Narsinh Govindrao Vartak High School (NGV) is a private, co-educational day school located in the suburb of Virar

Virar

Virar is a name of a suburb of Northern Mumbai. Virar is a city and a part of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra....

 in state of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

The school was founded in 1986 by the A.V.A. Education Society. The medium of instruction is the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. The school is affiliated to the Maharashtra state board and the Central Board of Secondary Education

Central Board of Secondary Education

The Central Board of Secondary Education is a Board of Education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India.-History:...

. It is celebrating its silver jubilee year in 2011.

History

In the mid 1980s, Virar had just started its journey towards development and recognition owing to the gradually increasing migration from the city of Mumbai. There was a growing need to start an English Medium school in the region. However due to the economic restraints of starting an English Medium school, the dream of many could not materialize into reality. It was then that the two great visionaries Late. Padmashree Bhausaheb Vartak and Late Smt. Tarabai Vartak, a former State Minister, came together and chalked out a plan with an aim to provide the children of Virar, an affordable and quality education through the medium of English.

The Beginning

Finally in June 1986, with the approval of the Agashi-Virar-Arnala Education Society, the dream of these two visionaries came into existence. A small English division was started in the adjoining building of Annasaheb Vartak Smarak Vidyamandir, a Marathi medium school of the A.V.A. Education society. The school started with the same name and with a student count of only 35 which were managed by only one teacher. Years went by and due to the hard work and enthusiastic efforts of the board people of the society, the school slowly started to gain foothold in the education system of Virar.

The New Building and renovations

Due to the growing popularity of the school in the region and due to the accommodation constraints it was becoming difficult to manage the school in the premises of the A.V.S. school. So finally it was decided that the English division would have a separate building and infrastructure of its own. After the board members passed the judgement, the foundation stone was laid by Padmashree Bhausaheb Vartak, the then President of A.V.A. Education Society in 1990 and the work started on the new school building just behind the A.V.S. school.

Finally on December 10, 1994, the new school building was inaugurated by Dr. Balkrishna Deshmukh, Ex. Chief Justice, Mumbai High Court in a function presided by Late. Padmashree Bhausaheb Vartak. From that day the school was renamed as Narsinh Govindrao Vartak English Medium High School after the late Husband of Smt. Tarabai Vartak, Shri Narsinh G. Vartak. Then the new building had only 12 rooms with 2 storeys. The school uniform was changed to White shirt and Grey trousers with a grey tie from its white and navy blue combination earlier.

Over the years due to the increasing student capacity there were many minor to major upgradation in the building and the premises. An additional storey was added in the coming years. In the early 2000s work started on an additional wing adjoining the north end of the building which was essentially meant for the pre-primary and the primary section. It was on July 14, 2005, a date corresponding to the death anniversary of Late. Bhausaheb Vartak that the new wing was inaugurated by popular Bollywood actor and an Ex-Member of Parliament, Shri. Govinda

Govinda (actor)

Govinda is a Filmfare award-winning Indian actor and politician. He has appeared in over 120 Hindi language films. At the start of his career, his acting and dancing skills gained him widespread attention among film viewers. He later gained worldwide fame as a Bollywood icon through comedy films...

, also an alumnus of the A.V.A. education society.

From a meagre strength of 35 students and a single teacher, the N.G.V. School today boasts of a student population of 1860 today, well guided by a highly qualified group of faculty members.

Educational approach and Coursework

The school runs classes from the Nursery to the tenth grade. The pupils at the end of their school career, qualify for Secondary School Certificate examination. The school follows the syllabus prescribed by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The medium of instruction throughout the school is English. Options are offered in the languages and other academic groups to suit the child’s individuality and capacity.

Exams

The pupils are given an option to take part in the following exams besides the routine Board and school exams.

• Dr. Homi Bhabha Science Examination
• Government Scholarship Examination (Std. IV & Std. VII)
• Hindi Rashtra Bhasha Examination (Std. III - Std. X)
• Elementary Examination (Drawing)
• Intermediate Examination (Drawing)
• Maharashtra Talent Search Examination
• National Talent Search Examination
  National Talent Search Examination
  The National Talent Search Examination is a national level scholarship program in India to identify and nurture talented students. The scheme is open to students of Indian nationality. Only students studying in Class VIII are eligible to appear for the selection process...
  
  
• All India Maths Scholarship Examination
• Science Talent Search Exams conducted by Vasai Vidyan Mandal Trust

Training programs

• ABACUS Training Program :

To enhance the computing ability of the child to a greater extent and to develop the skills of children like concentration, listening ability, logical thinking, memory power, confidence, speed and accuracy the school has started the ABACUS training program for the students of Std. Jr. K.G. to Std. VI through experts in this field.

• VEDIC MATHS :

Vedic mathematics is a system of mental calculation. It claims to have applications to more advanced mathematics, such as calculus and linear algebra.

The school Band

The school has introduced the school band for the benefit of those pupils who are interested in music. The school band also plays at the Assemblies, the Annual Athletic Meet, the Annual Prize Distribution function and the school socials

Houses

Students from Std. V to X are allotted four houses, Red House (Co-operation), Blue House (Understanding), Yellow House (sharing) and Green House (Determination) to make a strong team and understand the virtues like Unity, Sporting Spirit and oneness. Points are given to the respective houses according to the achievements of its pupils in various co-curricular activities. At the annual gathering of the school, the house with the maximum points is awarded the "Best House" award.

School Uniform

Boys from kindergarten through class 7 wear grey shorts and boys of class 8, 9 and 10 wear grey trousers. The rest of the boy’s uniform consists of a half-sleeved white shirt, a grey tie with house badge, black leather belt, white socks and black leather laced shoes. The uniform for girls consists of a grey tunic, half-sleeved white blouse, grey tie and a house badge, white socks and black leather shoes with buckles. There is a special code for the sport dresses with white T-shirts for both boys and girls.

