“Recycling-Recreating-Reusing”

Experience: We urged the parents to spend time with their child to recycle their old T-shirts into a ‘No Sew’ t-shirt tote bag, ‘Haqiba’ in 10 minutes guided by a short video, which could be carried for grocery shopping. Children took great interest in making bags and collecting the same to sell them to the parents, teachers, and visitors. It was attempt to encourage entrepreneurship as well as become more sensitive towards the environment. The money collected from these sales was again reinvested by the senior children (under the guidance of their teacher) to escalate their other ‘Aemal’ (entrepreneurship) projects further.

Insight: It has been a thoughtful contribution towards the environment as “Little drops of water makes the mighty oceans.” Together, we will save this gift of God...our precious environment.

Intent: Child Passenger Safety Week is a campaign and an attempt to get people aware of the measures taken to protect the children while traveling. It is marked during the month of September from 23^rd to 29^th. NHTSA and the Ad Council launched a new series of public service ads that urge parents and caregivers to protect their child’s future at every stage of life, by making sure they secure them in the correct car seat for their age, height, and weight and many other ways. Credence joins this safety campaign and urges the parents to follow the basic safety rules.
Experience: We took up this noble cause and reached out to the community through the means of social media. A new ‘safety tip’ was shared every day for a week to educate everyone about the importance of child passenger safety.

   Insight: Together, we can succeed in educating more and more travelers out there.

“A Man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.”

Intent: Keeping in mind the significance of green planet, an attempt was made by Credence High School by setting up an herbal garden last year on 16th of September 2017 through a plantation drive. Planting an herb garden is a wonderful way to enjoy the sights, smells and tastes of a wide variety of plants. Fresh herbs are often easy to cultivate and can grow in a small garden in the balcony, back yard, in pots on an outdoor patio or sunroom, or even in a window box inside a kitchen. This year, Grade 5 has become the caretaker of the herbal garden and to continue contributing towards protection of the environment they initiated ‘Grow My Own Herbs Challenge’. Students of Pre KG to Grade 9 along with their parents were invited to involve their child at home in this challenge and share the pictures of their herbal garden.

Experience: We are thrilled to announce that our super active and aware parents took up this challenge and shared their experience of growing an herbal garden in their houses. Our ‘Green Pioneers’ also educated and inspired their fellow students to take up this campaign further to their families.

Insight: It is highly motivating for our young ‘Green Pioneers’ of Grade 5 and we wish to contribute to the prosperity of our ‘Mother Earth’, in future also. 

A student from KG 2A took Fenugreek seeds for ‘Growing My Own Herbs ‘.

The mother says “He has really enjoyed and showed more interest to grow his own Herbal Plant at home. He is very curiously seeing the growth of the seeds into sprouts and sprouts gone to next level of leaves with stem. And waiting to see his plant. Also, he could identify & explain about the parts of the plant like sprouts, stem and leaves.”          

Intent: Children throughout the ages have enjoyed dressing up in costumes and engaging in dramatic roleplaying. Whether a child is a dragon, a princess, or a fairy, a child’s brain goes into high gear when he/she puts on a costume! And although it may appear to us as just play, when our child dons that cape, crown, or pirate’s eye-patch, his/her brain is developing in more ways than we can imagine. As early childhood educators know, play is the work of the child, and children benefit cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally through dress-up play. Credence elevated this aspect of learning by the holding the ‘Character Dress-Up Day’ for the students of KG 1 to Grade 1 on Thursday, 27^th September 2018.

Experience: It appeared as if all the story characters have popped out of the story books and parading all over the Kindergarten. They dressed up in varied costumes from fairytale characters, Dr. Suess, warriors, superheroes to cowboys and pirates while teaching us moral values like empathy, sharing and caring, respecting elders, not talking to strangers, using super powers for good and lot many.

Insight: By allowing children to act out their fears through dress-up and role playing, we encouraged their emotional development. And by engaging the children in dress-up play, their imaginations were given free reign. There seemed no limit to who, where, or what they can be.

