[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Raja

He has seen 'City International School, Kothrud' cisk Fees are Rs.35,000/- per child.

How is the above school?
Are the fees reasonable?
What other CBSE schools can be recommended in the area.

My next door neighbour has his kid in CISK for last couple of years. He hadn't planned for changing school when his kid moved to 1st standard this year, so school should be good enough. I had planned same school for my daughter but she got admission in another school.

Another option could be TreeHouse school, it's located on Warje road near Kakade City few Kms away from CISK.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Raja

Again, Bumping up an old thread.
A friend of mine has moved from Ludhiana to Kothrud, Pune.
He has two children in 1st and 3rd Standard.
The has seen 'City International School, Kothrud' cisk
Fees are Rs.35,000/- per child.

I live in the immediate vicinity of this school. It is located a little off a connecting road and as far as I know does not have a playground of its own.
I have not heard any adverse or exciting reports of the school. Most kids in my society go to one of these:
- Abhinav Vidyalaya
- New India School
- Millennium National School
- Bal Shikshan, Mayur colony
- Jog school, Mayur colony

Perhaps he can check with the above schools, though it could be near impossible to get admissions there at this time of the year.

Considering his choices, City International or Tree House seem good bets, but it depends on where exactly he lives and how convenient it is for him/ his family to commute the kids to school.

I know some others travel to Paud/ Bhugaon to Sanskruti International school and another I cannot remember, but that is a bit further away.

[Raja]

Sukiwa & Selfdrive, thanks for the replies.

One point I now remember is that my friend wants CBSE school only.
I had a look at Tree House website, but it mentions they are ICSE.

I will see if the other recommendations are CBSE or ICSE.

What about the fees asked by City International?
Are they reasonable? What should be the fees for a good school around that area?

Thanks

[idea]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

That was USP for us. When we came to know Meena teacher is the principal, we felt that our child is in responsible hands. Even at 70, she is very very active, loud and clear and vibrant.

BTW, I forgot to add in my previous post that besides NES, another school that we really liked was Millenium National School (Millennium National School | ). This school has got to be one of the most unique in terms of the approach. Your kid never needs to carry a school bag in the entire 14 years of school, from playgroup to 10th std. Mr. Phatak, the founder has developed a very unique and modern style of education at this school. For instance, kids can communicate with their teachers over email, tests are all online. Almost a paper-less school. Unfortunately, Mr. Phatak and his wife passed away in an extremely tragic accident on express-way few months back. Our dear member, amitwlele can throw more light on this as his kid studies in this school.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

While we were shortlisting schools for my son two years ago, the two schools we zeroed in were New India school and Millennium National school.
For some reaason, I got the feeling that New India school management was a bit rigid in terms of their structure. This may actually be a good point for some, but it was not to our liking. Maybe it is because I am not acquainted with the body of work that the principal has done at her previous school. On the other hand, Millennium school management seemed flexible from the discussions I could have with them. Of course it helps that children dont need to carry a bag or a lunch box! It helps to weed out any fussy eating nature. Of course, allergies if any, are accounted for and taken care of.



My son goes there too. In fact I think I have met Amit more at the school office than at tbhp meets. Something which I am sure both us want to redress!

Never knew that such thread exists.

My kid also goes to Millenium. To add to info, they will be also getting CBSE in sometome.

@Selfdrive: What brings you to school office oftenly? Hope it is just parent meeting..

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Raja

What about the fees asked by City International?
Are they reasonable? What should be the fees for a good school around that area?

35K without transport sounds about alright.
by the way I dont understand the obsession about CBSE, but lets attribute that to subjective opinion

Originally Posted by idea

@Selfdrive: What brings you to school office oftenly? Hope it is just parent meeting..

yes, I tried to attend every meeting last year. Now I will stick to the recommended one meeting a month.
I didnt know you are also here, lets meet up

[msdivy]

Got to know few schools have started the admission process for 2013-14.

My daughter is in LKG (M2 in Montessori) near my home. I have to change for 1st standard since the current school doesn't have class 1. I was thinking if I get admitted to UKG or M3 in a school that has Class 1-X, then the moving from KG to class 1 would be automatic.

I am looking for CBSE schools near BTM Layout. I found these,
1) NPS Koramangala (Based on posts above, getting admission seem to be dicey)
2) BGS NPS (they seem to be in process of shortlisting)

NPS Kor have both Kindergarten & Montessori. Is getting admission to class 1 is same from either of these classes?

PS: Please share if you know any other good schools nearby BTM.

