Students learn more from what you are than what you teach.  As a teacher, it is our prime responsibility to reflect by action.

The teachers of Badri High School have always proved to be role models for their pupils, whether it is a Declamation Contest, a Robotics Competition or a Mathematics Challenge. Even in Sports, teachers of BHS have excelled at the National Level.

Ms. Mehwish, the sports instructor at BHS, has been lauded with a lot of appreciation due to her victory in the KCFL (Karachi Cage Fighting League), which is a Mixed Martial Arts National Championship. She represented Karachi in the Championship.

The fight took place in an Octagonal Cage which is installed specially for Cage fights. Both the fighters tried to knock each other down. Ms. Mehwish Sardar was able to overpower her opponent. The Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts Association awarded her a gold medal and the belt of honour which she proudly held in the morning assembly on Friday, the 5^th of April`2019.

MMA is the abbreviated form of Mixed Martial Arts. It is a full contact-combat sport which uses techniques from various combat sports and martial arts. While sharing her victory with her students at BHS, Ms. Mehwish emphasized on the significance of Martial Arts as it teaches us a lot of things. She said, “Martial Arts not only teach you discipline, but in times of distress it helps you to be patient and grateful. Perseverance is the prime character trait of a fighter.”

Students aspire to be like their teachers. To all those students, Ms.Mehwish suggested, “You just have to be clear about your goal. Then, nothing can block your vision. Keep your eyes on the trophy. Whoever sweats more in practice, bleeds lesser in battle.”

Ms. Mehwish Sardar is an example of strength and a source of inspiration for the girls specially. She proved that being a female is not her weakness but her strength. She also showed us that a female can knock down an opponent in a cage fight as easily as she prepares food for the loved ones.

“A competitive person is always a winner.”

Under the light of this quote Badri High School continues to provide a platform which provides opportunities to their students to compete in different competitions and gain exposure to the world. BHS

His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS) said: “A person should not compete with others but should compete with himself for their betterment.”

14 students of Class 8 of Badri High School participated in the Edvon Robotics League, divided into 4 teams. On 13^th and 14^th of October 2018 students visited the Usman Institute of Engineering and Technology where they were given a workshop on assembling and programming the Line Following Robot.

Students enjoyed the training session and their passion and interest was highly appreciated by the organizers. The students were so enthusiastic that for a week and after school hours they practiced under the guidance of their Science and Computer teachers, Sir Ibrahim and Sir Amjad.

After a grueling week, when finally 20^th October 2018—the day of the contest dawned, students made their way to the reputed engineering college, NED University’s NIC Department. All 14 students were very pumped up as they had been addressed by the Principal before leaving for the venue of competition.

Among the elite educationists of the city Badri High School’s students stood proud among 99 participating schools. The competition was based on 4 rounds. The first round was a knockout round, the second was the qualifying round, the third was the semifinal and the last round was the final.

The BHS team passed the knockout round and was one of the 25 teams to reach the quarterfinal round. The excitement of the students showed that they were confident to win the finals.

The teams missed out on making it to the semifinal by a mere one second. They were head to head with Pak Turk, Generations, Aga Khan, Dawood Engineering and its likes.

The positivity of the students was evident form the fact that their knock out did not  demotivate them but they vowed to practice more and prepare themselves for future contests.

The students learnt teamwork, patience, coordination, critical thinking and an eye opening exposure to the world of engineering. Maybe many of this batch may be studying at engineering colleges six years from now due to the seed of interest which was planted today within the walls of BHS.

Teachers are lifelong learners… This adage has been proved true time and again at Badri High School. BHS is eager to upgrade itself for a new era of reigning technology and it’s teachers are enthusiastic to keep up with the fast paced times so that they may give their students their best.

Recently Badri High School launched Arduino classes for class 8 which was embraced by the students with much zest.

The Dinyaat Staff  of Badri High School also showed their interest in learning the new ways of technology.

Head Moallim, Janab Sheikh Mansoor Bhai Bhujwala personally requested to start the Arduino classes for his Dinyaat staff.

The first class was held on Thursday 29-03-2018, conducted by Sir Ibrahim Shabbir who had visited GESS Expo in Dubai on behalf of the school. He was keen to share his knowledge of Arduino with all the teachers and students.

When Janab Sh. Mansoor Bhai Bhujwala was asked about his Arduino experience he said, “Yesterday a mind-blowing Arduino class took place in Badri High School for our Diniyaat section. All of us enjoyed and learned a lot. Special thanks to Sir Ibrahim who is taking Arduino classes with dedication and special interest.”

