Category: General

This morning Badri High School had the privilege of welcoming to its premises, Mr. Hasnain Valikarim, who was awarded Mr. Australia 2020.

As per tradition a melodious and energetic welcome was accorded through a guard of honour. After Tilawat u Dua Mr. Hasnain, who is currently in Pakistan from Australia on a visit. was welcomed with a bouquet of roses presented by a young student as well as a token.

He addressed the assembly and inspired the students with a few choice words of advice which went straight to the heart.”Respect your teachers,” he stated, “This is what my life has taught me.”

He spent one hour with Grade 10 in class where he shared his mantras about physical fitness. He encouraged these teens to join to a gym and make fitness a priority. In his amiable and humble way he talked about an ideal diet for students so they can perform well academically and feel confident socially.

In this era where physical and mental well being is a priority, Mr. Hasnain’s visit truly motivated the students to become better versions of themselves.

It is never late to earn a degree as learning has no age limit. All age groups are welcome for the act of learning.

The first place where a child starts learning is home. In the early age, children spend most of their time with parents and learn from them. As parents, we need to give our children the best childhood experience as that is the foundation on which their future will stand. Involving parents in the learning experience is also important due as learning does not start and end with the school hours; it is an ongoing process in a student’s life.

In Badri High School teachers and parents are working as a team for the holistic development and successful academic achievement of our children.

With the reopening of schools after the Covid pandemic, we have planned a series of workshops for parents of Montessori to help them gain better understanding of the developments in the early years and the problems that most parents face and recommended solutions.

The first session was held in the Hifz Room on topic “Healthy Kids Healthy Brains”. Ms. Rashida Mohammad talked about the importance of routine and its effects on the child’s growth and development. Miss Lubna Imran from the Abbot company talked about food and nutrition in the early years. She consolidated Ms. Rashida’s talk by emphasizing on the benefits of proper meal and sleep timings and the problems encountered when a proper meal and sleep routine is not followed. She shared information about the food groups and what should be included in a child’s diet and in what proportion.

We shared a very special healthy snacks recipe booklet with parents. What makes it special is the fact that they were all tried and true recipes shared by our parents which we collected through a google form. It was then painstakingly edited and compiled by Miss Fatema Feroz and Miss Fatema Mufaddal into a beautiful booklet.

The Hifz room was jam-packed with parents who participated enthusiastically. It was heartening to see so many parents take out precious time to attend the session. It gives us the boost we need to organize more sessions for parents. Our parents are lifelong learners!

15 th September 2020- a day which was awaited by the students of Grade IX
and X all over the country not because of a cricket match or release of new
Hollywood thriller, but the excitement and enthusiasm that punctuated the
wait was the coming back to school after a long vacation which started from
February 26 th , 2020 abruptly, because of the first registered case of the
Novel Corornavirus in Karachi, Pakistan. The epidemic changed everything
as it started spreading, from trade to travel, from teaching to learning, from
personal lives to professional lives.
The children, who usually sulk whenever asked to go to the school in the
morning, started missing the premises badly. However, remote teaching
and learning connected the students with students and teachers in an
effective way ensuring the smooth transition from the academic year 2019-
20 to 2020-21 virtually.
On one hand where online teaching and learning helped students to be
connected with the academia, it also accentuated values such as friendship,
mutual respect, thirst for knowledge and punctuality. This excitement was
covert on the 15 th of September, 2020, when students of Grade IX and X
came back to school wearing their radiant smiles and confident body
language. Teachers were also delighted to be in a physical classroom. The
contentment and satisfaction of being back in the school was enough for
every student and teacher to follow all the SOPs without fail.
All of this was a pleasure to observe, but a gesture that touched me the most
as a teacher made me write this blog post. A student of grade IX A,
Hussaina Tahir, came to me in the morning and asked permission to give
something to her friends. I allowed her pointing out the distance protocol to
be observed while I was physically present in the class too, to view this
spectacle.
Hussaina Tahir reached into her bag and drew out a shopper, from which
she took out wrapped gifts with notes of love and affection written on the
gift. She handed over the gifts to every girl in the class. Amused, the girls
started feeling what was inside the gift. The insides of the gift must be

interesting but, what appealed to me was how carefully, a small card was
placed on top of each gift, made with so much affection.
The tradition of giving gifts has always been encouraged by Syedna Aali
Qdar Muffaddal Saifuddin T.U.S in his preaching as well as practice. All
over the year, we, mumineen, keep receiving tokens of Barakat from Moula
T.U.S and may we be the recipients of such bounties till eternity.