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by msdivy

I am looking for CBSE schools near BTM Layout. I found these,
1) NPS Koramangala (Based on posts above, getting admission seem to be dicey)
2) BGS NPS (they seem to be in process of shortlisting)

NPS Kor have both Kindergarten & Montessori. Is getting admission to class 1 is same from either of these classes?

PS: Please share if you know any other good schools nearby BTM.

Clarence, J P Nagar
Innis Free (or something similar), J P Nagar
St. Marks, J P Nagar

These are some of the schools close to BTM. There are quite a few on Bannerghatta Road, if that is fine with you.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Aiel

Clarence, J P Nagar
Innis Free (or something similar), J P Nagar
St. Marks, J P Nagar

These are some of the schools close to BTM. There are quite a few on Bannerghatta Road, if that is fine with you.

I think Clarence, J P Nagar follows ICSE syllabus.
Presidency School(CBSE) is somewhere close to BTM Layout.

[shantanumishra]

Dear T-BHP friends,

I need some help. I am shortly relocating to Bangalore and my office/Residence is on the ORR, midway K.R. Puram/Marathalli.

My daughter is 2 yrs old and I plan to get her admitted to school from the oncoming academic session (2013-14).

Require your suggestions.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by shantanumishra

Dear T-BHP friends,

I need some help. I am shortly relocating to Bangalore and my office/Residence is on the ORR, midway K.R. Puram/Marathalli.

My daughter is 2 yrs old and I plan to get her admitted to school from the oncoming academic session (2013-14).

Require your suggestions.

I am not sure if you have heard of the Waldorf method of schooling,well till about a few years back Mumbai(Tridha) and Hyd (Abhaya & Sloka) were the only two places that had Waldorf schools,now finally Bangalore has one and maybe a good idea to check the place out.It is called the Bangalore Steiner School

http://www.bangaloresteinerschool.org/

My daughter goes to a waldorf school at hyderabad and its one of the best things thats happened to her and to us.The way waldorf integrates beautifully into the cbse syllabus from the 7th is beautiful.I guess in today's world,this is definitely one good thing to happen.

[yosbert]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

My daughter goes to a waldorf school at hyderabad and its one of the best things thats happened to her and to us.The way waldorf integrates beautifully into the cbse syllabus from the 7th is beautiful.I guess in today's world,this is definitely one good thing to happen.

Can you elaborate a bit more on the waldorf method and how its different from the traditional methods of teaching followed in other schools. I guess I can find out more from google, but it always helps to hear a first hand perspective.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by yosbert

Can you elaborate a bit more on the waldorf method and how its different from the traditional methods of teaching followed in other schools. I guess I can find out more from google, but it always helps to hear a first hand perspective.

Sure thing,we did a lot of looking around/asking around etc before we decided that Waldorf was the best method for our daughter.The Waldorf method was introduced by a person called Rudolph Steiner hence the method is also referred to as Steiner Education at times.

These schools follow their own curriculum till the 7th std after which they are integrated into the CBSE/ICSE curriculum.Some of the highlights are that the system is in no hurry to rush things into the child,things "happen" to the child at their own pace and are never forced onto them.Kids dont learn to write till the age of 6yrs.No books till the 6th and every subject is introduced so beautifully that the kids dont even realise that they are actually studying it.Music is an integral part of waldorf system,so any waldorf school is forever filled with music and songs,and lots of open spaces,greenery etc.If you look at it,the methods are not something new they are very much old ones that got lost in the mad rush of competitive schooling.A very pertinent point I have noticed across all waldorf schools is that kids simply love their schools and love going there and weekends make them sad since they cant go to school!

Also the same teacher carries the child all the way from class 1 to class 7 which makes the teacher-student bond very strong.since the method is such,the teachers are also excellent and teachers rarely leave in the middle.there is usually no concept of a headmaster/principal etc,all decisions are democratically taken by a large board of teachers.Yes initial days we very much had our apprehensions since we all came from the so called "conventional orthodox convent style" schools and when we saw kids who couldnt write till they were 6,it was a bit of an apprehension for us.But today seeing the way our child has been moulded,we firmly believe it was one of the best decisions we took.There are no monthly fancy dress competitions,no home works,no "project" work,no sticking of stickers on chart paper,absolutely no pressure on the parents or the kids.It is just a journey IMHO.

Most of us had our own set of doubts since the method is quite new in India,but what reinforced our belief was when a Waldorf child was among the 1st 5 ranks in the CBSE 10th last year,it was proof enough for us that this system worked.All teachers in Waldorf schools undergo a mandatory training program on the method and are so open and warm and ever ready to meet and discuss.There is no terror angle which is usually related to a parent-teacher meeting in any waldorf school,and the teachers are forever ready to work with kids if they find any special attention or need is required for a particular child.No mention of anything called as private tuition.