Janab M.Abbas Bhai said, “Arduino classes are something unique based on practicality and reality. It is linked with our basic daily life. The first class was very interesting and I am waiting for more to come.”

Rashida Ben Quaid Johar said, “An amazing experience, I had never been more excited to light about an LED… want to learn more.”

Sir Ibrahim Shabbir said, “The interest of the Dinyaat staff towards Arduino encouraged me to search for more fresh ideas and projects of Arduino. I felt that the eagerness and thirst to learn new things is the quality of a true scholar.”

Children learn best when they’re involved in the learning. Hands-on science encourages children to observe and ask questions, touch and smell, explore and experiment. A learning experience will become more meaningful if it gives children the chance to make discoveries on their own.

Being ‘scientists’ allowed the Montessori Seniors to ask the why, how, and what questions. Even better, they found the answers to the questions themselves and learned the scientific process along the way!

Cleaning a Coin:

Which solution is most effective to clean a copper coin?

Looking for Fossils:

How does a paleontologist look for fossils?

Blowing Balloons: 

What happens when baking soda meets vinegar?

Magnetic Maze:

How can you make the paper clip reach the bag without touching it?

Sink & Float:

Find out for yourself which objects sink in water and which objects float.

They may have been ‘scientists’ today, but they have become explorers for life.

“Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery – it’s the sincerest form of learning.”
― George Bernard Shaw

Children are very observant. They can pick on mannerisms, accents and emotions and then replicate them with startling accuracy.

So, when the Montessori students role-played ‘At the Doctor’s Clinic’, the ‘doctor’ came across as an important person doing serious work while the ‘patients’ distress and frustration in the waiting room was evident. The ‘secretary’ was smiling and helpful and dealt efficiently with the waiting ‘patients’ while the ‘chemist’ made sure to read the prescription carefully before handing over the medicine.

What the children learned throughout this process was evident in their ideas, their actions and their language. They may have played at being doctors but they were on a journey of discovery – discovering themselves.

“Through others we become ourselves.”
― Lev S. Vygotskyy

The Reception children had a thrilling experience at Zeeshaan Park, a wildlife safari and petting zoo. The adventure began as soon as the children climbed aboard the bus. The bus-ride was just as exciting for the children as the anticipated destination.

A guided tour was arranged for the children at the zoo and our guides were knowledgeable and most importantly, patient! The children were able to see some rare species of animal and birds including the red fox and a vulture. The pheasants and macaw with their riot of colours, the lovely peacock, the baby crocodile and the slimy snake were just some of the creatures our children saw and touched or held.

This trip was a wonderful way to increase the children’s knowledge and appreciation of the others creatures we share our environment with.

This week the Montessori Seniors and Juniors had an opportunity to learn about the prehistoric animals, ‘Dinosaurs’. Dinosaurs have always fascinated all of us. For our young children this topic was thrilling; ‘What are dinosaurs?’, ‘How do we know about them?  ‘How long ago did they exist?’  Many questions like this were popping in their young minds. To answer their queries a whole week plan was prepared which included activities ranging from digging ‘fossils’ to witnessing dinosaurs in their actual sizes. Children became ‘paleontologists’ and used different tool like brushes, magnifying glasses and tweezers to dig ‘fossils’. This activity helped them to understand how dinosaurs were discovered. Dino-related books, stories, poems and videos further helped to consolidate their learning.

Visit to Jahangir Park

To extend their experience about these gigantic creatures, children visited Jahangir Park which has been newly renovated as a Dinosaur theme park. Children were awed to see the huge dinosaurs of different kinds and the dino-eggs which were big enough to hold a number of children. The creatures were connected to sensors which enabled them to move and make sounds. The children were thrilled to see the dinosaurs in action.  In addition, they got chance to see different birds, a peacock dance and had a great time in the outdoor play area which had see-saws, slides, swings and rope & wall-climbing. Eating lunch together was also so much fun.

Coming back from park with loads of stories, they transferred their memories on page by drawing and writing about their experience.

The beginning of March saw the students of Class 6, 7 and 8 poring through the poetry anthologies in the BHS library in their quest for a classic poem to recite in the final elocution of the year. After tumultuous trials taken in all classes, finally 42 participants were short listed to perform in the final elocution held on Friday 16^th March 2018.

