the goan I network
PANAJI
The construction work is on in full swing at the Gera School, located at Gera’s River of Joy, Kadamba plateau near Panaji and having completed all the structural work, the school project will kick start in a month’s time. “While the school will start in July, we plan to conduct a bridging programme for the students from the school premises in the month of June itself,” states Sunaina Gera, head, CSR activities, Gera Developers who is driving the Gera School Project in Goa.
The Gera School will be affiliated to the Cambridge Assessment International Examinations (CAIE), a body certified by the University of Cambridge, enjoying 800-year legacy. “The school is a long-term venture and showcases our desire to contribute to the cause of education in Goa,” states Sunaina who believes that every child is extraordinary, with the potential to excel in the field of his or her interest and create an identity of his or her own. “We believe in nurturing individuality while creating future-ready students,” she points out.
Admissions are now open and the academic year for classes from Nursery to Grade IV will commence in August 2018. The Gera School is a K-12 co-educational day-boarding international school, and is being set up at the Kadamba plateau adjoining the Gera’s River of Joy project. “The school has received the necessary permissions from the Department of Education and will commence classes for Nursery, Lower KG, Upper KG, and Grades 1 “ 4 in August this year. Admissions for Grade 5 upwards will commence once clearances are received from the government,” briefs Sunaina. With Carol Joseph as principal and Diana Charles as head-teacher training and quality education, the school will nurture future citizens. While Joseph comes with more than twenty-five years of experience working in schools of great repute across India and has vertical and horizontal range of experience in schools with traditional and international curricula, Diana has worked in schools across the country in the capacity of a teacher, a principal, academic director and a teacher trainer for the past three decades. She will be helping to recruit and train teachers to ensure that quality education is delivered at the Gera School.
There would be world-class robust infrastructure and facilities which include specially-designed smart classrooms, dedicated rooms for music, theatre and arts, a well-equipped and spacious library for collaborative and independent reading, a range of indoor and outdoor sports facilities, science and computer laboratories. The school will offer an international curriculum of high-standards while drawing inspiration from the rich experiences that life in India provides. The academic curriculum is designed to foster a sense of responsibility, critical thinking and reasoning, global awareness and civic engagement among the students, thus preparing them to be true citizens of the 21st century. The teaching is activity and application-based, experiential, interactive, and differentiated (to cater to the different needs of learners).
Recognising that academic proficiency alone is not enough and that a school must prepare children for a world that is constantly changing, the school will work towards implementing the necessary infrastructure and human resources for achieving these goals. What will ensure success are excellent communication skills, collaborative skills and attributes of creativity and innovativeness, resilience and perseverance. “It is to these ends that TGS will work so that every child is led towards self-actualisation with a variety of challenging but enjoyable learning experiences in and out of the classroom,” elaborates Sunaina, a visionary who seeks to explore new options and new avenues of work. She is most at-ease in the R&D chair, when it comes to researching new products or new construction techniques. Her first tryst with leadership was as a key member of one of Gera Developers’ larger projects, Gera’s Park View, in Kharadi. Park View was a milestone, as Sunaina steered the entire team with respect to the design, procurement, and execution of the project. Apart from LEED, she managed to single-handedly deliver 11 interior design projects at a time as with no team at all.
Gridlines, an architecture firm founded in 2016 is Sunaina’s brainchild too. ‘Work’ is the thread that binds the cultural fabric at Gridlines. She believes, “It is the uncompromising work ethic that makes all the difference to the consistently outstanding output.” A graduate St Stephens at Delhi Sunaina pursued interior design from Pune. Having had her roots well anchored in the design space, she has over 75 interior design projects to her credit. Being a LEED certified professional was catalytic to adding additional projects under her belt in the real estate space. Since then she has spearheaded various departments in product development, design and project execution before following her entrepreneurial instincts to founding Gridlines and being its chief executive officer.
The realty market has seen a slowdown in the last year and a half, with the implementation of new guidelines like RERA, which require builders to shoulder a lot more responsibility and give customers the tools to hold developers accountable to their promises. Sunaina, however, remains unruffled “ because her business ethics are as strong as her work ethic. She is of the opinion that no government policy will affect clean developers or real estate companies, whatever policymakers may throw at them “ from RERA, GST, and demonetisation.
The leadership journey that began with Gera’s Park View and expanded with Gridlines, has taken a new course “ education. Sunaina is now spearheading The Gera School, her new ambitious solo project after Gridlines. Though The Gera School is a project funded by GDPL, Sunaina stays the managing trustee of the organisation that is scheduled to be operational later this year.
“My daughter is my biggest inspiration,” exclaims Sunaina, adding, “She comes with huge confidence, commitment to succeed and an ability to tactfully deal with people, which I think is key to one’s success. I have a lot to learn from her.”