The announcement, ‘And the Schoolathon trophy for boys goes to Badri High School!’ is still ringing in my ears. What a moment it was! What a feeling! Every heart associated with Badri High School swelled with pride at this amazing victory. Our boys had done it again, right on the heels of a major victory at the Dodge ball Asian Games in Hong Kong.

Schoolathon was an initiative taken by Al-Nad-il-Burhani and Shabab-e-Eid-i-Zahabi to bring together the seven Imani schools of Karachi by providing them a platform for learning, developing and exercising important skills through games and sports. What better way to learn to be a team player than through cricket? What better way to learn to exercise hand-eye coordination along with logical and spatial skills than through archery? What better way to build stamina than through running? What better way to learn to accept loss graciously and victory with empathy than through games and sports? Our students proved they are fighters and more than ready to learn the lessons that these games have taught them.

Seven schools participated in the Schoolathon:

1. Badri High School
2. Hakimi School
3. Husamiyah School
4. MSB Haidery
5. MSB Shabbirabad
6. Saifiyah Girls
7. Saifiyah Boys

Forty Five boys and fifty girls from BHS participated in seven events altogether:

1. Athletics
2. Throwball
3. Futsal
4. Volleyball
5. Cricket
6. Archery
7. Table tennis

We won 11 shields, 38 gold medals, 13 silver medals and 5 bronze medals altogether. Hussain Murtaza Gohar was declared the best player of the tournament.

The Badri Band played a vital part in creating an atmosphere at the event. Their music was uplifting and motivating and encouraged the players to give their best. The Clapping Display and the Ribbon Flow Display by our students at the closing ceremony was unique and striking.

We aim to gain the Khushi Mubarak of Aqa Maula TUS by following His Farmaan Mubarak for taking steps to being physically and mentally fit and healthy. Our sports teachers, Ms. Mehwish and Sir Tajammul have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and their efforts have taken us to victory.

Three cheers for all our heroes! Like they chanted at the games-MashaAllah, mashaAllah!

The new year started on an overwhelmingly optimistic and inspiring note as the students of BHS participated in the Inter School Art Contest organized by Nazafat, an organization of the Dawoodi Bohra Community dedicated to promoting hygiene, cleanliness and environmental awareness.

This event was launched on 2 nd Dec 2019 and the topic was Karachi-Through my Eye. Various schools of Karachi participated under the lofty banner of Protecting the Environment Through Art.

Hundreds of entries were received and displayed on the Thursday, the 2 nd of January 2020 at Al Madrasa tus Saifiyah tul Burhaniyah, Haidery campus.

Fifty talented finalists were shortlisted from all the submissions and were invited to Governor House. Here, they were given an opportunity to express their hopes, dreams, vision and mission through art on the five initiatives of GREEN VISION launched by Nazafat. This includes Waste segregation and Composting, Greenery and Plantation, Cleanliness and Hygiene, Beating Plastic Pollution and Water Conservation.

11 students of BHS were in the top fifty out of which two made it to the top ten. Husaina Quaid Johar from Class 8 bagged the second position for her though provoking and inspiring art piece. Fatema Tus Sughra of BHS from Class 8 stood out in the top ten.

The on-spot final round was mentored by the talented artists of the community and judged byrenowned artists. Inspiring figures like artist, Yousuf Bashir Qureshi, interacted with the students, providing them a memorable morning.

BHS was also given an opportunity to present on the topic of Cleanliness and Hygiene where they elaborated on the Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s TUS philosophy of a clean body, mind and soul.

The purpose of NAZAFAT is to make people aware to play their role in keeping their surroundings clean and hygienic as per the guidelines of Islam.

His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS has spearheaded several environmental campaigns to plant trees, create urban forests, make bird feeders, clean up operations, stop plastic to mention a few, in Pakistan and the world over.

The TDF MagnifiScience Travels Programme brought their display of 15 mega projects for three consecutive days from 7^th to 9^th December, 2019 to promote tacit knowledge amongst learners and their parents at BHS premises. Not only were the mornings spent in learning but the exhibit was kept open for two evenings where mothers came with their young ones and learnt scientific concepts through games and activities.

Tactile learning and touch is essential for a child’s growth in physical abilities, cognitive and language skills, and even social and emotional development.

In contrast to explicit knowledge, which helps us ‘know what’, tacit knowledge can be understood as ‘know how’. Tacit knowledge is acquired by addressing real problems and practice, it relates to experience, ideals, intuition, values, creative thinking, skills and attitudes.

The institute of BHS reckons in creating an aura that invites experts providing a practical learning environment to prepare learners for their future, and an affiliation with TDF MagnifiScience Travels Programme is one such live example.

