Why DPS Gurugram
Sector 67A
Whole Child Approach
THE
WHOLE
CHILD
Whole Child approach was formulated by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development (ASCD), a unique organization founded in 1943 that is based in the United
States of America and is dedicated to holistic education. ASCD has marked it’s presence
in 50 countries and over 38,000 schools and has published around 1 million books.
Whole Child approach was formulated by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a unique organization founded in 1943 that is based in the United States of America and is dedicated to holistic education. ASCD has marked it’s presence in 50 countries and over 38,000 schools and has published around 1 million books.
Learning Pillars and Blocks
The cognitive pillar enhances the way our brains remember, reason, hold attention, think and solve problems.
The kinesthetic pillar embodies the physical aspects of learning, focussing on the development of fine motor skills through our sports, yoga and performing arts curricula.
The affective pillar deals with our emotions, feelings and attitudes, understanding how we engage with values, appreciation, conflict and motivations.
COGNITIVE
KINESTHETIC
AFFECTIVE
Social Emotional Learning
Ariana Abadian-Heifetz
Above all, we want our school to be a happy place for our students. Through the Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) approach, we nurture each child to be the best version of themselves—self-motivated, academically engaged and socially secure. This helps young people establish strong and stable relationships by developing healthy identities, managing emotions and achieving personal and collective goals.
Our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) expert, Ariana Abadian-Heifetz, is a co-creator of the ground-breaking ‘Me in Motion’ primary school curriculum, which integrates SEL with movement pedagogy, and a curriculum for senior students on interfaith dialogue, gender, ethics, caste and human rights. Her work has been featured in The New Indian Express and Teacher Plus Magazine, while her writing has appeared in India Today, Deccan Chronicle, and Daily Pioneer. She was the Head of SEL at Heritage Xperiential Learning School, Gurugram. Here she launched the school's SEL program, designed curricula and led faculty training on restorative justice, crucial conversations and gender bias in classrooms.
Mindfulness & Yoga
Zubin Artré
Children are made of boundless energy. We believe in channelling their indomitable spirit positively through the practice of mindfulness and yoga. Mindfulness reduces stress, improves attention span and builds emotional and social intelligence. Yoga and pranayama (breath work) help students with physical fitness and mental alertness. We have purposefully included this beautiful practice since it can be done by all children, irrespective of abilities and expertise.
Our Mindfulness and Yoga expert, Zubin Artré is the founder of ArtréYoga Studio, and seeks to make yoga approachable for all. Using biomechanics and meditation, he designs modules that are customised for optimal individual performance, be it for a young student, a sportsperson, or a professional leading a sedentary life. He has trained athletes like Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra in mastering the tripod of body, breath, and mind with asanas that are designed for specific sports, like diving, climbing, shooting, trekking, or boxing. With 16,000+ hours of yoga teaching experience, Artré is the author of the book, It Takes Two To Yoga, and a TedX speaker. His approach to mental and physical wellness has been a great source of satisfaction to yoga and meditation practitioners and corporate executives as well.
Critical Thinking
Anandini Dar
Going beyond just access to knowledge, we believe children must be equipped with the right tools to be able to analyse a diversity of ideas with reason and logic. This helps our students read, reflect, absorb and articulate with an open mind. An essential life skill, our critical thinking approach to education helps shape well-rounded, dynamic adults adept at decision-making, leadership, creativity and innovation.
Our Critical Thinking expert, Dr Anandini Dar, works in the field of child rights and the well-being of young persons. An Assistant Professor at the School of Education Studies, Ambedkar University, Dr Dar is the founder of Critical Childhoods and Youth Studies Collective, a network of scholars and practitioners engaged in research on and with children and youth in South Asia and beyond. Having worked across a range of sectors — academia, civil society, policy and rights, she has extensively researched issues like the safety and security of children in schools, reading readiness and the right to education. She also writes and speaks on the anthropology and sociology of childhood and youth, migration, South Asian diaspora, youth cultures and identities, gender and diversity and children’s rights.
Mental Health & Counseling
Ritu Shree
Our vision of the school as a happy place is complemented by our exceptional team of counsellors and psychotherapists who help put mental health at the forefront of our school culture. The first step for us is building awareness about mental health among our students. Through group and individual intervention, we help students deal with crises, losses and setbacks, enabling them to negotiate the wide range of emotions that growing up is all about.
Our Mental Health and Counselling expert, Ritu Shree, is a dance/movement therapist (R-DMT) and a child psychologist at Children First, a child and adolescent mental health clinic in New Delhi. She works with children on the autism spectrum, ADHD, developmental delay and other childhood concerns. Invested in using multimodal therapeutic approaches with children with special needs and their families, Ms. Shree has been an adviser to the Creative Movement Therapy Association of India, and been involved with the Boston Children’s Foundation, Cheshire Medical Center in the USA. With a Masters in dance/movement therapy and counseling from Antioch University and one in clinical psychology from Delhi University, Ms Shree is currently working on a Phd in expressive therapies at Lesley University, Boston.
