Enrichment Programmes
Enrichment programmes enable students to realise their potential in a variety of settings beyond the classroom. They strive to develop students’ self-awareness, their awareness of school and community needs and opportunities, and to learn how to apply their gifts and skills to make an impact.
The enrichment programmes are clustered into three main streams, each with a different focus and experiential learning opportunity.
Expression
Creative expression, whether through visual or performing arts, engages students to think creatively and express their identities and thoughts aesthetically. Through theatre, art, music and drama, students learn to work together and infuse their projects with the values and lessons from other parts of their schooling. Individual and collaborative creative projects emphasise growth and development through personal challenge, ultimately resulting in achievable personal goals.
Action
The student as a reflective practitioner is a basic tenet of the action cluster. Through physical sport – both competitive and non-competitive – students are challenged in their physical growth, and learn values such as good sportsmanship, teamwork and ethical behaviour. They are encouraged to extend themselves by trying different activities and working with teammates to pass on their knowledge. In line with developing the student as a whole, a healthy lifestyle complements and enhances academic achievement.
Citizenship
The Academies align themselves with a student profile and curriculum that encourage knowledge and understanding of humanity and civil society.
Through their involvement in civic activities, students gain an understanding of the practical implications of their work and study.
By collaborating with community groups on sustainable projects, they gain an appreciation for human rights, human dignity, and of how their actions impact the world around them.
Participants of the AKA Outreach Programmes
Said Mwabeha: Sparking a Light in Students by Transforming School Leadership
Said Mwabeha became a teacher in 1990. He was drawn to the profession because it provided an opportunity to positively impact a range of people. “Almost everyone on earth,” he explains, “be it a president, be it a doctor, be it an engineer—all of them pass through a teacher. So, to me, a teacher is a very important person.”
Mwabeha aspires to spark a light in others through his teaching and says the Professional Development Centre at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa has enhanced his ability to do so. As the Head of Vuga Primary School in the coastal area of Kenya, Mwabeha attended a course focused on Leadership Management at the Academy.
“It really transformed me,” Mwabeha says of the course, which dealt with how Heads of School could make better use of their resources to enhance academic performance. While he previously undertook initiatives to improve the school as a “one-man shop”, he now takes an integrated approach to solving problems that involves a range of teachers, parents and students.
The Academy’s programme also spurred the creation of an association of teachers in Kwale County, where Vuga Primary is located, at the end of 2012. As Chair of Kwale Educational Leaders' Association, Mwabeha is leading teachers from 23 schools in formulating a strategic roster of activities to strengthen their academic performance. Their strategy is two-pronged. On the one hand, they plan to undertake workshops and other initiatives to improve pedagogy. On the other, they are organising awareness meetings and conferences for parents and teachers to discuss the importance of education. They hope to overcome the challenges and problems created by families that do not prioritise education.
Meanwhile, inside the classroom, Mwabeha is working hard to spark intellectual curiosity in his pupils. After receiving training in pedagogy at the Academy, he has promoted the use of more participatory teaching methods, both in his own classroom—where he teaches Social Studies and Religion courses to students in grades 4, 6 and 8—and in those of his colleagues. “It gives [the students] an opportunity to explore more and to discover more by themselves,” he explains. He previously spent the majority of classroom time lecturing, as is common in Kenya, but finds that facilitating class discussions is more fruitful.
By Alia Dharssi
Meet the Faculty
Leadership Team |
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Head of Academy | Dr Jonathan Long |
Deputy Head of the Academy, Pastoral Care | Jeffrey Anthony Doerfler |
PA to Head of Academy | Vaishali Purohit |
Principal, Senior School | Koel Ray |
Principal, Junior School | Sreelatha Kumar |
Dean of Academics | Neeraja Nibhanupudi |
Dean of Students | Suresh Madhavan |
Head of Finance | Mukul Vashishatha |
Dean of Experiential Learning |
Vlad Gogelescu |
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Admissions |
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Dean of Admissions | Arjun Puri |
Manager, Admissions | Pramoditha Jamalpur |
Admissions cum Events Officer | Zareen Hashmi |
