Project based learning is currently the talk of the Badri School-town. In a previous post, we talked about the session conducted by our expert PBL team of teachers. Their passion and drive was so infectious that now, we’ve all been bitten by the PBL bug! The Montessori Seniors have especially been very affected.Usually the following symptoms manifest themselves throughout the PBL season:

The driving real-world question for the Montessori Seniors was:

‘How do we design a play area for ourselves which caters to our needs?’

The teachers showed them the outdoor area which they were supposed to design. They brainstormed ideas, looked up sample pictures on the net, debated upon the best options and accordingly kept revising their plan. Finally they drew their individual plans. After that, they again sat together and compiled one outline plan through general consensus. Each class nominated four speakers to present the plan in front of JanabNaeemBhaisaheb.

Janab was very kind and patient enough to hear the complete plans presented by the children. The children are still wondering whether what they’ve planned will actually materialize. InshaAllah, they will see the fruits of their work very soon!

On 22^nd February eminent educationist, Professor HaroonRasheed, visited the Badri High School premises. The professor has held the position of Director of Colleges, Karachi and has served as the Principal of the Government Islamia College and Government City College, Karachi. He writes columns for newspapers and comments on various talk shows as an expert too. Currently he is Director of Vision World Publication.

The professor was impressed with the discipline he witnessed at BHS, the vigilance of the pupils as well as the dedication of the teachers. He was especially impressed with the Robotics classes he had the pleasure to behold and commented on how the school was aptly preparing the children today for the future.

While addressing the students of Class VIII as he visited their classroom, he recalled many of his experiences and anecdotes with young pupils while he was a teacher. “I am a teacher at heart and if Allah would have blessed me with another life I would wish to be born a teacher again.”

As he sipped tea in the library at the end of his detailed tour, he wrote generous comments in the Comment Book where he quoted, “I am so pleased to visit this community based school. Teachers are very energetic, curious and students are very smart. I wish for such a schooling system in our public schools.” He also inscribed an Urdu verse to sum up his sentiments regarding his impressions of BHS.

BHS wishes to expose the students to such knowledgeable figures who can inspire our youth with their experience and wisdom. Introducing such personalities is a step to bringing the best of the world to the children and allowing them to engage in meaningful dialogues with people from various walks of life.

Saturdays are meant to be a source of rejuvenation and that’s exactly what the 10^th of February was for the students of the Secondary Section of BHS. Different classes were taken to an assortment of places where they vowed to learn from their environment making the world their classroom; each experience being their best teacher.

Early in the morning, with the air crisp and the sun mellowing the chill, the students of Class 6 set off to Wazir Mansion, the birthplace of Quaid e Azam located in the quaint locality of Kharadar. The students were taken early in the morning to beat the hustle bustle of this area. They were enchanted by the home and personal belongings of the great leader and listened attentively to their guide.

This was followed by an excursion to the National Museum where they saw an interesting kaleidoscope of the culture and history of Pakistan in the vibrant Quranic gallery, Cultural gallery, Buddha gallery and the Moen jo Daro Gallery.

At 10:00 am an excited class 8 left for the Beach Luxury Hotel to revel in the festivities of the Karachi Literature Festival. They drank in the literati present at the beachside rendezvous where many acclaimed authors launched their books and opened up horizons through their panel discussions.

The trip showed the students how literature opens our eyes and makes us see more than just what the front door shows. It helped students understand the wide world outside. It encouraged them to learn, ask questions, and build intuitions and instincts.

Yet the highlight of the event was the reading of Shakespearian masterpieces by the literary maestro Zia Mohiyuddin.  The students enjoyed renditions from Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Seven Ages of man (As you Like It), many of which they have read as part of their literature course. The day helped students to find symbols, make connections, find themes, and learn about Shakespearian characters. They looked at the extracts with a larger sense of detail and depth and realized the importance of hidden meanings.

At BHS, teaching and learning goes beyond the walls of the classroom because we try to equip the students with the lens and perspective to look at the world in such a way that each moment brings with it life-long lessons.The Seniors of Grade 10 presented confidently at the Maaraz- Raf ul Mustawa where they had the unique opportunity to interact with Abnaul Jamea tus Saifiyah and momineen. The students of class 7, 9 and 10 were also accompanied by their teachers to view this spectacular Maaraz at the Al Jamea tus Saifiya Auditorium.   This life-changing experience uplifted these young souls which will be visible in many facets of their personal and academic lives.

The 12^th of January 2018 was a day to be remembered. The air was filled with the scent of the dwindling winter as well as the energy of the excited, young sportsmen on the green turf of Khaimat ur Riyazat as Badri High School hosted its Annual Sports Day.