With the objective to encourage science literacy in society, The Dawood Foundation (TDF) organizes science exhibitions. The exhibition provides a learning space to explore the world of science through exhibits, experiments and expositions.

Their life-size display of 15 projects at BHS premises included:

• Jenga
• Soma Cube Puzzle
• Earthquake Table
• Musical Wall
• Gravity Run
• Newton’s Cradle
• Face Swap
• Tower of Lone
• Train Table
• Conecting Pathways
• Scrabble
• Shape Sorter
• Snakes and Ladders
• Pest Wall
• Building a Bridge

Badri High School strives hard to adopt the PBL (Project Based Learning) model to help create healthy relationships and interactions between teachers, students, parents and organizations by knitting them on the same page to refine our community’s strength.

Indeed, one more feather on BHS cap to execute a plan that can make its associates learn but with fun.

Art has always been the center of attention for a student- the merriment conquered by mere splashes of colors on a piece of paper while expressing fresh and contemporary ideas brings a great deal of satisfaction. It is through different vibrancies of colors that vast spectrum’s of knowledge seep hastily in a learner’s soul. 

BHS feels honored to execute such competitions where learners are given an open forum to express their creative side in a well-organized fashion.  On November 15, 2019, students gathered with their canvases and art supplies in the ground of the BHS premises to create a gallery of Maulana Ali A.S’s 30 pearls of wisdom given to Maulana Hasan A.S, taught to us by Maula Muffadal TUs during Ashara Mubaraka.

It was a delight to see students of all ages wearing emotions of excitement, thrill, anticipation to accumulate Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s TUS happiness. 

The tinge of blue, the taunt of yellow, the smooth rays of red, the beauty of green, the determination of orange, the cool of gold, and the strength of black reflected not only the artist’s creative side but also germinated their critical thinking analytical process. 

Learners were happy to use any medium of their choice to celebrate and express their thoughts through illustrations-Rebus. It bagged a sense of ownership and strengthened within them ability to communicate through lines, dimensions and colors.

The joyful ambiance without fail motivated their teachers too who alongside students minted their masterpieces. 

As Thomas Horton quotes; ‘Art enables us to find our own self’-Truly it does.

“The personality of a teacher is more important than what he teaches”

If one wishes to meet a super hero in reality, one should look for a teacher as teachers not only burns the candle on both sides for sculpting the future of generations but also bears the responsibility of keeping herself abreast of the current educational practices. Teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin.

In order to learn and update one`s teaching self, a teacher seeks continuous professional development, which not only helps a teacher to improve his/her teaching methods, but also provides a platform to identify talents and skills. All over Pakistan, there are numerous organizations which are working to provide a professional forum to teachers of the country by training them and educating them.

One such prestigious organization is SPELT (Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers), a registered organization of English Language Teachers from schools, colleges and Universities. Formed in 1984, in Karachi, with a vision to improve the standard of English Language teaching nationally, conducts innumerable workshops and training sessions for teachers throughout the year, all over the country. Annually, SPELT also organizes an International Conference with an aim to provide a platform to teachers, teacher trainers, speakers and researchers from all over the world to gather and share their best practices with the society.

Months before the actual conference, candidates from all over the world send an abstract of the best practice, they wish to share, which undergoes a process of approval from renowned educationists such as Professor Zakia Sarwar, Ms. Fauzia Shamim, Sir Abbas Hussain, Ms Rehmat Ebrahim, Professor Fatima Shahbuddin and others.

This year, in the SPELT 35^th International Conference, at Iqra University,  two teachers from Badri High School were invited to conduct workshops. Ms Zenab Mohammad, an English Language teacher who heads the Project Based Learning Department, Computer Assisted Language Learning Dept. and BIRD (a teacher`s training and professional development body) conducted a workshop on Creating future leaders through Project Based Learning in the contemporary educational society. Accompanying her was Ms Rashida Mohammad, an ECD certified teacher & trainer, design thinking expert & In-charge of the outdoor play area presented on Design thinking process in teaching.

This year, the conference was themed on “innovations in ELT (English Language Teaching)”.  Both the sessions exhibited the practices of Badri High School in ELT.

Badri Institute of Resource and Development certified its first batch in Early Childhood Education and Development after hundred hours of intensive training and observation & teaching practice on 28^th October 2019. The course was spread over a span of 3 months beginning from 29^th July 2019.

The course outline was thoughtfully designed to include self-awareness and prenatal and post-natal care along with all other areas of childhood development. Thought-provoking books like Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind, MD and The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.  & Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. were required reading material which created awareness and inspired stimulating discussion among the participants.

