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KASIGA SCHOOL: A Dream Spun into Reality

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Where Learning is a Celebration

Rising 3000ft above sea level and offering spectacular vistas of the Doon valley, the immaculately landscaped Kasiga is a coeducational residential school in Dehradun, affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE). Ranked as one of the best residential schools in Dehradun, Kasiga School was established in 2007, passionately conceived and conceptualized by The Maya Education Society, Dehradun, founded by a well- known industrialist, Mr. Ramesh Batta. It was evident that Mr. Ramesh Batta was a man on a mission and the treacherous road strewn with adversities wouldn’t deter him from realizing his dream — to create a haven away from home. There were many roadblocks but Mr Batta’s resilience coupled with the support of Mr. Manohar Lulla, [former Bursar of the Doon School], made this daunting task a lot easier and a dream was turned into reality. In this long and challenging journey, the one pillar of support that Mr Batta could always count on, is his wife Mrs Poonam Batta, ever present by his side like a shadow, egging and inspiring him to move on in his pursuit of excellence and stop not till the goal is reached. In his educational pursuit, walking hand in hand is his son Siddhartha and daughter-in-law, Chandni. Siddhartha says, “My father has been an extraordinary mentor. He is a natural administrator. He is dauntless and resolute when it comes to significant decisions relating to the school”. “Humaneness and magnanimity are at the core of Kasiga and all its transactions,” states Chandni. “These transcend all financial compensations and material comforts. It is what sets the school apart and undoubtedly the school’s greatest achievement in its brief history of 11 years, is celebrating the human spirit and its potential,” she underlines. The entire family is geared towards accomplishing their vision for the school. The family synergy is evident from the way Kasiga has derived its name- ‘Ka’ from Kahini, the daughter, ‘Si’ from Siddhartha and ‘Ga’ from Gautam, the two sons. The school management is ably assisted by its Head of School, Mrs Sonali Sinha who is simple yet dynamic. Under her able leadership and guidance, the school is scaling new heights. Mr Batta’s love for nature and its beauty can be seen through the school’s exquisite landscaping. Under his guidance, gardening has received an important emphasis in the school. Stretches of gardens, flowerbeds and lawns at Kasiga can be regarded as master pieces, worthy of comparison with the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. They impart not only an aesthetic feel to the campus, but also provide it with a spiritual touch. Kasiga prides itself on being an environment friendly school with zero tolerance towards any kind of pollution. The school has banned single-use plastic products and conducts regular cleanliness drives and campaigns to raise awareness for a cleaner environment. For its consistent endeavour in this regard and bringing about measurable change in the management of resources within the school premises, the school has been certified as a Green School. Immense thought and care has gone into the designing of the classrooms. They are spacious, well-lit and ventilated. Each class has an adjoining open space or balcony, which offers the choice of teaching-learning being conducted in the lap of nature. Of course, the vast lawns, gardens and the Yoga centre are some other favourite haunts for students and teachers alike. Attention to detail is also evident from the way the furniture has been designed. The desks are in the shape of a trapezium, most suitable for individual, pair or group work. The Internationalism at Kasiga is a matter of great pride and is highly cherished and nurtured. The meals served in the Central Dining Hall are from a variety of cuisines, varying from Indian to Continental and Thai. The in-house Nutritionist ensures that all meals, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian, are healthy and nutritious. The furniture here also, can be arranged in a variety of ways that allows students to enjoy their meals while interacting with their peers and tutors. OUR VISION The Vision of Kasiga School is to create responsible global citizens who contribute to society with empathy, integrity and are committed to excellence in their endeavours. Kasiga envisions a progressive educational space that fosters creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and value- based practices. The school sees learning as a lifelong process and strongly believes that it should be engaging, interactive, experiential and relevant in a global context. The philosophy of the school is to enable and engage its students’ innate abilities and passions and, to this effect, offer a challenging academic, co-curricular & activitiy programme. The school boasts of one of the largest range of choices in all these areas of student interaction in the country. The academic programme offers a choice of languages, different levels of Science, Mathematics, Commercial Studies, Humanities, Art & Design and Technology to its students. This variety allows students to explore their skills and interests fully, leading them to have informed choices for higher education and careers. Kasiga has an excellent teacher – student ratio [1:5] and boasts of highly experienced teachers and support