Performing & Fine Arts
Shubhendra & Saskia Rao
Theatre education teaches empathy, asking students to step into someone else’s shoes and view the world from a different lens. It kindles curiosity by allowing them to engage with diverse situations and express their emotions in a supportive environment. Music, dance and all fine arts boost creativity, engagement, teamwork, communication and leadership. These lead to the overall development of a child’s intellectual abilities and personality.
With an Indian sensibility and a global outlook, our Performing Arts experts, Shubhendra and Saskia Rao, want to share music with as many people as possible, especially those who have limited access to it. Pandit Shubhendra Rao is a sitar exponent and composer who is considered one of India’s key soloists today. He has trained under sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar for over 10 years. Saskia Rao-de Haas is a cellist and composer from the Netherlands. Now based in India, she is enriching North Indian classical music with her unique instrument—the Indian cello. She has studied with celebrated flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia as well as at top institutes in the West. Together they run Music 4 All, an organisation that strives to promote classical music by connecting it to the modern world.
Communication
Natasha Kalaan
A natural extension of critical thinking is the proper articulation of ideas, thoughts and opinions. Being able to listen, understand, speak and write well makes a child confident, a quick learner, friendly, open and happy. Good communication skills build expressive, eloquent individuals who go on to become natural leaders.
With 30 years’ experience in education, our Communication expert, Natasha Kalaan, specialises in grooming youngsters to communicate better. Ms Kalaan has helped train adults and children in communication skills—written and spoken—and conducted workshops on public speaking and creative writing. She has worked with several prestigious schools, including Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon, where as Primary Head, she was instrumental in building a progressive thinking culture among teachers and students. She has also worked with The Shri Ram School, Aravali, and The Words Worth School of English Language, Gurgaon. Currently a consultant with English Helper Technologies, she helps learners improve their spoken English and communication skills through an online interface.
Global Cultural Exchanges
Gunjan Aggarwal
Our students are the global citizens of tomorrow, proud of their roots but at home anywhere in the world. Adventure camps, student exchange programmes, summer schools and teacher conferences help our student-teacher community learn from leading institutions and expert educationists, enriching their learning journeys. Connecting young learners with experienced faculty, acclaimed thought leaders and college students internationally, we hope to inspire them to dream bigger and equip them to go ahead and realise those dreams.
Our Global Cultural Exchange expert, Gunjan Aggarwal, is the Co-Founder of Learn with Leaders, an organisation dedicated to breaking barriers to quality education and democratising ‘Ivy League Education’ for high school students across the globe. The idea behind Learn with Leaders was born out of Ms Aggarwal’s own experience of being unable to study in a prestigious university abroad due to financial constraints. She was named one of the ‘50 Most Talented Social Media Professionals of India’ by the prestigious CMO Asia & Youth Marketing Forum and was awarded the World Women Leadership Award, 2017, Femina. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Aggarwal holds an MBA from ISB, Hyderabad, and has 14 years of experience in the education industry.
Physical Education
Pullela Gopichand
We focus on the Whole Child—mind and body. Physical education helps develop motor skills and fitness, even as it inculcates values of self-discipline, respect, trust, teamwork and a sporting spirit, which is vital well beyond the playground. It helps our students understand their personal and social responsibilities, encouraging them to take on leadership roles and offering them an opportunity to learn a wide range of skills.
Our Physical Education expert, Pullela Gopichand, is an international Badminton player who is currently the Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team. He has been honoured with the Arjuna Award, the Dronacharya Award and the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government for his contribution to sports. He has trained several current players, including Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap, Srikanth Kidambi and Arundhati Pantawane. Under his guidance, Nehwal won bronze at the 2012 Olympics and Sindhu struck silver at the 2016 Olympics. As a player, he won two golds and a silver at the Indian National Games, 1998. Internationally, he has represented India in several tournaments, including the Thomas Cup, SAARC Badminton tournaments, Commonwealth Games, Toulouse Open Championship and Scottish Open Championship.
STEM & Robotics
Meenal Majumdar
At the heart of all human progress lie experimentation and a healthy dose of risk-taking. STEM & Robotics encourage children to try new things, make mistakes and learn from experience. Our hands-on approach to learning science, technology, engineering and math fosters curiosity, creativity and ingenuity in young minds, equipping them to become innovative problem-solvers of tomorrow.
Our STEM and Robotics expert, Meenal Majumdar, believes experiential learning is the best way to get young minds excited about education. The founder of Innovation Story, a launchpad for promising youngsters, Majumdar has mentored over 200 students to participate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competitions across India and the world. She mentored an all-girls team that represented India in Robotics at the FIRST Global challenge for high school students. Majumdar has helped students make it to campuses like MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell and USC. She has also worked in the social sector, encouraging students from Abhyudaya, Avasara Academy for Girls, KITS Angels and Akola to fall in love with STEM. She is a recipient of the prestigious Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (Long Island, US Region).
A school where
creativity is nurtured,
confidence is cultivated &
compassion is encouraged
You can also contact us directly
For us, each child is unique
Delhi Public School Gurugram is beginning a journey of creating a child-centric environment where we focus on the holistic development of our children.