The liberalization of the education sector has allowed for private participation in the country and their contribution to the development of the sector can’t be underrated. Ranging from pre-school, primary, Junior High School, Senior High School and the Tertiary levels, the private sector has contributed immensely to the development of education in the country and one of such private schools paving the path for excellence is Galaxy International School.
“Education has always been the most important way of serving others and it is the most effective vehicle for change to a better world, regardless of whether it is in our country or abroad; as the solution of every problem in human life ultimately depends on the initiatives and capacities of human beings themselves,” said Mr. Hakan Karaman, the Principal of the school.
Having been inspired by this brilliant concept, Galaxy International School has since 2001, become a school that serves people, regardless of their race, colour or faith.
The school recently opened its new Senior High ultra-modern building which was commissioned by the Minister for Education, Prof.Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, to take education to a high level with contemporary state of the art facilities including modern classrooms, well equipped laboratories, sports facilities, ICT centers among others.
Committed to excellence and global cohesion, the school, with students from over 33 countries, has a dedicated team of staff drawn from across the globe to replicate its global appeal.
The school has its pre-school and primary sections at Kinshasa Avenue and secondary section at Adjiringanor in the cozy environment of East Legon in Accra.
The school’s ultramodern structures impose themselves on passers-by meters away from the main street which leads that part of East Legon to the rest of the capital.
With a mission to prepare students for leadership roles and provide them with the opportunity to be successful in our rapidly changing global environment, the school runs three curricular. They are the Ghana Education Curriculum, world’s most popular international qualification for 14-16 year old, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level, or A Level.
Apart from the classroom academics, the school also runs extracurricular activities including an intercultural festival and a science fair held yearly. Whiles the intercultural festival gives students the opportunity to market their cultures and to exhibit the beauty of diversity to an array of participants; the annual science fair creates the opportunity for people to have a feel of practical expertise of the school.
This year, the Science Fair will take place on Saturday 14th of May at the new High School premises at Adjiringanor, East Legon. The event is opened to the public.
“These extra-curricular activities are aimed at fostering unity among our students and to consciously remind them that the world is of diverse cultures, religions, tribes among others, so that they respect other cultures too” Mr. Hakan Karaman, the Principal of the school said.
An effective education system
The Galaxy experience can’t however be shared without the state of the art facilities that exist in the school which promotes healthy teaching and learning in the iconic school. With active/smart boards, a class at Galaxy does not take more than 20 students.
This is specially aimed at enhancing teacher-student interaction for a better understanding of lessons. Recognizing that academic excellence is a shared responsibility between teachers, students and parents, the school holds meetings with parents at a particular point in time so as to discuss the progress or otherwise of their wards.
This initiative is also complemented with the home visits where officials of the school visit the homes of their students to have friendly chats with parents on the home behaviour of students so as to deepen the discipline drive of students.
Extra-curricular activities
The saying that “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy” is a reality at Galaxy besides the effective academic work. With a modern football pitch, a basketball and tennis courts, the school has an arsenal of trophies won from an array of competitions.
“The school is of the conviction that a healthy body makes a healthy mind and that is the reason why our facilities at the sports session are of high quality so that our students can perform to the maximum”, Hakan Karaman said.
Achievements
The fast-growing school, among other accolades, has represented Ghana in the international arena successfully and has 47 medals and accomplishments in various fields of challenge around the world.
The school has 345 of its graduates in different universities across the globe serving as good ambassadors of Ghana as well as their own nations wherever they are.
In addition to its international accomplishments, the primary section chalked a lot of achievements during the Cambridge checkpoint examination last year by coming out as the Best Mathematics School, Best Science School, Best English School and Best Primary School for the year.
Security of students
With the global security threat, the Galaxy International School places the security of its students, staff and visitors on a high pedestal as incomers are thoroughly screened at the gates before accessing the facility. The school has in place enough Close Circuit cameras (CCTV) at vantage points around the facility, with dedicated personnel to monitor all cameras.
Staff strength
With a staff size of 135, comprising 73 teachers and 62 non-academic staff, the school has the human resource capacity to meet the needs of its students in all spheres. As a citadel for effective teaching and learning, the school boasts of highly qualified teachers with a minimum requirement of a first degree with majority of them possessing masters in various fields of study that are of relevance to students.
Information Communication Technology
Immersed in Information Communication Technology, the use of ICT makes life easier for teachers, students and parents. Through the use of ‘Thinkwave’ software, students’ results, performance and class attendance can be monitored by parents in the comfort of their homes. Apart from the classroom performance, the software is also used to report on the disciplined attitude of students.
“This is a unique software which we use to communicate to parents the behaviour of their children and the software also registers their class attendance” Mr. Hakan added.
Believing that “the way to educate people is to show real concern for every individual, not forgetting that every individual is a different world” the school set up a merit and demerit behavioural watch to reward students on weekly and termly basis by point build-ups based on good behaviour. This is also accessible to parents so as to track the behavioural pattern of their children.
Scholarships
Galaxy also offers scholarships as part of its social responsibility to give opportunities to all and sundry by conducting exams for students from outside the school to write each year.
There are different scholarship packages available in order to cover as many students as possible.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana