What you see – Esperanza is a school atop a hill in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. It was started by Chandra Sekhar Vasireddi in August 2007. The school premises can accommodate up to 250 children.
Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish, has a cozy feel. Enter the gate and you see a stretch of grass running in the front and ending with a lawn at the back. This is where the daily morning assembly is conducted. Shoes are not allowed inside due to floor carpeting and for hygiene maintenance.
Starting with the reception area, you are transported to a world of bright colors, pictures, rhymes, carpets and children. The building has four floors with rooms set in different levels on each of these floors.
What you get –This is a unique concept with a pre-school, school (up to class three) and a 24-hour daycare all rolled into one. They also have a popular after school activity club, which is open to students from other schools as well. Esperanza takes in children as young as 12 months. The teacher student ratio is 1:3 for children aged 12 to 20 months. For older children the ratio is between 1:5 and 1:10. There is ample staff which works in shifts to oversee the overnight daycare. This facility is available even on Saturdays and Sundays.
The interiors of the rooms are worth a detailed explanation. We saw a bright green room, which is very popular with the kiddies and is used for parties, screening cartoons and as a play area. Another colorful room is the mini library, complete with indoor games, pictures and a corner for story telling. Next is the dining area, with red, green and yellow furniture serving vegetarian meals for breakfast, juice and fruit at 11 AM, lunch at 12.30 PM, snacks for tea at 4 PM and dinner at 7.30 PM. A chef and nutritionist come up with a new menu every week making sure the tots get the right diet. To ensure hygiene the staff wears caps and gloves during meal times.
The classrooms are all carpeted and cleaned twice a day to ensure maximum hygiene. All classrooms have a different theme like the Car Room for the nursery kids, complete with mats, a flat screen computer (every classroom has one), and a bunk bed (different shapes in every classroom) for those who want to rest their sleepy little heads. And going with the theme of the classroom are pictures, paintings and rhymes on the walls in different colors. Other rooms include the Sports Room (12 months to 20 months), Orange Room (20 months to two and a half years), Boat Room (PP1), Space Room (PP2), Candy Room (an extra room) Humpty-Dumpty Room and the Whale Room (Art and Crafts). Every classroom has a toilet and CCTV camera for surveillance.
The Esperanza Club Room is a large one and comes equipped with a stage, music instruments and more. This is where most of the activities like dramatization, puppet shows etc take place. Some of their activities are martial arts, music, dance, Spanish classes, Abacus, indoor games and more. These activities are open to everyone across all ages.
The syllabus includes the usual subjects of Math, Language and History. Spanish (taught in the Cow Room), is a compulsory subject and starts from PP1 (just songs and rhymes) and actual words and phrases start from PP2. Every week a new topic is taught through songs, group activities, art and craft. Field trips are organized once a month based on a particular topic like animals (visits to the zoo) and nature (parks). There is also a TV Room where children are shown a CD once a week.
Esperanza has a whole team of professional and experienced teachers, supervisors and caretakers. The supervisors are dressed in green uniforms and the caretakers in blue. Login card and id are a must for the entire staff.
They also have a Saturday Club between 10 AM and 1 PM which is free of charge for students of Esperanza. Other facilities that the school offers include three vans (five, eight and 25 seaters respectively) fitted with a GPS facility. Parents and staff can log on and get the status and location of the vehicle the child’s traveling in. Parents are given a login id and password where they can access a daily report on the detailed activities and behavior of their child at school. Parents also get an SMS on the different activities going on at the school.
Our verdict – Esperanza has thought of everything in terms of hygiene, security, care and availability with their unique 24-hour daycare. Their activities and academics ensure all round development for the children.
Drive to – Esperanza
H No 8-2-603/23/30,
Road No. 10, Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad – 500034.
Call at – 040-64555353
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