Sri Venkateshwar International School
Nomination for
Global Sustainable School Awards 2017
According to the honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, “Information, education, skills, healthcare, livelihood, financial inclusions, small and village enterprises, opportunities for women, conservation of natural resources, distribution of clean energy are entirely new possibilities that have emerged to change the development model.”
As a Global Sustainable School, SVIS has always focused on the immediate challenges of sustainable development and meeting basic needs, providing safe and adequate water, energy, healthcare without degrading the environment. Alongside following the best educational practices for our students, we have been trying hard to expose our students, parents, staff, workforce and the neighborhood citizenry to follow the energy conservation practices and be a partner in fair stewardship of resources and to help address development goals.
Our contribution towards the conservation and regeneration of the natural resources is manifold as we are trying to tap every boundary and expanding the horizons by ensuring environmental education as a part of school Curriculum.
We strongly believe that the key for sustainable development is environmental management and humanization of all environmental issues.
To showcase our partnership in sustainable development, we have chosen two goals to share our contributions. As a sustainable school we have opted to elaborate the following two areas:-
- Sustainable Development Goal 1:- Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Sustainable Development Goal 2:- Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 1
ENSURE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, SUSTAINABLE AND MODERN ENERGY FOR ALL
Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy is essential for all. Sustainable energy is an opportunity – it transforms lives, economies and the planet. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading “A Sustainable Energy for All” initiative to ensure universal access to modern energy services, improve efficiency and increase use of renewable sources.
Glimpse of Activities:
Activity 1:- Installation of Solar Panel on Rooftop for Electricity Generation
Resources Used:
Solar PV System
Details:
A Solar Photo Voltaic power plant of 80KWP capacity has been installed at Sri VIS rooftop. The operation and maintenance of plant is carried out by Elcomponics Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. The SPV plant generates approximately 300 kwh per day which is sufficient to meet the energy requirements of the school. However, during summer months the surplus power generated is transferred to BSES grid.
Impact:
- Sri VIS has considerably reduced its carbon footprints by generating and using clean energy for daily consumption.
- This is also a step towards to be partner in nation’s goal of achieving electricity generation using clean resources by 2022.
- Sri VIS despite being a fully AC school has remarkably reduced its energy bills by adopting clean solar energy.
- With the installation of SPV in Sri VIS campus, we are not only promoting the significance of clean energy in the neighbor schools and residential complexes but also doing our bit to save the environment.
- The young Venkateshwarites are now growing with the fact that the transformation of energy needs from conventional resources to renewable and clean energy is the need of the hour for sustainable development.
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==
Activity 2: Rain Water Harvesting
Resouces Used:
Three storage set-ups in different areas of school for collection of rainwater
Details:
We believe that rainwater harvesting is a viable technology in an urban setting. All that is necessary to take advantage of this resource is to capture the free water falling on our roof and direct it to a rainwater storage tank. We at Sri VIS, has taken control of our water supply and replaced a substantial portion of our water needs. Our school has a water storage capacity of 1,00,000 litres approximately in the form of underground and overhead tanks. The idea of using drinking water to flush our toilets and water our lawns is wasteful and irresponsible, especially in light of population growth and water shortages across the country. Hence, Rainwater collection is a technique to green our surroundings and to lessen our environmental footprint.
Impact:
Here are some ways in which we have been using rainwater:
- To Hand water our lawns and garden
- To connect rainwater collection system to sprinkler system
- To Refill our swimming pool after properly filtering and disinfecting the rain-water
- To wash our driveways and sidewalks
- To clean toilets and floors
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM@SVIS 2015-16 & 2016-17
Sri VIS is actively involved in Community engagement programs as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility and School Social Responsibility clubs.
Major Engagements:-
CONSERVE MY PLANET (CMP) is a Participative, Educational training program to build communities sensitive to energy conservation an initiative by Schneider Electric India Foundation. The program aims to educate the young minds about energy saving, energy efficiency, green energy, recyclable sources of energy. Under the same project we are doing various energy audits in our school and also come up with the policy document regarding the various components of audit.
School has received various awards at state level under the same project:-
- Best School of the Year 2015
- Energy Efficiency School of Year 2015
- Best Use of Waste to Make Useful Items 2016
- Best Energy Star Teacher 2016
PROJECT SEARCH, which is a joint initiative of TERI and Tetra Pak. The purpose of the project is to encourage young students and teachers to practice the 4Rs – refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle – in their daily lives and make consumption choices that would ensure the sustainability of the planet in the years to come. Project SEARCH aims at effecting behavioral changes in the students and teachers by encouraging the adoption of practices for a sustainable lifestyle and to increase awareness about correct waste management practices.
School has received IMPACT AWARD 2016 at state level under project SEARCH for eco preservation activities by waste management.
JUDICIOUS USE OF RESOURCES@SVIS CAMPUS
- Turning off the lights and fans before leaving the classroom for any activity
- All the appliances in the school carry an energy star.
- Programmable thermostats are installed in areas like canteen to minimize operating hours of cooling or heating.
- Centralised AC cooled rooms can have separate power buttons so that a single room, if vacant need not have functioning AC.
- Escalator to be used only at the time of medical emergency.
- Water faucets to be regularly checked and serviced every week and also on complaint and leakage of water to be prevented.
- Recycling waste paper for making notepads and folders
- Segregation of waste into recyclable and non recyclable waste.
- Tetra Paks sent regularly to recycling units.
- Students and staff are encouraged to bring their food in recyclable material.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 2
ENSURE HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTE WELL-BEING FOR ALL AT ALL AGES
Gautam Buddha said ,“To keep the body in good health is a duty…
Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.
