DLDAV Shalimar Bagh entered its 44th year this May. The wealth of experience, expertise and repute that it enjoys makes it stand tall as an institution in North-West Delhi.
While we revel in the glory of our rich past and experience, we are never complacent about it.
In fact we take inspiration from Howard Simon’s poem and meet our challenges head-on.

“I choose, I choose the mountain
With all its stress and strain
Because only by climbing
Can I rise above the plain
I choose the mountain
And I will never stop climbing
I choose the mountain
And I shall forever be ascending”

What a time we are in! What an era we are looking forward to!

With the PM’s clarion call for Amrit Kaal, the citizens of India are working hard, embracing the vision of a developed India as their own. The team of DLDAV Shalimar Bagh is right there with them, promising, through its ideas, words and actions, its commitment to make India a developed nation by 2047. 

Being an Educationist has certainly become very exciting! Also challenging! 

 Every second counts. And every learner matters. We thus begin right from class Nursery. As per the guidelines of NEP 2020 and government of India’s NIPUN Bharat Mission, we are focusing very strongly on strengthening the base by honing the  Foundational literacy and numeracy skills of the children essential for their future triumphs. It is after all an investment in India’s destiny. 

As the children grow up we provide them opportunities to use the concepts learnt to solve problems that are rooted in real life. They are intellectually empowered through focus on structured pedagogy and learning outcomes. Their learning journey is also enhanced by following the approach of 5Es: engage, explore, experience, express, and excel.

A rich amalgam of co-scholastic activities in the curriculum provide handsome opportunities to the students to excel as sportspersons, musicians, dancers, artists and orators as they participate in projects and competitions at international and national levels.  

Presently, India is the third largest start-up ecosystem and second in innovation quality among middle-income countries. We are acting on this too. Innovation, thinking out of the box and tinkering have become the basic fabric out of which all teaching-learning in our school emerge. In every classroom, teachers and students are coming up with interesting ways of absorbing and creating new knowledge. We are preparing our students to be job creators. 

We are also constantly taking steps towards an environmentally conscious life, planting the seed of sustainability in our students’ minds. We’re supporting the government’s ‘Mission LiFE’- Lifestyle for Environment, by creating beautiful and useful things out of waste. These and other green practices ingrain the love for the environment in young children.

Mental Health awareness is something that we take very seriously as we believe that emotional quotient (EQ), emotion, empathy, and inclusivity are the cornerstones of all learning. Ours is an inclusive institution, which has its own privileges and difficulties. We have a dedicated Counseling department that conducts meaningful training programs and drives in the school.  From Individual student and parent consultation to family and group sensitization, we make an effort to look after the  mental health of each learner and teacher in the campus. Various intervention techniques, treatments and action plans are used for the same.

Sensitive issues need to be addressed head on. We take up many of these in association with external organizations. It is our responsibility to groom young children as balanced and empathetic individuals.  Gender sensitization for boy students, self-defense drive for girl students, bully to buddy program, cyber-security drive, self esteem campaign, CPR and first aid training are some movements that we have been working on.

Gandhiji said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This kind of finding is so significant, it defines us as a  human. The students are thus motivated to experience this joy of ‘giving’ by participating in Community outreach programs like Blood Donation drive, Sustenance for the needy through food, clothes and books donation drive, Adult computer literacy, visit to old age homes, Each one Teach one, and Recycling plastic.

While we wish that we return to normalcy soon, we also promise to hold the fort with strength, wisdom and resilience!
I end with H.W. Longfellow’s lines,
 

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
I wish you all good health and great spirits!

Ms. Reena Rajpal
Principal