Titled ‘A Sport for Everyday’ the theme of the event drew inspiration from Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s TUS excerpt on the advent and passage of seven days since time immemorial and the events which unfold in them.  BHS coupled this with the philosophy of a healthy lifestyle which Aali Qadr Maula TUS is inculcating in every believer’s household through wholesome nutrition, exercise and regular medical checkups, and used the number 7 in every one of its races.

The event was graced by the chief patron of BHS, Janab Naeem Bhaisaheb and Amil Saheb of Al Mohalatul Burhaniyah Janab Shabbir Bhaisaheb who were accorded a guard of honour by the BHS band and Student’s Council. Following Tilawat and recitation, the sportsmen took oath before the Chief Guests and the games were declared open.

The first phase of the games featured the tiny tots of the Pre Primary Section who delighted the audience with their PT display. This was followed by the four races of the Montessori  Section the first based on Eric Carl’s book ‘The Hungry Catterpillar’ showcasing the seven days of the week. The second race showed the Riwayat of Imam Husain AS granting the ‘Saail’ seven farzand; the third displayed the Riwayat of Maulatuna Fatema’s pearl necklace bearing seven pearls and lastly, the tracks showed runner dressed as the seven national things of Pakistan.

The second phase incorporated the Primary Section’s PT display which was a vibrant exhibition of precision, energy and coordination by the 150 students of classes 1-5. The audience gasped in wonder as 60 boys from the Secondary section leaped on each other to form four human pyramids paying homage to the four houses at BHS. The four house flags fluttered in the morning breeze as the children cheered their houses on.

Then came the enthralling races. On one hand the hurdle, relay races and the sprints excited the audience, while the survivor race, balancing race, tunnel race and the wheelbarrow race taught lessons of coordination and teamwork.  The Seven Wonders race and the Rainbow skipping race incorporated learning and agility while the Breakfast race and Getting Ready for School race taught lessons which would come in handy everyday.

The events ended with a thrilling tug-of-war and with the red house emerging the victor of the day with 36 points. The races were accompanied with the giving away of medals and trophies in quick succession. The senior girls were also honoured with certificates and medals on the big day even though their events had been held on the 10^th of January.

The BHS Sports Day received TV coverage and the students and staff walked away with an unparalleled feeling of fulfillment, invigoration and achievement.

Parents of the Montessori were happy to receive the progress report of their child today. Each report was enclosed in a beautiful folder which show-cased the child’s individual work. The Milad goodie bag in each folder will be a wonderful surprise for the children when they reach home. We had something for parents too inside the folder. We are sure parents are looking forward to the exciting events for which they received invitations.

We hope to see the Reception and Junior parents at the hifz workshop tomorrow.

An interesting and thought provoking session was conducted by Ms. Farida Sailani and Ms. Munira Aliasghar in the Activity Room on Friday 30/12/17.
They had recently attended a 6 hour long workshop at Aga khan IED on teaching numbers to under-fives. The teachers were eager to share their learning with the rest of the Montessori staff who were responsive and enthusiastic participants.

Who dares to teach, must never cease to learn.

Badri High School has provided culminating educational experiences to the students, contributing to the welfare of the society, which is the ultimate goal of education. It strives to promote the maximum potential of its teachers along with the students.

Teachers are agents of change. A good one can inspire pupils to be hopeful, ignite their imagination along with instilling a love for learning. Here, at BHS, every teacher believes that he/she needs to improve, not because they are not good enough but because they can be even better equipped with the pedagogies that are required to shape a bright future for the learners.

With this faith of transforming the present into a better future, BHS keeps sending its teachers to various workshops and trainings to nurture their erudition. Recently, four teachers from the BHS team were sent for a training based on Project Based Learning- a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic question, problem or challenge that is related to the real life. PBL contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization or teacher-led instructions.

When PBL is used with 21^st century skills, students are exposed to the use of technology in meaningful ways to help them investigate, collaborate, analyze, synthesize, and present their learning. Many efficacious schools in Pakistan have adopted PBL as the master pedagogy of their schools.

The teachers who are trained for implementing the pedagogy by the school are:

1. Ibrahim Shabbir (Secondary Section)
2. Rashida Mohammad (Pre-Primary Section)
3. Rashida Adnan (Secondary Section)
4. Zenab Mohammad (Secondary Section)

The teachers are gratified as Badri High School has provided them with this commendable opportunity to learn and teach.

While the teachers remained neck-deep in result making and planning for the second term, everyone was thrilled to attend the special in-house training session arranged on Thursday 28th December 2017.