We at SVIS have acquired basic principles of health and hygiene and have been inculcating these amongst children through well- planned activities. The main mantra lies in five simple rules: To make hygiene fun and exciting; Hand washing is a must; Stop bad habits; Regular cleaning of classrooms and its surroundings and Prevention of diseases.
Glimpse of Activities:
Activity 1:- Cleanliness Drive And Tree Plantation
Resources Used:
Brooms, Dustpan, Gloves, Shower caps , Gloves, Saplings, Shovels, Spades
Details:
SVIS has always been inculcating sensitivity among students and staff towards environmental protection and sustainable development through multifaceted activities. On October 2, 2016, an enthusiastic group of students, teachers, Headmistresses, Support Staff gathered outside early morning for a Cleanliness Drive and Tree Plantation Drive, under the leadership of school Principal , Nita Arora. Despite the day being celebrated as a National Holiday, every member of the school was beaming with a passion to carry forward the legacy of our ‘Father of Nation’ and the initiatives of the present Prime Minister, in true sense.
Ample measures were taken in order to prioritize health and hygiene. Everyone was provided plastic caps, face masks and gloves. Medicated Hand- wash liquid soap and clean water was kept handy. Since, the drive was to be conducted in open areas and busy roads around the school, adequate safety measures were in place. Placards and banners carrying the messages on environment protection were used to spread awareness and motivate the local citizens of adjacent residential complexes.
Brooms, dust-pans, buckets, spades, shovels, saplings, water-cans and a huge amount of manual labor-everyone was sweating out but focused on a uniform goal - To remove every single dust particle and trash from the entire area. Several saplings were planted across the sides of a two-kilometer road. The kids were found enjoying the hand-on experience and their brush with nature. The entire drive was covered by NDTV India.
The drive was followed by an awareness event comprising a skit against Littering, a nukkad Natak on Importance of Clean Cities and poster making on Green School Initiatives. The efforts of the school fraternity were well appreciated by parents and media personnel present on the occasion.
Impact:
The drives have helped to mobilize community responsibility among all the stakeholders. The students, faculty members and the support staff are all doing their bit to make their school, their homes and their neighbourhood cleaner and greener. Everyone is taking necessary initiatives to improve their local environment conditions.
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==
Activity 2: Awareness On Dengue/Malaria/Chikungunya
Resources:
Powerpoint Presentations, Circulars, Pamphlets, Newspaper clips
Details:
The Anti- Dengue Task Force Team was set up in response to the outbreak of Dengue in Delhi. The main objective of the task force is to plan and conduct activities for the prevention and creating awareness about DENGUE in the school. Since the setting up of the task force in late August, members had met twice to identify and follow up on potential sites and activities carried out.
Activities that have been carried out are as follows:
1) Regular weekly fogging of the school premises.
2) Health promotion activities including DENGUE TALK to the students by the student mentors themselves.
3) Distribution of pamphlets to each class, which was displayed prominently in the classrooms.
4) Health education by banners, posters at prominent places in the school.
Impact:
Wide and enthusiastic participation is the key to success for any anti-vector campaign, to make this happen in the school, each student has to act as an “informed champion” of the anti-vector campaign. This helped us to instill the values of civic sense and societal commitment among school children apart from securing to them practical knowledge on issues of environment, sanitation, public health. Fortunately, the cases of Dengue and Malaria reduced considerably in school and its surroundings.
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==
Activity 3: Awareness on HIV AIDS
Resources:
Greenboard, Audio-Visual aids, Powerpoint presentation
Details:
Students of Class X were given a brief talk on HIV-AIDS.
They were made aware of the widespread global occurrence of the disease, means of its spread and its deleterious effects on the human body.
The most tragic aspect of HIV-AIDS is that more than 2.5 million people living with this disease are less than 15 years of age. It is thus essential to educate the youth about methods of its prevention which was also covered in the talk.
The session was concluded by a question answer session to evaluate how well the students participated in the discussion on this sensitive topic.
Impact:
The students were able to connect to the topic and sensitize themselves to the dreadfulness of this disease as well as the preventive measures to be taken to keep themselves and others at bay from the risk of being a victim of this pernicious disease.
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==
Activity 4: Hand Wash- An Easy Way To Good Hygiene
Resources:
Medicated Liquid Hand wash, Clean water, clean hand towels.
Details:
The activity of ' Lather Up for Good Health' was conducted at SVIS for the students of class III- V. We believe that proper hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infections, however it’s still the most common violation amongst children. Good hand washing is the first line of defense against the spread of many illnesses — from the common cold to more serious infections, such as meningitis, bronchiolitis, the flu, hepatitis A and most types of infectious diarrhoea. The students understood the importance of washing hands properly, paying equal attention to palm, back of hand, wrist, between fingers and under finger nails. They were urged to promote the same among their fellow classmates and friends.
Impact:
The activity was conducted to promote good health through proper hand washing and it helped to close the gap between knowledge and practice. All the students wash their hands with medicated liquid soap before and after meals. They have also been promoting this habit in their respective homes and neighborhood.
- General Good Practices to promote Health & Hygiene
- Regular Health Check- Ups by well trained medical fraternity.
- Follow-up of cases with parents that demand immediate attention.
- Medical Practitioner, Para-medical staff and Counseller on regular rolls of school to ensure sound physical and mental health of all in school.
- Sports, Yoga and Fitness programs included in school curriculum.
- Workshops by Doctors, Counselors, Psychiatrists and Sportspersons.
- Blood Donation Camps
- Vaccination Programmes
- Healthy and balanced Meals provided to students everyday.
- Support staff is trained to use hygienic methods to clean, cook and serve food to the kids.
- Strict Quality Check of raw material used for cooking food.
Please click on the link given below:
https://www.svis.org.in/content?enc=cGFnZT02Mg==