staff. Kasiga has been running the Cambridge Programme for the longest duration in Uttarakhand and offers academic and administrative support to other Cambridge Schools in the region. Kasiga School is also one of the few schools in Uttarakhand that offers Spanish as a foreign Language to its students from grade 5 upwards. Spanish is one of the most popular subject options for languages in the Cambridge IGCSE program. The language is taught in the school by Mr. Taraknath Dey, who has over 10 years’ experience teaching at Kasiga. Kasiga School also hosts a foreign Spanish teacher every year who brings an international perspective to the nuances and accents of Spanish for our students. Kasiga School is one of the few schools in India to offer a Design & Technology Lab and curriculum because we firmly believe that design is an integral part of the world, we live in. It is one of the fundamental skills that took our species from the trees to the computer terminals and spacecraft cockpits. Students at Kasiga, work in various areas of their interest such as Aero Modelling, Electronics, Automated Control Systems, Robotics, 3D Printing, Woodworking and metalworking. Students have access to the latest equipment and technology and assimilate the process of design from concept to Computer Aided Design followed by prototyping and testing in-house. Our students have won awards at the CBSE National Science Exhibition (One First Place and Six Runners up Places), JNNSEC (Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition for Children ), and other international competitions such as the ‘Instructables Make Energy Challenge’. The school also offers some of the finest sports infrastructure and coaching in the country to its students, including a full-size Cricket field, practice pitches, full size multi-purpose football and hockey field, international standard open-air heated swimming pool, a multi-layered synthetic open-air Basketball court and a pair of outdoor Tennis Courts that are surfaced with a synthetic turf that meets international standards. Also available to the students is a 10m shooting range and facilities for athletics and Table Tennis. These facilities are also available to the community for sports events and camps when not being used for school activities and numerous cricket tournaments as prestigious as the Ranji Matches have been hosted with great success on the school campus. The ambience of the campus, with its scenic open spaces, exposed brickwork and concrete structures and buildings designed to blend into the environs, beckons one to spend time outdoors at every opportunity. The residential area of the school subscribes to the same design intent and children are exposed to a healthy, pristine and natural environment. The school has an extensive community engagement programme and students take part in various drives to protect the environment, improve living conditions in rural areas, help in the education of the underprivileged and learn the responsibilities of an ideal citizen by action. Growing up, in itself, has its own set of challenges and complications whether they are academic, peer related, psychological or emotional. Such issues become more acute in a residential school environment. Housemasters, Resident Tutors, wardens and matrons are available within the campus to address any issue that a child faces and act as the link between the children and their parents. Also, an ever- present counsellor is on board to help students deal with any such issue and stay happy. A well- equipped infirmary addresses the health issues of the children. Online learning facilities are available for students and teachers alike so that they can access it for any kind of research, learning and official work. Students are constantly updated on the latest career prospects in various disciplines, admission criteria and courses offered by top notch educational institutions through the comprehensive career counselling programme. SAT classes, coaching for engineering and law entrances are provided to help students prepare for various competitive examinations. Creya classes have added a new dimension to learning by trying to leverage the problem-solving skills, creativity and critical thinking. Continuous professional development programmes are organized to update staff with the latest and most innovative pedagogical Students Deepa Yadav & Apisit Kulabkaw presenting their artwork at the Annual Day Art Exhibition. practices and to improve the dynamics of the student-teacher relationship to promote a feeling of bonhomie and synergy. For over a decade, Kasiga’s students have distinguished themselves in many ways from academic excellence to multiple accolades in sports, music, art and design. Kasiga students are now studying in reputed colleges in UK, Canada, USA, and Australia and some have just started with their careers after completing their education. The education community in India has recognized the efforts of the school and acknowledged its achievements with a host of awards from eminent organizations such as ‘Education Today’, ‘Future 50 Schools’ and ‘Education World’ over many years. The school was founded on inculcating the principles of Knowledge, Strength & Compassion among its students and creating an educational institution to rank with the best in the world. In 11 years of its operation, Kasiga has achieved many of these goals and is strongly committed to fulfilling its mission while continuing its journey of academic excellence.