Janab Sh Hatim Gulam Abbasbhai from Al Jamea tus Saifiyah, Karachi inspired the team at BHS with a one hour session on Teaching in the Light of Wahye (Revelation). He shared his experience in teaching Uloom Kauneya (exact sciences) and reminded the teachers that the aim of education is to recognize and acknowledge the existence of Allah and offer gratitude to him. He spoke at length about referring to the Quran-the fountainhead of knowledge- to begin each lesson. He also shared a few handouts of Science lessons from the Uloome Kawneya books which opened up new horizons for the BHS facilitators.

This engrossing session was followed by a half an hour talk by Janab Sh Mustafa Hakimuddin, Principal of Saifiya Girls School, on the use of Butterfly EduFields’ STEM LEARNING SCIENCE KITS, which are being used in 9000+ schools by 11,00,000+ students. He generously shared his thoughts on how the use of these hands-on kits has revolutionised the manner of imparting knowledge at SGS.

This valuable twin in-house session aimed to help incorporate Muntalaqe Islami as well as STEM education in classroom teaching enabling our facilitators to create a perfect balance of Deen and Duniya.

At BHS, Ayyam-u- Tabudaat and the esteemed occasion of Milad Syedna Mohammad  Burhanuddin(R.A)is being celebrated in a distinctive way. To commemorate these festivities, a grand event of Insha-u-Madeh was held at the B

HS ground on 4 Rabiul Akhir, Friday, the 22nd of Nov 2017. Students of the Primary and  Secondary section gathered to express their deep love and devotion for our Beloved Moula Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS)in the form of poetry. The poetic verses revealed their feeling of gratitude and impact of  Ashara Mubaraka 1439H in Karachi, on their bodies and soul.

Teachers of both sections fondly participated in Madeh composition, Thus all were busy in this passionate mode of “Ibadat”.

Along with the Madrasa staff, Abnaul- Jamea-tus- Saifiyah were also present to help and facilitate the young budding poets. Their presence added to the charm of the occasion. An event of this type was a successful initiative in the nurturing of future poets and a pathway to Madeh-writing of Dai-z-Zaman which is actually a part of faith for every individual mumin.

May we continue this beautiful “Ibadat” throughout our lifetime, and  may Allah (T.A) grant our beloved Moula a long and prosperous life till the day of judgement.
Ameen.

Winter in Karachi is a unique phenomenon. It comes too late, goes away too soon and therefore is nothing short of a celebration.

The BHS Montessori planned to savor the beauty of winter with all its perks on Friday, December 22, 2017.

Friday dawned doubly blessed as it was the day of  Milad-e-Imam-i-zaman S.A. The children came to school in bright and colourful winter clothes. After Dua, Senior B presented a skit in Urdu on winter. Artificial snow spray brought forth shrieks of delight from the young audience.

During circle-time, children discussed all about winter. They rubbed a little baby lotion on their skin for a hands-on experience of skin-care during winter. They made a Milad Mubarak craft card and did a free-hand drawing on ‘winter makes me think of’.

Once the bonfire was ready, children gathered around the bonfire to enjoy peanuts, marshmallows dipped in chocolate sauce and hot cocoa milk. It was fun to ‘blow and watch it snow’ around the snowman.  Janab Shk. Hashim cut the milad cake amid loud and enthusiastic cries of Allahu Akbar, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin Zindabad and Maula, Maula Mufaddal Maula!

Children went home tired but happy.

Badri High School has brought an ideal way to ensure that your child makes productive use of the approaching winter break. When we introduced the Robotics program at BHS this year in August 2017-18, we saw how the students enjoyed it and how it helped make them alert, active, engaged and incorporated critical thinking. We saw that this was the future of education and we wanted our children to embrace the future with confidence.

But the dedicated team of educationists at BHS realized that the students in the North Nazimabad area did not have a place which offered Robotics nearby. We wished to share this experience with other young learners. Thus, with the cooperation of the team at Robotics Lab, we strove to make this one-of-a-kind experience available to all at our campus this winter. Here are a few details of the week-long Winter Science Camp we are offering at Badri High School from 26^th December 2017:

Mini Bots: Robotics for Ages 5 -8: This course has the Lego WeDo set and it combines the beloved LEGO bricks with one motor, two sensors, and a hub that connects the model to the computer. Simple drag-and-drop visual programming software is then used to bring the model to life. With this kid-friendly approach, the set makes learning fun, inspiring and engaging. Kids learn about complex topics in the fields of physics, engineering, and programming, as well as develop motor and cognitive skills through robot building, all as they have fun with LEGO bricks.