Senior School Faculty |
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Principal, Senior School | Koel Ray |
PA to Senior School Principal | Deepa Hitange |
Assistant to Dean of Students-cum-Student Life Coordinator | Nilesh Talaulicar |
Coordinators/Counsellors/SEN/Fellows | |
Academic Development Coordinator | Joanne Gogelescu |
Diploma Programme Coordinator | Sudipta Roy |
Associate Diploma Programme Coordinator | Dr Sujana Veeramachaneni |
Theory of Knowledge Coordinator | Sudeep Ghosh |
Creativity, Activity, Service Coordinator | Venkat Reddy |
Middle Years Programme (MYP) Coordinator | Meenakshi Joshi |
Head of Middle Years | Rajesh Kayiprath |
MYP Personal Project Coordinator | Chandrabhan Yadav |
TPP - Coordinator, Internship & Leadership | Pratibha Thimmaraya |
University Counsellor | Pragati Pandey |
Inclusive Education Coordinator (SEN) | Namrata Bhushan |
Extended Essay Coordinator | Vlad Gogelescu |
Creativity, Activity, Service Coordinator (CAS) | Venkat Reddy |
Science | |
Biology & Environmental Systems and Societies | Vinay Singh |
Environmental Systems & Societies / Integrated Sciences | Pratibha Thimmaraya |
Chemistry | Dr. SureshKumar Manthiriyappan |
Chemistry | Megha Saban |
Physics | Sudipta Kumar Roy |
Physics | Suhel Vakkal |
Physics | Sathish Gadarla |
Senior Lab Technician | Giribabu Kuna |
Lab Technician | Sudhakar Konapala |
Lab Technician | Smriti Mandal |
English | |
HOD, English | Gopika Jadeja |
English / ToK | Sudeep Ghosh |
English / ToK | Chandreyee Das Gupta |
English / MUN Coordinator | Saloni Chesney |
Mathematics | |
HOD, Mathematics | Tarun Seth |
Dean of Studies, Mathematics & ToK | Neeraja Nibhanupudi |
Mathematics Teacher Coach | Vani Vishwanath |
Mathematics | Subhashini Chandra |
Mathematics and MYP Personal Project Coordinator | Chandrabhan Yadav |
Mathematics | Santhosh Reddy |
Mathematics | Krishnendu Saha |
Mathematics | Usha Shivakumar |
Expressive Arts | |
HOD, Arts | Nandakumar P. K. |
Visual Arts | Meenakshi Joshi |
Visual Arts | Visweswara Rao Brahmanapalli |
Music | Chin-Yen Huang |
Theatre - Arts | Dr Chandrasekhar Indla |
Theatre - Arts | Subesh Poddar |
Languages | |
HOD, Hindi / Senior Tutor | Dr Karuna Arya |
Hindi / CAS Coordinator | Venkat Reddy |
Hindi | Dr Sunita Ghosh |
Hindi | Radhika Tiwari |
Hindi | Neetu Reddy |
Hindi | Dr Chandrakant Shinde |
Hindi | Sushmita Banerjee |
Telugu | Sai Krishna Ranga |
HOD, Foreign Languages | Manisha Deshbandhu |
French | Mopuru Raghu Rami Reddy |
Dari / Persian | Ahmed Ferozi |
Humanities (I&S) | |
HOD, Economics / ToK | Gaura Joshi |
Economics & MYP Coordinator | Rajesh Kayiprath |
Economics and Business Studies | Rahul Menon R |
MYP – I and S / History | Ritu Seth |
Global Politics / Extended Essay Coordinator | Vlad Gogelescu |
Geography | Joanne Gogelescu |
History/ToK | Koel Ray |
Individual & Societies | Aarushi Dutt |
Individuals & Societies / History | Sarmishtha Adhya |
Humanities | Afeera Maryam |
Economics/Humanities |
Suresh Madhavan |
ITGS & Design | |
Acting HOD | Koel Ray |
Design & Computer Science | Mehabunnisa |
ICT / ITGS | Surya Prakash Vemparala |
Design & Data Management | Veni Veeramachaneni |
Physical Education | |
HOD, Physical Education | Srungarapati Ravi Kumar |
Physical Education | Ramesh Kumar Kaliraman |
Swimming Assistant | Seena Remadevi |
Library |
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Head Librarian | Madhu Bhargava |
Librarian, Senior School | Shakeel Ahmed Khan |
Librarian, Junior School | Veena Bhat |
Learning Enrichment Team |
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HOD Learning Enrichment / English as an Additional Language (EAL) / Special Educational Needs (SEN), Gifted & Talented (G&T) | Susan Long |
SEN |
Namrata Bhushan |
EAL/SEN |
Morag Kallepu |
EAL |
Rema Vishwanath |
EAL |
Elizabeth Holden Eckel |
EAL |
Aarushi Dutt |
Learning Enrichment |
Faridah Lakhani |
Academic Support |
Amanda Khongwir |
Junior School Faculty |
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Principal, Junior School | Sreelatha Kumar |
PA to Junior School Principal | Shabana Awadiya |
Primary Years Programme (PYP) Coordinator | Abhimanyu Das Gupta |
Teachers | |
Day Care | Shwetha Emandi |
Grade 1A Home Room | Rhitesha Paul |
Grade 1A Co-Teacher | Neetu Chennuri |
Grade 1K Home Room | Madhulita Patnaik |
Grade 1K Co-Teacher | Simran Sinha |
Grade 2A Home Room | Mitu Sharma |
Grade 2A Co-Teacher | Laila Narsingani |
Grade 2K Home Room | Chetna Sharma |
Grade 2K Co-Teacher | Swati Kansal |
Grade 3A Home Room | Anjum Budhwani |
Grade 3K Home Room | Disha Kerkar |
Grade 4A Home Room | Lavanya Pavan Vadavalli |
Grade 4K Home Room | Vidhya Pallath |
Grade 5A Home Room | Sanjana Amarnani |
Grade 5K Home Room | Sheila D'Souza |
Hindi | Sushmita Banerjee |
Hindi | Meena Uniyal |
Telugu | Kasthuri Varanasi |
Telugu | Deepika Aluvala |
Visual Art | Florence James |
Music | December Lynn |
Physical Education | Vajravani Polavarapu |
Diploma Programme Presentation Evening
Launch of the Dual Language Programme
Diploma Programme Presentation Evening
AKA Newsletter
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