inherent talents and abilities of its students, and subsequently encourage them to realize their dreams and follow their passions. Extra-curricular activities including fine arts, sports, music, and dance should also be given due importance in the school syllabus.

Parents looking to put their children in the best boys or girls boarding school in cities like Dehradun, Jaipur, Pune etc. can always acquire detailed information about their admission criteria and process from the school websites. From the websites parents can even seek all details about the school’s infrastructure and achievements basis which they can start preparing their wards for the admission process.  

Here’s how to go about Seeking Admission into a Boarding School

An exceptional transformation has taken place in the domain of education across the globe over the last decade or so. Apart from securing good academic grades, it has become incredibly important for children to hone their creative and social skills in order to succeed in this modern competitive world. However, it may not be possible for all parents to groom their children well in all aspects. As such, an increasing number of parents nowadays prefer to enroll their children into good residential boarding schools. Good boarding schools facilitate the all-round development of children and play a major role in shaping them into productive, balanced and responsible adults. One of the major reasons for this being that boarding schools get to devote much more time and resources to the development of their students in comparison to typical day schools

Overview on the Steps for seeking admission into a typical boarding schoo

In order to seek admission in a boarding school, parents will first have to fill out the boarding school admission form of the relevant boarding school they wish to seek admission in. Subsequent to this, students would ideally have to sit for a written assessment. These tests are essentially designed to test the proficiency of students in the subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, and Hindi.

The questions asked in these written examinations are usually based on the syllabus of the class that the student may currently be in. For example, in case a student is applying for admission in Class IX, he/she would be assessed on the syllabus of class VIII. In most cases, the syllabus for the entrance assessment is made available to the students along with a few sample papers on the website of the relevant boarding school.  Subsequent to the written assessment, students and their parents might even have to appear for an interaction with the Principal and the Admission Committee of the school.

At the time of the entrance evaluation, the students also should carry the following important documents:

• Birth certificate, attested.
• Academic reports and certificates from the last three years
• Individual passport size photographs of the student and the parent

To get the boarding school admission form and acquire other details about the entrance procedure there, parents can visit the website of the relevant educational institution that they have chosen to enroll their child into.

An Overview on the Key features of Boarding Schools

Boarding schools essentially play the role of a home away from home and focus on the all-round development of children. Most renowned internationalboarding schools India, along with offering holistic education also ensure the overall personality development of children so they can grow up to be well-balanced and matured individuals.

In addition, students who join the boarding schools automatically learn various survival skills as they are all on their own there. Students studying in such residential facilities thus learn to do all the basic daily chores like washing, tidying up their living area, responsibly managing their supplies, etc., pretty early in life. This self-reliance becomes a way of life for these students which help in a big way when they step into adult life.

When looking forward to admit your child in a well-known internationalboarding schools in India, you must make sure that the institution fares well on the below mentioned parameters:

• The physical, psychological and interpersonal needs of the students must be met at the boarding school. The school should motivate the students to participate in cultural, athletic, and artistic activities. The curriculum and daily routine to be followed by the children must include activities like sports, arts, crafts and other co curricular activities. All these assist children to grow and develop into well-rounded individuals with exceptional interpersonal skills and leadership abilities.
• The boarding school should also have the advanced security features with access control and 24/7 video surveillance. In addition, the boarding school should also hire well-trained security personnel to prevent access to any unauthorized individuals into school premises. As the boarding school is the place where the children will be living and studying it is essential that parents first look for and scrutinize the safety features provided by the school so they can rest assured that their children are living safely.
• The health and wellbeing of children studying here should be the main concern of any boarding school as children spend all of their time here. A boarding school must offer a sanitized environment, a clean dining area and hygienic washrooms. Apart from this, the meals served to students should be balanced, nutritious and planned by a knowledgeable dietician. In addition, the boarding school must also have a well-set medical room and it must have qualified nurses and a resident doctor to administer any required treatments to the students.

Boarding schools with the above mentioned features can always ensure that the children studying under their portals will get the best in terms of education as well as upbringing.

Things your daughter can carry when enrolling in a residential school

Once you’ve found the best girls’ residential school in Dehradun, it is time to help your little one pack. While you may have a heavy heart, you should be happy that your child has an opportunity to avail the best quality education in an environment that is safe, nurturing, and enlightening.
When you are sending your child off to a girls’ residential school, there are a few things that she should carry with her so that she can enjoy a comfortable stay in the school hostel.

Towel

School hostels do not provide towels and students are expected to carry one with them. Make sure you send lightweight and quick-drying towels. Send at least two, so that they have one available if the other towel is dirty.

Choosing a backpack and suitcase

It is always advised to have a front loading backpack in order to avoid the need to dump out your bag each time you need something. If you share your room with someone, it is always better to lock your bags and suitcase rather than blindly trusting people. See to it that your daughter knows to keep her valuables and other belongings locked.

Laptop

While the school may have a fully equipped computer lab, do give your little one her own laptop that she can use for entertainment and to keep in touch with you through Skype or other social media. She can even use the laptop to finish written assignments and projects.

Earphones

You never know who your child could end up sharing a room with in the school hostel. Now, most people are genuinely nice, but there are chances that her roommate may snore, listen to loud music, or hold loud conversations with family and friends. Under such circumstances, having noise-cancellation earphones would be a boon for your girl.


Other things one should carry for a hostel stay include the following

• Bedroll and pillow
• Bed linen
• Few locks and keys
• Your soap, detergents, hand wash, nail cutter, a thread and needle, tooth brush, tooth paste, nail file, shampoo, conditioner, whatever your basic needs are
• An iron, even if you have a laundry service, just carry one
• An electric kettle to make hot chocolate or cup soups

Remember, it will take time for your daughter to adjust to the new environment. Be supportive about it. After a while, she will get used to it when she makes friends and learns to love her new school and life. The things mentioned here will help her settle down quickly and make her stay at the best girls’ residential school in Dehradun more comfortable.

2 Key Characteristics of a Good Boarding School

Boarding schools have a considerable impact on the personalities of their students, as they essentially are their primary point of contact with the world during their formative years. Boarding school students learn to interpret the ways of the world as well as acquire the life-skills to navigate through it at their school itself. Hence, it is imperative that a residential school has certain features that assist them to ensure the bright future of their students.

Two of the key characteristics of a good boarding school are as follows:

• Focus on extracurricular activities: Most established residential schools lay a major focus on the holistic growth of the students, and encourage them to pursue their hobbies and passions. In case of day schools, students get the option to attend various extra-curricular classes after school hours. However, since students belonging to boarding schools do not have this option, it is highly imperative that they get all these facilities within the premises itself and most good residential schools have state-of-the-art activity rooms where the children can learn and practice various art forms.  Also, some of the most renowned boys and girls boarding schools in Dehradun and other such smaller towns are located amidst an opulence of open spaces, which provides them with ample spaces to participate in a number of sporting activities.
   
• Safety and wellbeing: Since in boarding schools, students spend all their time within the school premises, it is highly imperative that the school takes all the required precautions to ensure their optimal security, safety, and well-being. These schools should essentially have adequate security and surveillance features that make sure of the physical safety of the students. The school must also make sure that the students receive proper nutrition, so that they can stay healthy and fit. In addition to this, it is highly imperative for the school staff to ensure the psychological and mental wellbeing of the students too. As such, these schools also have counseling as well as life-skill training classes.

In case people want to enroll their wards into the best and most reputed boys and girls boarding schools in Dehradun or some other educational hub of the country, they can do their research to identify the best residential schooling facilities available in the country.