Frobel Academy, where every child really matters
"Today's children are the leaders of tomorrow's world'. With an aim to provide the best childhood education to the future leaders, Frobel Play School started its journey of pre-school education in 2003 in port city's Panchlaish Residential Area. In 2017, Frobel Academy was established to ensure inclusive primary and secondary education to children. With the vision of 'Every child will strive for excellence as a compassionate, self-aware global learner,' Frobel Academy and Frobel Play School are educating more then six hundred students from play group to class seven while giving importance to adopting practical lifestyle with leadership qualities.
Our students have engaged in different social activities and with their little hands and sharp brains, they identify problems and discover fantastic solutions.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Not only that, they are the only mainstream schools in Chattogram where children of special needs and learning disabilities do classes with regular children, thus breaking the common phenomenon in our society. Frobel Play School and Frobel Academy offer multi-sensory teaching programmes.
Let's have a look at both 'Frobel Play School' and Frobel Academy'
With the motto "Play and Learn' based on Friedrich Froebel's educational idea 'Know Thyself', Frobel play School started its official journey with 23 children around 20 years back under the leadership of Huwra Zohair (Tehseen). She is the founder director and principal of Frobel Play School and Frobel Academy. Huwra is the Board Member of BSRM Group of Companies. Having more than 33 years of professional teaching experience, Huwra has dedicated her life to serve children that need special care and have learning disabilities in their early life in schooling.
"FROBEL' stands for 'F-Freedom of Thought', 'R-Resourceful Reading', 'O-Originally of Mind', 'B-Believe in Yourself, 'E- Explore the Environment', and 'L-Love Learning'. Frobel Play School's three-storied building is well decorated for the first steps of a baby's educational life. Ages from two years to five years old children are learning theme-based education in Frobel Play school. In 2012 an Enrichment Centre was founded for children with special needs. Considering the mental health and physical condition of children, an Occupational therapy room, the "Wiggle room' was introduced in the school to provide support for sensory needs of children. Not only that, the school features an outdoor play gym, petting zoo, dynamic learning spaces and library of nearly more than 1500 books. There is one teacher for about five to six students that allows for personalised attention.
'FROBEL ACADEMY'
The creation of the state-of-the art campus 5 spread over a magnificent 3.3 acres of land with covered area of 125,000 square feet was inspired by the idea of inclusion and ensures a loving, collaborative environment that empowers children to take responsibility for learning.
The school's students are learners with a strong value system, critical thinking skills, decision-making abilities, and leadership traits that are honed in school. With an envious 6:1 student-teacher ratio, they are able to focus on personality development and academic excellence of each child along with their mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Frobel Academy, an accredited school under Cambridge Associate and STEM, follows IGCSE O-levels and A-levels curriculum.
The campus has already been awarded for its 'Remarkable Infrastructure for Experiential Learning and Holistic Growth' by Brand Forum Bangladesh Innovation Award. Frobel Academy also received the Honorable Mention in the category "Distant Learning Ecosystem Education amidst Covid 19" of Bangladesh Innovation Award 2021.
Frobel Academy contains open, airy, collaborative areas that complement the spacious classrooms that contain Smart-tech and internet-based multimedia facilities including smart TVs so that teachers can optimise the learning environment according to students' needs. A library spread over two spacious floors along with several labs, such as computer, culinary, robotics, art and craft, science, Mathematics, STEM and Makers' Space to enhance and support skill based learning.
It's an inclusive school and children with special needs and learning disabilities are integrated in mainstream classrooms without any kind of hesitation. They are supported by a team of specialised and trained Bright Minds Shine (BMS) teachers. A team of dedicated teachers work in the well-equipped Enrichment Center and Wiggle room (for occupational therapy) focusing on one-to-one learning and sensory, speech and physical therapy support.
The school's children are going through a plethora of extra-curricular activities featuring basketball, football, cricket, badminton, kabaddi, archery, pottery, karate, yoga, table tennis, art and craft, robotics, animation, game development, and culinary skills. It is mentionable that Frobel Academy, with support from Alliance Française de Chittagong, offers French language to their students to broaden their education. The school also ensures the transport facilities for the students who are willing to avail it.
To provide best education, motivation and lesson to the children, the teachers are given regular professional development trainings and engage in different programmes by foreign trainers.
Principal Huwra Zohair (Tehseen) said, "Our students have engaged in different social activities and with their little hands and sharp brains, they identify problems and discover fantastic solutions. And we are doing it along with academic activities. We are the only schools in Bangladesh as far I know that are fully inclusive. Children including autism, down syndrome and many other issues are taking lessons in our school along with regular children. We have Bright Mind Shine (BMS) for the special needs children and children who have learning disabilities. It is an inclusive department and here students are learning one to one session," she said. Huwra Zohair added, "We want each child to develop to his or her full potential and become a responsible, caring citizen of the world."
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