Culture

N.G.V. is a cosmopolitan school. The Annual Gathering Day is celebrated every January and is a one day event. A sports meet and a farewell party for students who are passing out of the institution are also held annually. There are various Inter-House competitions that are held in elocution, drama, song, dance, literature etc.

Language Lab

The school boasts of a Language Lab, one of its own kind. It was inaugurated by Dr. Pushpa Pai, Ex- Incharge of Applied Linguistics department of SNDT University, Mumbai. It is spread in an area of 630 sq ft. This lab consists of ten student consoles and a teacher’s console. Every console is connected to the teacher’s console. Through effective software’s the students enlist themselves in a self learning process where the students can record their own voices, listen to their recorded voices, learn the nuances of speaking a language like, voice modulation, proper pronunciation, accent and intonation.

Governance

The school is managed by a Managing committee. The current principal, Mrs. Sarika C. Rawat took over from her predecessor Mrs. Avril Rodrigues in the year 2000. There are two supervisors (Vice Principals), Mrs. Madhuri Kumar and Mrs. Sneha Kamath who are in charge of the Primary and the Secondary section respectively. The school boasts of many prominent faculty members like Mr. Jitendra K. Raut, Mrs. Saroj Mangela, Mrs. Mary D'mello, Mrs. Sangeeta D'silva, Mrs. Sheetal Koradkar, Mrs. Swati Marathe to name a few.

Others

• Maths Laboratory
• Computer Laboratory
• Science Laboratory
• Science Garden
• Music and art room
• Extra coaching for Std VIII to Std X
• Audio-Visual Library
• Membership of British Council Library
• A yearly Medical camp

Athletics and Physical sports

Apart from academics, the school also stresses on the overall development of the students. Currently the school has a full complement of boys and girls athletic programs. Coaching is provided in various activities under expert guidance to help the child develop in his or her field interest. The school regularly participates in Vasai-Virar Kala Krida Mahotsav and other sport events at District and state level. Important sports programs organised are:

• Gymnastics
• Yoga classes
• Physical education
• Indoor and outdoor games including cricket
  Cricket
  Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
  
  , football, tennis
  Tennis
  Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
  
  , Kho-Kho, volleyball
  Volleyball
  Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
  
  l, chess
  Chess
  Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
  
  , etc.
• Social service: The pupils of the Social Service Group work for national and social organizations like Alert India, mentally challenged and handicap students school.
• Educational excursion : The school arranges educational camp for the students Std. VIII to X and undertake the activities like rifle shooting, hiking, rock rappelling, rock climbing etc.

Counselling

Taking in to consideration the emotions of the little ones and the adolescence of the teenagers the school also has counselling services to cope with the modern day stress. They are also helped in career counseling.

Silver Jubilee Year

The year 2010-2011 will be celebrated as the Silver jubilee year of the school since it was established in 1986. Various committees consisting of the Principal, Supervisors, staff members and the ex-students have been formed such as the Performing Arts Committee, Publicity Committee, Finance Committee, Program administration committee, Volunteering Committee, Souvenir Committee, Marketing committee and the Technical support committee. The meetings are regularly held on every last Sunday of the month. Various activities have been successfully held since mid 2010 which also included a marathon that started from the new CBSE building of the school and ended at the footsteps of the famous Jivdani hill. The school management also arranged a 'Sky observation pragramme' for the students and their parents on the 11th of February 2011 as a part of the various projects undertaken in the silver jubilee programme.

The Marathon

On April 22, 2010, the school arranged a Marathon Race for Green and Serene Earth on account of Earth Day

Earth Day

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

. The marathon was flagged off by Dr. Kirti Tandel, Mrs. Tulip D'Silva and Ms. Pranali Mogre, ex-students of the school. A distance of 2 km from Paanch Payari to Jivdani Ground was covered by the participants.

Art of Living Seminars

On June 21, 2010, the school arranged the Art of Living Seminars for the students, teachers and the parents. On June 27, a special seminar was arranged called 'Know your Child' for the parents where they were trained to realize their role in building up their kid's self esteem and confidence.

Blood Donation Camp

The school arranged a blood donation camp on the 27th June 2010, which was supported by 'THINK Foundation', an N.G.O. working for Thalessemia major patients.

Anti Plastic Drive

On the account of the 57th death anniversary of Late Annasaheb Vartak on July 14, 2010, the school organised an Anti-Plastic Drive. Nearly 400 students participated in this task. Some students even performed street plays on 'Plastic - The demon' which was witnessed by hordes of people.

Tree Plantation Drive

The heavy showers of July didnt deter the teachers and the students who organised a rally for a Tree Plantation Drive. Nearly 800 saplings were planted at the foothills of Jivdanu Paanch Payari.

The Final Ceremony

The final ceremony was held on the 3rd April 2011 at 3.30 p.m. on the huge school play ground. Shri Hitendra Thakur

Hitendra Thakur

Hitendra Thakur is an Indian politician from Virar, Maharashtra, India. He is the president of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, a political party in the Vasai-Virar region of Maharashtra, India.. He and his brother Jayendra are accused of being leaders of the underworld in the Vasai-Virar suburb of Mumbai...

 was the guest of honour and the current mayor of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation

Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation

Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation governs the Vasai-Virar Town. It was formed on July, 2010.-Administration:The corporation is headed by a Municipal commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service Officer. He wields the executive power of the house. A quinquennial election is held to elect...

, Shri Rajeev Patil also shared the honour with him.