‘In Solidarity with Kerala’

The collection drive for the ‘Kerala Relief Fund’ which commenced on 20^th September, wrapped up today i.e. 27^th September 2018 and the response from the students was overwhelming. All the students across the school, from Pre Kg to Grade 9 donated big-heartedly. We are glad that parents also extended their support by encouraging their children to participate in this noble cause. We highly appreciate this effort by our students, parents and staff members. 

It was a practical learning experience when children understood how happiness is also gained by ‘giving away’ and ‘empathizing with other humans’. Helping is next to Godliness, in true sense. We are positive that with this little effort by us, will make a difference in the lives of those who are affected and comfort them till they get back to their normal life.

We are committed to giving back to the community and this was a great experience to have partnered with Emirates Red Crescent Society for one such opportunity to serve the society.

‘UAE KSA TOGETHER’

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated its 88^th National Day today i.e. Sunday, 23rd September 2018 and UAE showed respect by joining the celebrations while strengthening the ties between the countries.

This close relationship between the countries has been strengthening since the 1970s, when Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan became the first President of the UAE. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a lot in common. Both were born as nations in the 20th century — Saudi Arabia in 1932 and the UAE on December 2, 1972. They share a common language, faith and culture and the trading links between the two go back centuries. 

The school took this further by educating the children on the same. Credence had the National Flags of KSA sailing in the premises whereas all the staff members and children were dressed in Green. Students were engaged in various activities like Radio Assembly announcement for the Importance of the Day, singing the National Anthem of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and learning about the friendship of UAE and KSA during the Social Studies and Islamic lessons. Our little kindergarteners also celebrated by involving in activities like colouring the National Flag of KSA.

We wish the bond between the countries solidifies by each passing day and leads to prosperity always.

Intent: The purpose of evacuation drills is to prepare the students for an organized evacuation in case of a fire or other emergency. Evacuation drills are used as a way to educate and train occupants on fire safety issues specific to their building. During the drill, students ‘practice’ drill procedures and familiarize themselves with the location of exits and sound of the fire alarm. The emergency response and evacuation procedures are tested multiple times each year to regularly monitor the safety measures. The second fire drill of the year 2018-19 was conducted for students and staff members on Wednesday, 19th September 2018 to ensure that the procedure of evacuation are smoothly followed.

Experience: The staff members were briefed about the drill on the day prior, to have a recap on the procedures of handling emergencies. The evacuation action began immediately after the fire alarm was rung by a staff member. Students were guided at every point by teachers and staff members until everyone was safe and outside the school building at the assembly point. The headcount was then tallied with the attendance of students and staff by the respective teachers and marshals to ensure that all are safe.

Insight: At Credence High School not only do we educate students academically but also ensure that the basic knowledge of handling emergencies is imparted. Mock fire and evacuation drills train the students and faculty about the importance of life saving tips and their prompt actions during fire crisis. They also help us to test the effectiveness of the fire evacuation plan.   

“Trust is earned when actions meet with words.” 

Good moral values are molded from a place where love, faith and hope exist and schools have long been seen as an institution for preparing children for life, both academically and as moral agents in society. In order to become capable, moral citizens, children need to be provided with opportunities to learn moral values. Once such opportunity was given to the students of Grade 1C who took the initiative by sharing their knowledge about moral values in their Assembly today, on 17^th September 2018.

Beginning with a prayer was recitation of the ‘Holy Quran’, the best way to connect with God followed by the ‘Thought for the day’ and ‘News’ being school’s daily ritual. Thereby, a small skit enacted by the children shared the value of trust. Dance being one the best way to express, once again took everyone by a surprise when it added the element of ‘Trust’ in it. Concluding the assembly on a patriotic note was the school song followed by the U.A.E. national anthem.

This is how values like trusting each other, accepting challenges together, sharing and caring are imbued in our children because, we at Credence always strive to be the best and deliver the best.

It is wisely said that “Courtesy is simply doing unto others what you would like them to do unto you.” Courtesy was the base of our ‘General Assembly’ by Grade 3 who put up the show confidently and wowed everyone while the objective being; developing the school spirit, feeling of affiliation and unity among students. It also enabled the students to share their experiences, stories, anecdotes with others.