Guest speakers-Dr. Sakina Haidry-Gynaecologist, Ms. Zainab Hasnain,-Food Techologist, Ms. Mona Jalees-Head of Preschool, Ms. Farida Selani-Pre-Primary teacher and school counsellor-shared their knowledge and experiences with the participants which enabled them to see from different perspectives and widen their horizons.

Being part of a Google classroom made sharing of hand-outs and other reading material easy with the potential to participate in group discussions and online quizzes. Participants maintained a reflection diary and regularly shared their reflections with the rest of the group. They also completed the required ten hours of teaching and observation period from a reputed school to gain real-life experience on-site.

BIRD collaborated with Lead360 and PELICS for this course. These reputed institutions provide trainings in various fields all over Pakistan.

The vision of BIRD to spread knowledge and awareness and make resources available for those who wish to develop and improve themselves is already in full flight. We pray BIRD soars to heights never before scaled.

The 30^th of October 2019 was a historic day in the chronicles of Badri High School as the four Dodgeball heroes who represented Pakistan in the Under 21 category at the Asian Dodgeball Championship in Hong Kong were welcomed back to school with much fanfare.

Cheers of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS Zindabad’ echoed in the air as the heroes held the Pakistan flags aloft as well as the trophy for being the third runner up in Asia.

The boys– Husain Gohar (Captain), Mohammed Quaid Johar (Vice Captain), Qusai Aamir and Hatim Huzaifa travelled to Hong Kong on 25^th October 2019 and participated in the games hosted by Hong Kong for the ADC. The Asian Dodgeball Championship (ADC) is a World Dodgeball Association (WDA) and Asian Dodgeball Federation (ADF) sanctioned event.

On 26^th October they were warmly received by the Hong Kong Head Moallim Sh. Hasnain bhai Kothari at 3 am at the airport who made sure that the FMB Thaali reached them on the week days. Janab Sh. Hasnain bhai was impressed by the topi they wore proudly on their heads and their humble demeanour and impeccable manners.

The Federation bus took them to the Hoi Fung Plaza where they rested for two hours and geared up to play their first international match against Australia on 26^th October at 6 am at the Jockey Club. They played for 12 straight hours on a nominal breakfast ‘for the sake of the country’ as Mohammed commented.

On Sunday, 27^th October, they were well rested to face five teams again.  They defeated Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and Philippines to reach the Quarter Finals. They were finally defeated by Hong Kong in the Semi Finals to win the bronze.

On Sunday Night a grand Farewell Dinner was held by the ADC at Club One Peak, Kawloon. The boys saw sea food on the menu and controlled their growling tummies and came back to their rooms to eat Maggi and cans of Chicken Karahi they had taken from Karachi. “The menu had 12 dishes—all seafood,” said Husain Gohar glumly. “We had to make do with drinking 5 soft drinks each.”

The Prize Distribution left the boys with a feeling of indescribable pride and lasting friendships especially with the Australian Under 21 team who were very impressed that they were representing Pakistan at such a young age.

“We were so happy to see that the Aussies were so friendly and supported us and even chanted Pakistan Zindabad for us during the prize giving,” says Qusai Aamir. “One of the Australians, Brandon, told us that we all have a heart of gold and that we have the potential to become full-time professional players.” The BHS boys surely played their part as ambassadors of the country.

On Monday, 28^th October when they were leaving from the Plaza they found a wallet under a seat in their bus with 60 thousand Hong Kong dollars and they immediately called the Asian Federation organizer and returned it. They were all set to board Qatar Airline QR610 but not before Janab Sh. Hasnain Bhai Kothari made them eat a much relished meal of Keema Chichri and Tomato soup of FMB. And once again their hearts said a silent prayer for Mufaddal Maula TUS.

What an enthralling journey it was! It perfectly showcased the vision and mission of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS that the students of the community should get the best possible fruits and opportunities of Deen and Duniya. This mission continues to be a beaconlight for Badri High School as it scales the heights of success.

Islam has always placed great emphasis on the importance of food and feeding the hungry. Food is considered a bounty of the Almighty and as such, wastage is not condoned in any form.

Under the guidance of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS, the Dawoodi Bohra community has always taken the matter of food security and food wastage very seriously.

Addressing the global issues of food security and food wastage, World Food Day is celebrated each year on the 16th of October. Its aim is to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all, striving to achieve ‘Zero Hunger’.

 

It is a threatening fact that around 815 million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world stay hungry almost every day, and that is why the Zero Hunger Challenge was launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012.

On 16^th of October 2019, students were pumped up with the idea of having a ‘Safra Party’ at the premises where they were asked to bring extra lunch to share it with their peers in the break time. By this little act of kindness students treasured values on how to care, share and bring smiles on a multitude of faces while we feed them.