Its simplicity and versatility make WeDo a great set to use in the classroom for teaching robotics and programming and enhancing STEM lessons. Children work in pairs using one WeDo set and one computer or tablet, which improves their collaboration and communication skills.

What Will Students Take Home?

Each student will go home with photos of the robot they created during the week.

Top Skills Gained

Conceptual Skills Development

• Basic programming concepts
• Structural design
• Pulleys and levers
• Gears and motors
• Engineering concepts

Software & Hardware Skills Development

• LEGO Education WeDo Base Set
• LEGO Education WeDo Software

STEM & 21^st Century Skills Development

• Problem-solving
• Creativity
• Collaborative teamwork

Bot Mania: Robotics for Ages 9 – 16 (Robotics Engineering):

This is a beginning course in Robotics. We utilize Lego Mindstorms /EV3 kits, software and various Lego Robotics materials. The objective of this course is to introduce the student to basic programming as well as problem solving strategies. This course will involve students in the development, building and programming of a LEGO Mindstorms/EV3 robot. Students will work hands-on in teams to design, build, program and document their progress. Topics may include motor control, gear ratios, torque, friction, sensors, timing, program loops, logic gates, decision-making, timing sequences, propulsion systems and binary number systems. Student designed robots will be programmed to compete in various courses as developed by First Lego League.

What Will Students Take Home?

Each student will go home with photos of the robot they created during the week

Top Skills Gained

Conceptual Skills Development

• Basic programming concepts; NXT / EV3
• Structural design
• Pulleys and levers
• Gears, pulleys, lever, torque, friction, timing, sensors, and program loops
• Engineering concepts
• To design, develop & complete robotic activities and challenges

Software & Hardware Skills Development

• Lego Mindstorms NXT / EV3 hardware & software

STEM & 21^st Century Skills Development

• Problem-solving
• Creativity
• Collaborative teamwork

Engineering 101 Ages: 8 +:

The course emphases on the learning of engineering process and the mind set of an engineer. Engineering is not just a profession; it is a way of thinking. The thinking process of an engineer is more inclined towards problem solving, creative thinking and most of all building new things. This course is designed in a way to inculcate the thinking process of an engineer through hand on activities involving various engineering disciplines. Every class has a lot of hands on activities.

Activities during the course

1. Aerospace engineering(rocket design + building)
2. Aeronautical engineering(real flying airplane design and development)
3. Civil engineering(Designing & building Towers & bridges)
4. Mechanical Engineering(working & building different kinds of catapults + designing roller coasters the length of a room)

What Will Students Take Home?

Each student will go home with their designed and crafted model along with the photos of their learning session.

Top Skills Gained

Conceptual Skills Development

• Creativity
• Deductive reasoning
• Problem-solving
• Analytical skills
• Mechanical Engineering concepts
• Civil/structural engineering concepts
• Aeronautical/Aerospace engineering
• Adapting to new challenges
• Team Work

STEM & 21^st Century Skills Development

• Problem Solving Skills
• Logical Skills
• Critical Thinking

Android Game Development Ages: 8 – 16:

This course is just amazing! With Construct 2, making games is easy and interesting: just drag and drop objects around, add behaviors to them, and make everything come alive with events!

With a quick and easy to grasp Ribbon interface, you have clear access to a wide set of tools that allows anyone to jump into game creation with little to no prior game development knowledge.

The Layout Editor provides a what-you-see-is-what-you-get visual interface to design your levels. You can drag, rotate and resize objects, visualize effects applied, and quickly change their settings to your liking in the Properties Bar. Objects can be arranged on separate layers for enhanced organization, allowing advanced parallax and blending effects. There’s also a built-in image editor to conveniently make quick edits to your object’s graphics.

Within minutes or hours you can have a working prototype that you can share with friends to play. In almost no time you can test your ideas and know if they are really fun or not, focusing your efforts in what matters the most: designing your game!

What Will Students Take Home?

Each student will go home with their games and photos of the learning session.

Top Skills Gained

Conceptual Skills Development

• Introduction to Game concepts: X & Y coordinate system, sprites, character animations, object behavior.
• Editing sprites using transparency and collision polygon.
• Logic based programming including loops, variables and event conditions.
• Making 2D platform games with wrapping effect of backgrounds, scoring and lives feature.
• Multi-level games, troubleshooting logical errors and implementing innovative solutions.

Software & Hardware Skills Development

• Usage of Construct 2 software and game development

STEM & 21^st Century Skills Development

• Problem-solving
• Logical Skills
• Critical Thinking

For this WINTER CAMP Online form is available.

• Download the Form and fill in the details.
• Submit this form to BHS before 26th December 2017 to register your child.
  

  *Limited seats only*