MARIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL
UNDER MARIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL TRUST
A Senior Secondary School affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education
OVERVIEW OF AFS LEARNING JOURNEY AT MPS
Knowledge is not limited to books and libraries, it is beyond the white boards and classrooms. It isnot taught but experienced.Being a part of cultural diversityand learning about the complicities ofa livelihood miles away from your borders plays a magnificent role in gaining that knowledge. Mrs.Nellie Ahmed,the founder managing trustee’s unique vision of learning beyond classroom’s and’Nature as our classroom’ has been aptly implemented through various enrichingprogramsprovided to thestudents.Community servicethrough thecommunity connectionprogrammes isone of the major agendas in the school’s curriculum. Our students have been fortunate enough toget good exposureto showcase their talentsat bothnational and international level.And all thosegreatexposureandincredibleexperienceswaspossibleonlybecauseoftheirguidingstartheIron Lady,the managing trustee of MPS-Mrs. Nellie Ahmed.
The school has committed itself to workingwith AFS to create a truly egalitarian classroomexperiencewherein the students are able to develop the social skills necessary to survive in anincreasing competitive global arena.In accordance with the goal offosteringcommunity building,Maria’s Public School in cooperation with AFSworks for a future where the citizen works for thebenefit of the many,not the few.
AFS is a global network of organizations that provide study abroad programmes andintercultural learning outcomes.AFS programmes empower young people from all background withessential global skills and the passion for making a difference.
The AFS intercultural programmes in Northeast India was launched at Maria’s Public Schoolon September 16th and 17th,2018 by Dr. Sumer Singh,a renowned educationist and chairmanThink Tank, AFS India along with Mrs.Divya Arora national director AFS, Mrs.Sarita Bhadwar consultant AFS India Think Tank addressed the august gathering. The principals and representative s of reputed schools of Guwahati, Meghalaya ,Tezpur attended the meet as apart of the launching. The program ended withtwo dayslong ICL workshop conducted by Mrs. Sarita Bhadwar among the teaching fraternityof MPSthrough various simulation games, roleplay and problem solving .The primary goalofthe workshop was to increase our understandingof AFS, intercultural learning and its application in our day to day work. AFS aims at deterringxenophobia to foster and strengthen relationship between people.It began as American FieldService during World War I and II
AFS Indian Day was celebrated.Thethemes were awareness and service camp.The awareness camp was through a street play for the sub staff, drivers, conductors and few people from the neighbourhood on Why people do not vote and what can be done about it .Theplay was meant to highlight the plight of votersand the various corrupt activities that go behind the scenes. Through this play students emphasized the need of the hour on the enormousdemocratic clockwork of a pluralistic India where even a single vote binds the gears of this nationtogether.
Many children around the country are living with untreated clefts which lead to difficulties in breathing, eating and speaking.To give every child a chance to smile,The Smile Foundation conducts free cleft lips and cleft palate surgeries and give speech therapy and nutritional support..On 14th December,2018 a group of students from Maria’s were sent for service campaign as part of AFS India Day celebration to MMC.The students were armed with colourful novelties to cheer up the morale of the patients..Our students enjoyed interacting with them and brought home a sense of empathy and compassion.
As part of AFS ICL project our students visited a nearbypolice station with a view to celebratebihuwiththepolicepersonals.Theofficersneverexpectedsuchanapproachfromschoolstudents. The officer in charge gave aspeechon the importance of obeying the trafficrules,how to makea peaceful, crime free society.The lady sub inspector spoke to the girls about self protection andshowed basic stepson how to prevent themselves from being trapped and molested
Visit to Ashafoundation,school for differently abledchildren at narengi, Guwahati.This was aunique experience for our students.They observed various kinds of mental and physicaldisorders.They took a tour to the special units where those children were given education onlanguage,science, art works and basic skills of survival like making beds,sitting in the dinningchair, using of toilets etc.One of the touching moments was to see a 13year old boy,unable to sitnorstandwas supported with a special attachment so that he can eat and sit. Often physicallyand mentallychallenged children are made subjects of sympathy and they are treated as burdenbut we forget that thesechildrenhave special needs and rights too.Our students realised howthese children struggleto survive and more than sympathy they need our empathy.
On 30th September 2019 ,a group of students along with Nellie ma’am and teachers went toSwabalambi– a society for rehabilitation and trainingof persons with multiple disabilities.Ourschool donated some furnitures,tables,benches to the centre.Our students got to see the real lifeheroes who defeated the fear of being disabled and are self employed.They saw and realized ,how one can embrace their flaws and make them their strength .
The lockdown had created immense distress and suffering for many especially daily wageworkers. Under the vision of our school Founder and Managing Trustee, Mrs. Nellie Ahmed,essentials and groceries were distributed to the school sub staffand local community duringthepandemic (month of May, 2020) In such dire times we can do our bit to help those in need.
AFS virtual pathway and effective online workshop was conducted by MrsSaritaBhadwar for oneweek for both students and teachers in the month of August 2020.
Community service helps connect with the community by making it a better place to live in. It teaches us about the significance of helping the ones in need and the lesser fortunate ones. Mrs Nellie Ahmed is a great visionary. Way back in 2014, she had collaborated with a community primary school and helping the school in every possible way like donating furnitures, sports equipments etc. Students and teachers from MPS on Saturdays go there and interact with the students, organise cultural activities, sports, art work sessions. On Gandhi Jayanti students from class 5 are invited to our school for a community feast with our fifth standard students.
Since 2014 MPS is carrying forward this novel initiative, a very significant initiative which AFS encourages.