The following week paved its way further towards the enthralling poster making activity for the ‘Wall of Empathy’. The wall was embellished with creative ideas and slogans that invigorated within each soul determination and the will to conquer the battle of food inaccessibility.

Extending our activities further on Friday, October the 25^th 2019, students in a well-disciplined fashion trotted to the hifz room where they were greeted by Miss Zainab Hasnain, a nutritional technologist who educated students on the habits of healthy eating.

Following next, students met a motivational social worker, Mr.Adnan Siraj, who mesmerized them by his wisdom of speech and action contributing to this noble cause of eradicating hunger and starvation from earth’s platform by being a part of the Robin Hood Army. He is an active member of an army of robins who have served and influenced more than 300,000 lives nationwide, by serving food to 1.5 million people.

Mr. Siraj was also accompanied by Ms. Arwa, who is an active Robin herself and an ex-student of BHS. Seeing her noble example the students were motivated further to play their part in eliminating hunger.

BHS has set up a Food Bank and students from the elder grades will accompany Mr. Adnan Siraj from the Robin Hood army on a Sunday to distribute non-perishable food items in the underprivileged slum areas.

October at BHS echoed with vociferations of triumph as the whole school was engrossed to carry out the mission of promoting ‘Zero Hunger’ to attain Maula’s TUS blessings.

We are truly blessed to have the soothing shade of Dr. Syedna Mohammad Burhannudin and Dr. Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin that has provided Mumineen around the world with food to eat through Faiz ul Mawaid ul Burhaniyah (FMB).

In the educational context, a teacher is also an action researcher too who questions each and every thing around her and seeks answers by investigating. This process does not only prove helpful to the teacher but it aids the teaching/learning process by benefitting the learners, ultimately leading to the collective upliftment of the educational society at large.

Treading onto the path of discovery and enlightenment, two teachers from Badri High School travelled to Islamabad to present their researches in front of educational community nationally and internationally.

The International Conference of Early Childhood Development was held at Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad on the 25^th and 26^th of September where two research scholars from Badri High School shared their researches and recommendations. The Conference hosted researchers from around the world for sharing their best research based practices with each other.

On the 25^th of September, Ms Zenab Mohammad, Head of Computer Assisted Language Learning Department shared her research on the impact of computer assisted language learning on the teaching and learning of English as a second language  in the policy makers enclosure. The audience consisted of dignitaries such as Dr Carol Aubrey, research expert from San Fransisco, Ms Naheed Wasi, founder of IECED and wife of Senator Mr Taj Haider, Mr Jawed Iqbal, a renowned motivational speaker from Lahore and many other directors of organizations. The research focuses on the impact of using Literacy Planet for teaching English Language specifically in Early Years.

The next day, 26^th of September, Ms Rashida Mohammad, the in-charge of the outdoor play activities at BHS, presented her research on the significance of outdoor classroom in early years in the EY practitioners’ enclosure where the audience was enthralled by the impact of outdoor activities on the holistic development of children in the pre-primary section of Badri High School. The distinguished audience in the room included Dr. Ghazala Rauf, Research supervisor of Allama Iqbal Open University, Ms Shafia Rafeeq, contemporary researcher and teacher`s trainer of the capital along with many others interested in the field.

The teachers were presented with certificates for presenting their researches at the end of the conference in a closing ceremony presided by the President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi.

These research based teaching techniques are used in Badri High School for teaching learners. It ensures that the learning objectives are achieved and enabling environments are created. Hence, it proves that teachers are life-long learners.

Teachers are a child’s ultimate source of inspiration. As well quoted by Albert Einstein; ‘It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.’

And what better time to celebrate the significance of a teacher than October when Teacher’s Day is celebrated.

Two of Badri High School’s diligent and determined teachers were nominated for the ‘BEST TEACHER’ award organized by Pakistan’s well known institute of IECED at the Arts Council, on Friday 4^th October 2019.

The first to be acknowledged from BHS was Tasneem ben Sabunwala, who is in charge of the thriving Hifz department and has served the institute for more than 35 years with dedication and zeal.

The second teacher is Ms. Zainab Mohammad, a highly dedicated and determined teacher, teaching English in grades 9 and 10. She is the Head Lead of BIRD that organizes trainings of teachers within the institute as well as across Pakistan.

Witnessing our teachers climb up the stage with humility to collect their reward given by Sir Abbas Hussain and Senator Taj Mohammad along with other glitterati of the academic field was a delight as they stood amongst a wide spectrum of teachers across Sindh.