Since the beginning of the academic year, several elocutions have been held throughout the Secondary Section. Such focus on oratory skills, especially on poetry recitation is because poetry as an art breaks across grammar and syntax to create something new and imaginative for the children and succeeds in creating a love for the language. Research reveals that reading rhyming poetry out loud makes it easier for younger children to learn new vocabulary words. The rhythmic structure of the stanzas creates a known context for unknown words.

Through the fortnight while the English language teachers rehearsed with these 42 students, the students not only memorized these classic poems and learnt about reputed poets like Blake, Frost and Shakespeare but also began to comprehend the nuances of pitch, voice inflection, and volume. Reciting poetry helped them place emphasis on the sound and the rhythm of language, thus building their phonemic awareness.

The young orators learnt to pick up patterns and sequences in the poems they recited developing their memorization skills. Linguistic experts share that this ability to pick patterns will eventually aid them in learning new languages, reading comprehension and mathematics.

Yet, the greatest outcome of every elocution has been the confidence which the children have felt when they were given the freedom to express feelings to their audience.  A variety of emotions were played out on stage from melancholy to humour; from heartbreak to bereavement; from love to patriotism. Infused with expression these classic poems were brought to life. The use of gestures and facial expressions helped them enthrall their audience.

Alefiya Sh. Esmail, who is a writer and poet in English, Arabic and Urdu as well as an educationist, was invited to judge the event. She shared her feedback regarding the event saying, “I was fortunate to have witnessed the young elocutionists of Badri High School in their full glory the past week. I saw students of secondary school dishing out verse after verse, from the absolute classics, to the anonymous poetry that we have all grown up on. And what a joy it was to behold! How lovely it was to hear young Taher Sh Mohammed of Grade VIII reciting Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man with such mastery! What great fun it was to watch Amatullah Aliasgher of Grade VII animatedly recite Faith Trekson’s Mother and the Mouse! And most of all, what an awesome performance Hatim Mustafa of (again of Grade VII) gave for If I Die!

These are but some names from many; truth be told, each and every participant was a winner in their own right.

What has deeply impressed me was the gusto with which the students participated in this competition. They performed beautifully, paying great attention to diction, delivery and body language. Some of these wonderful students were flawless, and a few seem ripe for any of the best spoken word platforms for their age group.

BHS has come a long way in the last couple of years, and it gives one great joy to be privy to its remarkable journey. The competitive spirit of its students, the bonhomie they share, and the inclusive atmosphere of this school were on full display in this competition. Here’s wishing these bright young students and their teachers all the very best in all their learning endeavors.”

Class 6 winners

Position	Student	Poem
First	Ibrahim Quaid Johar	Angel by William Blake
Second	Naqiya Aliasghar	Open a Book by William Blake
Third	Alefiya Mohammed	The Life of a Cupcake by Sheldy Greer

Class 7 winners

Position	Student	Poem
First	Hatim Mustafa	If I Die
Second	Amatullah Aliasghar	Mother and the mouse by Faith Trackson
Third	Umehani Mohammed	Thinking by Walter De Wintle

Class 8 winners

Position	Student	Poem
First	Asma Abbas	Trees by Joy Kilmer
Second	Abbas Mustafa	Drive the nail aright
Third	Zainab Amir Insiya Khozema	A hazy dark life by Robin Davis Stopping by the Woods by Robert Frost

 

Badri High School believes in imparting education to the students not just by textual reading or learning of content but by helping them experience the real world.

 

The students of class VII at BHS are learning about the human body systems in Science and thus, a visit to the Saifee Hospital was planned so that their classroom and theoretical learning can be amalgamated with the latest and practical methods of healthcare.

 

Saifee Hospital is one of the hospitals managed by Saifee Hospital Trust established by His Holiness Late Dr. Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin (RA) to cater to the essential healthcare needs of a common man. It is dedicated to the memory of his revered father, His Holiness, Late Dr. Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA). It is a complete, healthcare-services based hospital and provides compassionate, accessible & high quality care to the patients.

 

44 students along with 2 teachers (Sir Ibrahim Shabbir and Sir Hussain Tayyeb)  visited Saifee Hospital on Friday, 9th March 2018. They reached at 10 am where they are welcomed by the management. The students were divided into two groups. Students visited the Pharmacy, Emergency ward,  OPD, X-ray room, CT-Scan machine, Operation theater, Burhani Ward, Peads ward, eye surgical ward, NICU, Infusion Room, Gynecology ward, Physiotherapy, Dialysis center and also the recently inaugurated Nursing School.