Mrs Nellie Ahmed has taken under the wings of Maria’s Public School another community school,Priyobondhubohumukhividyalay-a school for the disadvantaged children from nursery to class 8. This year on 27thSeptember , Founder’s Day our school organized a Walkathon followed by community feastwith the little ones from PriyobondhoBahumukhiVidyalaya.All under the aegis of AFS.
Chayanika Baruah selected for the prestigious YES program
It’s a proud moment for us that ChayanikaBaruah a brilliant student of class XII Science ,is in Oregon State, USA .She was selected for the prestigious fully funded US department of states Kennedy Lugar Youth exchange and study (YES) programme where she will spend an entire year as a cultural ambassador,representing her school,Assam,India. She is attending Tillamook High School ,Oregon and staying with a warm host family.
Niharika Bhuyan selected for The Asia Kakehashi program
Our school is celebrating another exceptional achievement.NiharikaBhuyan of classXI has been selected for the prestigious Asia Kakehashi programme another full scholarship programme. She will be staying for six months in Japan with her host family in Izumo-shi..She will attend Izumo Senior high school.Wishing her all the best as she embarks on this exciting journey.
Nandini Das of Class 11, Maria's Public School has been selected as a scholarship recipient
Nandini Das of Class 11, Maria’s Public School has been selected as a scholarship recipient for the 2024 AFS Global STEM Academy in the United States under AFS Intercultural Programs.
Among the nearly 6,000 highly qualified applications received from more than 15 countries Nandini was successful in achieving her spot among 150 selected for the 2024 cohort.
The AFS Global STEM Academies are full-scholarship intercultural exchange programs for teens (ages 15- 17) interested in Sustainability, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths), and social impact.
The program is run and managed by AFS Intercultural Programs, an international non-profit organization with more than 75 years’ experience providing intercultural learning programs.
Exposure Trip and Leadership Program
Diverse village in Byrnihat, Meghalaya.The hospitality extended by our team members created an atmosphere of warmth setting the stage for a day of meaningful interactions.There were series of captivating activities.A unique activity was ,students were asked to close their eyes momentarily and to ponder the significance of the surrounding plant life .This activity served as a poignant reminder of our interconnectedness with nature,urging the students to foster deeper appreciation for the environment.The day ended with a community lunch.The environment, leadership,service interaction program was a huge success.the students got to learn the very essence of leadership.
Inter House Rangoli Competition.
AFS Guwahati Chapter President Ms Nellie Ahmed attended the Annual Volunteer’s Meet, in Bangalore along with Ms Richa Parasar, AFS Guwahati Chapter Vice President, on the 2nd and 3rd of December, 2023
Shrey Tandan visits school as a part of a musical rendezvous in promoting unity and harmony through the field of music
Food Festival cum Fund Raiser conducted by students and teachers to raise funds for community service under the AFS banner, Guwahati Chapter
Sub Staff Appreciation Day
Student Cultural Exchange Program where students from Vijaypur HS Lakhimpur came to have an interactive session with the students
The AFS Intercultural Program in northeast India was launched at Maria’s Public School,Guwahati on September 16 and17,2018.
AFS which began as American Field Service during World War I and II when nearly 5,000 young men from all over the world volunteered as ambulance drivers, has been doing intercultural programmes since 1947. It prepares active global citizens, future leaders, and change makers with essential 21st century skills to engage, lead, collaborate effectively and take action in their work and their communities – and serve their mission to help the world learn to live together. With the inclusion of northeast India in their map, the young minds in this part of the country would undeniably get an opportunity to tie bonds with people in other parts of the globe through AFS exchange programmes which are conducted both on domestic and international basis.
The 16 AFS Educational Goals
The 16 AFS Educational Goals are the backbone of the AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum. The goals are grouped into four areas:
Personal values and skills: Students are challenged to reassess their values and practice new life skills like solving their own problems and making decisions. They also learn how to turn difficult situations into valuable opportunities for personal growth.
Interpersonal relationship building: AFS students become fully involved in daily living and working arrangements of a variety of people in their new environment. This improves their communication and language skills and teaches young people how to work more effectively in groups and teams.
(Inter)cultural knowledge and sensitivity: The AFS exchange experience deepens students’ insights into their home culture as well as their knowledge and appreciation of their host cultures—strengths and weaknesses.
Global issues awareness: AFS learning activities encourage students to broaden their perspectives on global issues and concerns, and helps them understand that workable solutions often need to be culturally sensitive to succeed. AFS also encourages and empowers students to use these insights to help build a more peaceful and just world—at home or across the globe.
Download the AFS Educational Goals for the Students
Maria’s Public School has incorporated the following programmes in their curriculum so far.
- Service campaign: Students visited MMC Hospital on 14th December.
- A street play on awareness andvoting patterns of people – why they do not cast their vote and what can be done about it, on 20th December, 2018.
- Visit to Asha, school for differently abled children at Narengi, Army Cantonment on 12th April, 2019.
- Visit to a nearby government school at Bonda to instill in the minds of students the goals of community building, cultural and social intermingling and to sensitize harmony on 16th May, 2019.
- Visit to Noonmati Police Station with a view to celebrate Bihu with the police personnel.
- Composition of a song dedicated to mother earth.
- Distribution of woolens/daily wear to the villagers of a nearbyvillage on 23rd November, 2019.
- Trip to Swabalambi Society of Rehabilitation and Training of Persons with Multiple Disabilities in Sonapur, Assam on 30th September, 2019.