Maple Leaf International School
Maple Leaf International School is an English medium school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since its birth in 1972, it has been one of the longest-running and most successful English medium schools in Bangladesh. The Maple Leaf community is committed to preserving its tradition of excellence. It offers students quality education from play group till A Level. It offers a wide selection of courses for O and A Level under British Curriculum (GCE). Mrs. Zeba Ali, who is the Principal of the school, leads the community to preserve its excellence along with Mr. Ali Karam Reza, the Vice-Principal and Mr. Ali Mohiuddin Al Shams, Executive Administrator. The School is certified by both the Government of Bangladesh and the University of London. The school’s main buildings are located in Dhanmondi Thana, Dhaka. Mrs. Zeba Ali has her office in Road# 11/A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka and Mr. Ali Karam Reza has his office in Road# 14/A, Dhanmondi Dhaka.
History
The school started out as a coaching institution sometime in 1972 with a small group of students of around 25–26 people in Dhanmondi. The authorities agreed that if they can ensure that the following students can perform up to the standards that is desirable at the English Medium stage, then they will open up multiple premises with the self-proclaimed motto that the school is going to be the most efficient provider of English medium education in the country. In a bid to strengthen the reputation of the school, the Principal appointed leading and experienced teachers for the senior section of the school that ultimately leads to the O-levels and the A-levels. The school succeeded in creating an atmosphere where students were encouraged that learning can be fun, and they were also inspired acquire knowledge and to discover their interests for their respective future. Overall till now the students has performed really well and the O-level and A-level results are proof of their excellent achievement. A great number of students even got opportunities to study in reputed universities abroad. Through this the students are sending out a message to the young ones that with hard-work and inspiration everything can be achieved and we can rise and shine for our community and country on a global scale. The students with outstanding results are usually awarded with the Daily Star awards annually.
Previously, the school provided less opportunity for extracurricular activities-- it started with only debates conducted personally by Mrs. Shaheen Khan & so she had the full-throttle opportunity of monopolizing the sector & hence inducing gullible pupils of the school to attend her private coaching in Dhanmondi. As years passed on, the school realized upon the opportunity and began encouraging students to take part and excel in extracurricular activities throughout the year. According to the authorities, this opportunity gives them the chance to unearth their hidden talents and groom them into something authentic and special. The school has a lot of clubs for the senior students at A-level which offer comprehensive insight into to the world of Debating, Drama, Social Service, Photography, Environmental issues, etc.
Clubs
The Soul Route is a new student club of Maple Leaf International School, which works on teaching morals and ethics to its young st udents from kg to class 2-3. But there is a dual aspect, because if we're going to teach little children morals and ethics, first and foremost we need to live by what we teach. So one part is teaching the young children and the other is group meetings and discussions of the morals amongst ourselves to become better human beings as well. The teaching methods include story book reading, cartoons, animations and puppet shows to demonstrate stories which have a moral behind them. With regards to religion being involved, we will be teaching those things that all religions have in common, eg showing respect for parents, condemning stealing, etc, but putting emphasis on the teachings of Islam.
The Patriot's Club is strictly a non-conformist community, willing to empower the young generation today and inspire them towards constructive thinking and vibrant patriotism- a quest to bring back the socioeconomic stability in the country. Our "age and capacity-blind" program is specially designed, organized and monitored to spark one's dormant talent: irrespective of any genre. We mainly focus on people skills, social skills, leadership skills and life skills. We try to find the dormant leadership skills in a person, mold it, till it reaches its full potential. Recently they have even organised an intraschool Olympiad competition for Maple Leaf students.
Other Active Clubs are The Writers Club, Drama Club, Photography Club, Community Service Club and The Student Council.
The Maple Leaf International School Drama Club was founded by a group of elite students in the fall of 2007. The founding members were Sadat Shams, Debojit Saha, Jafa Mahmud and Raiyan Sheikh. Sadat Shams was associated with the drama club till the summer of 2009. Some successful and original plays/dramas performed by the Drama Club are "JoGa Khichuri", "Park e Ekdin", "What was not to happen", "Lohar Shekol", "The Bood-father" etc.
The Debate Club is the oldest and the most successful organisation of Maple Leaf International School. Its current head is Mr. Arghya Dev Biswas Aryan.