Students felt the importance of life when they saw small ailing children in the Peads ward. Their eyes filled the tears by looking them. Students have also given the small children and their mothers “GET WELL SOON “ cards. The smile on the face of the young childrens’ mothers gave relief to the students. When students reached the dialysis center, they witnessed the working of the dialysis machine and here too they gave “GET WELL SOON “  cards to the patients.

Students were very interested in adding to their knowledge so they asked many questions which also encouraged the doctors to explain about the equipment in detail. Doctors were willing to answer any question asked by the students and explained it to them until they were satisfied.

 

We would like to thank the trustees and management of Saifee Hospital for allowing our students to visit the hospital and facilitating them every step of the way.

On Saturday, 17^th of February 2018, a group of 41 students of grade VII along with 5 teachers visited Thatta and Makli city. After offering Fajar prayers in Husami Masjid, we left Karachi. Children were keyed up in anticipation of the wayfaring that waited ahead. The way to the city of Makli was breathtakingly beautiful because of the foggy and chilly weather that covered the roads.

MAKLI NECROPOLIS:

Distance from Karachi: 98 km east of Karachi.

Time Duration required for travelling: 2 hours.

Makli necropolis was the first stop, where children explored the somber silence in the grand graveyard. The site houses approximately 1 million tombs built over the course of 400 years. The necropolis also features several funerary monuments belonging to royalties, various Sufi saints and esteemed scholars. The children were awed after witnessing the carvings on the tombs. While leaving the necropolis, the children insisted on watching the famous mongoose and snake fight show which was exhibited by the snake charmer.

Learning Outcome:

Students were able to identify the historical landscape of Makli city. They came to know that it is one of the historical heritage sites of the world other than being the biggest necropolis of the world, where people from all walks of life including saints, royals, scholars and common man are buried. This was integrated with their Social Studies lesson whereby they are encouraged to learn about the sights and people of Pakistan as well as its rich history.

 

 

 

KELRI LAKE (KEENJHAR):

Distance from Karachi: 122 km east of Karachi.

After visiting the necropolis at the city of Makli, the group set forth to the Kelri Lake that is also called Keenjhar Lake. It is the second largest fresh water lake in Pakistan. The children were excited to see the vast reserve of water as they have already studied that it is responsible for the water supply of Karachi city and Thatta district.

The children were also fortunate to see migratory birds over there like duck, geese and flamingos. Children were informed that because of these migratory birds, Kelri is considered a wildlife sanctuary. The Sindhi legend of Noori Jam Tamachi took place around the lake. To this day there is a shrine in the middle of the lake marking Noori’s grave. Every day hundreds of devotees visit the shrine. The students visited the shrine by a boat ride. The ride was stimulating. Everybody was delighted at the end of the ride.Learning Outcome:

Students were able to compare and contrast the geographical conditions of the lake with that of Sea view in Karachi. They saw the shrine of Noori and realized that the epic folk love tale related to the cultural history of the area. They also discovered that the lake is now protected by the government as wetland.

The boat ride in itself was an experience many enjoyed for the first time. It was an ideal example of learning with fun and creating lifetime memories.

 

CHILYA BAND DAM, THATTA:

It is a dam built for storing the water of Kelri Lake and supplying it to Karachi and Thatta district. The students saw the dam on the way to ShahJahani mosque, Thatta. Locals were playing by diving in the fresh water of the dam. Children had a brief 15 minute stay at the dam as it was on the way to Thatta city.

Learning outcome: The structure of the dam and its working was explained and integrated with the Pakistan Studies chapter on resources of Pakistan. They learnt how water is stored and how its presence is an asset for the people of a country.

SHAHJEHANI MOSQUE, THATTA:

Distance from Karachi: 108.9 kms

The students were eager to visit the next stop that was, Shahjehani mosque in the city of Thatta. The Shah Jahan mosque of Thatta is a 17^th century building that serves as a central mosque for the city of Thatta. The mosque is renowned for its famous brick work and geometric patterns- a decorative element that is unusual in Mughal architecture. The mosque was built by emperor Shahjahan, who bestowed it to the city as a token of gratitude. There, students interviewed a local who told them that the mosque is influenced by central Asian architecture. The students also spotted the Persian inscriptions on the walls of the mosque.

Learning Outcome:

Students were able to apply their mathematical skills when they spotted the brick work geometrical designs. The students were excited to behold the actual mosque whose picture they have seen in their Social Studies text book.

Students also found out the historical significance of architecture and the ways of preserving it for future generations, so that they can reflect the grandeur of the Mughal era and the importance of Sindh as a province.