All things used in Waldorf schools are natural,colors come from natural sources and are made by the kids themselves,use of mud and clay is very huge.kids learn all kinds of creative things like music,carpentry,gardening,farming etc,They get their hands dirty right from a small age.Only evaluations happen till the age of 7(so the fear of exams is never there).We get these confused looks and questions from our friends when their kids struggle with project work,mugging up rhymes while our one is totally unaware of these concepts.Yes if you want to play the devil's advocate,one might ask how will these kids cope up with pressures in later life,but believe me they do,because waldorf is more of a holistic development.At times I really wish that this system was there when I was schooling

A point to note is that waldorf schools are very difficult to set up in the middle of cities as the stress is on large campus and space,hence almost all waldorf schools in India are on the outskirts.Our little one started to travel 20kms one way in the bus right from the time she was 3.5yrs and she used to love it.Lunch is usually at school itself and upto class 1,kids sleep in the school after lunch.Again this was a bone of apprehension for us as we did not know if it was right to send a small one to such a large distance and keep the little one away from home for such a large amount of time,but with time,the doubts got erased.Each class would not have a strength of more than 15 children.As per them a teacher would not be able to dedicate time and effort for more than 20kids in a class.

Overall IMO,this kind of education is definitely the way forward.I am not putting down the other methods of alternate education,for each child their own system works,but seeing the pros of waldorf,it forces me to think that this is definitely going to work.A perfect case in example is that when our daughter started school there was just one section of 9kids,today there are 2 sections of 15kids each.

Another notable thing is you would never ever find a Waldorf school advertising for admissions etc.All schools firmly believe in the word of mouth.No print media advertisements for them,their belief is that only the really passionate parents would come seeking,which I find to be a good thing.

Fees are very affordable and I havent heard of any waldorf school talking about anything like library fund,building fund etc.They all usually have three components-a tuition fee,a bus fee and a lunch fee.

At any given time, you would also find big kids from Waldorf schools from other countries coming/going to other Waldorf schools to teach their areas of expertise to the kids in those schools which is also quite exciting as it is quite a bit of knowledge sharing.

At the moment the following are the Waldorf schools in India afaik:

Hyderabad

www.slokawaldorf.org
www.abhayaschool.org

Mumbai
www.tridha.com

Pune
www.punesteinerschool.org

Bangalore
www.bangaloresteinerschool.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

If anybody is keen on knowing more on the system,I would be more than happy to share specifics.Feel free to either pm me or write here.

The easiest way to know more about waldorf school would be to call up the school and fix up an appointment,and the school's teacher would take the parent through the entire system of how its done.

Also another thing I missed mentioning is that I am yet to hear of a Waldorf school denying admission to any child on the basis of a child not being good enough.Admissions are open throughout the year,which is a huge relief as there is no waiting in lines for the form,sleeping on the footpaths to be the first to get the form etc.There is no such thing as testing a child,they just analyse the child so that they know how to work with him or her.

[yosbert]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

If anybody is keen on knowing more on the system,I would be more than happy to share specifics.Feel free to either pm me or write here.

Thanks a lot for all the details. Definitely sounds interesting and encouraging. The Bangalore school has a 'Open Day' to interact with prospective parents very soon. Let me attend that and gather more details.
I will definitely contact you if I want more details from you. Thanks again for the introduction.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by yosbert

Thanks a lot for all the details. Definitely sounds interesting and encouraging. The Bangalore school has a 'Open Day' to interact with prospective parents very soon. Let me attend that and gather more details.
I will definitely contact you if I want more details from you. Thanks again for the introduction.

All the best,just my two cents-go with an open mind and it also helps if we dont keep comparing the conventional system vs the waldorf system.(easier said than done!)Afaik quite a many teachers at bangalore steiner were in hyd for some time for their training modules(not sure of this though).Feel free to pm me in case you have any more queries.

[vjoy3]

We are relocating from HYD to BLR by Nov 1st. My kid is in UKG studying in DAV public school.

Need pointers on below
1)Criterion to admit in mid-term
2)Recomendations in Basavangudi/Jayanagar/JP nagar areas
3)Any experience going thru the process and schools that take allow mid-term admissions

Unable to find helpful info elsewhere and calling up the schools is not helping.
Any suggestions for these any other details will be of great help.

Thanks,
Vijay