At the onset, was recitation of the ‘Holy Quran’ followed by the ‘Thought for the day’ and ‘News’ which is religiously following the culture of the school. As 14^th September is observed as ‘Hindi Divas’, students also updated the gathering about the same. Thereby, a short but a meaningful video was played for a better explanation on the importance of good manners. An exceptional dance performance by the children not only showed some good moves but also spread the magic words like ‘Please, ‘Thank You’ and many more. An all-inclusive assembly got everyone swaying to the melodious fusion of Hindi and English song as well. Concluding the assembly on a patriotic note was the school song followed by the U.A.E. and Indian national anthem.

The assembly successfully developed a sense of belonging for the things around them and children were able to promote leadership, generosity, and responsibility all through the performances.

“World through the eyes of Credenians.”

Intent: The world we dwell in is beautiful, blissful and bountiful. ‘Social Studies’ is one such subject in a school curriculum which imparts the knowledge of this whole wide world. A social studies exhibition is a great way for students to learn about a country and its culture, perhaps more importantly, to learn the art of it. And so, at Credence we organized a Social Studies Exhibition on Tuesday, 11^th September 2018 for Grades 2-9, where students displayed the models of different countries in their own creative way. Children depicted the various aspects of different countries of the world like the timeline, art, culture, food, flora and fauna.

Experience: Students demonstrated research skills, the ability to construct a creative and appealing visual display and writing skills. The classrooms were filled with colorful project displays and a few students who looked like they just stepped out of the pages of a social studies book, while representing the country model which they made. This program was conceptualized by Social Studies department of grades 2-9, headed MS Nazneen (HOD) and her very efficient team Ms. Shubhra and Ms. Anjali (social studies teachers) alongside MS Divya Chopra (science teacher). It was highly impressive to see the efforts of the students who utilized their summer holidays constructively to create such amazing projects and to the parents who supported their children to do the same. The students took charge of the exhibition right from the building the projects, to setting them up, to explaining the same to the visiting parents. It was wonderful to see the parents who took time from their busy schedules and visited the exhibition and took positive interest in interacting with the children and giving their valuable feedback.

Insight: This endeavor inculcated the habit of observing and understanding our globe in a more comprehensive way while giving the students a leverage to model it innovatively. The exhibition also gave students an opportunity to interpret the cultural, social, political, and economic forces of modern times and to understand and appreciate the concept of global awareness.

We promise to continue these gainful educational practices at Credence to encourage our children enjoy the process of learning.

“A teacher takes a Hand, opens a Mind and touches a Heart.”

Teacher – the strongest pillar of a school foundation.

   – a multi-tasking educational rock star who lives to inspire.

   – a person dedicated to improving a planet by cultivating materials that will produce results for years.

Words will never be enough to acknowledge the efforts of a teacher and today on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, our young minds came together to express gratitude in their own special way. We are proud of all the students of Credence High School who took the complete charge of the event and made it a memorable one.

Our celebrations commenced with a welcome keychain; a lovely piece of art gifted by our student council to all the teachers and an affectionate ‘Welcome speech’ by the senior students. Moving on to the next segment was recitation of the ‘Holy Quran’ followed by the ‘Thought for the day’ and ‘News’ which makes an integral part of any celebration. Children were also acquainted with the significance of the day as it is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of the former President of India ‘Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’. And thereby showed up the stunning dance performance that got all the teachers’ feet tapping with joy and the melodious song sung by the students which took teachers by a tuneful surprise.

We also had the parent representatives from the ‘Parent Body’ to acknowledge the teachers for their wonderful work and shared with them a lovely token of appreciation. We are thankful to the parents for this thoughtful gesture. To conclude on a beautiful note, Ms. Deepika Thapar our honorable Principal ma’am enhanced the event with her kind and inspiring words.

This lovely show put up by our students demonstrate that Credence is successful in cultivating respect for their teachers and culture even in these modern times.