Ever witnessed a spectacle popularly referred to as the ?first day at school?? It enjoys a legendary status in the life of every individual and often leaves a lasting impression on the minds of children.

The day has its regular actors ? screaming infants, clueless fathers, exasperated mothers and sometimes, a set of tearful grandparents, who believe ?it is not the time for him?. For those parents, who have been dreading this evident future for their child, here?s a way out.

There is a school that believes in paying extra attention to the toddlers every day, and especially on the first day.

The Little People Preparatory School was set up in Bariatu Housing Colony in the year 1990. It started modestly enough with the intention of providing a pre-school facility in the neighbourhood for the tots in the locality. And as luck would have it, the school turned out to be a success.

No crybaby

Basic aim of the school is to ensure a pleasant transition of tots from the protected home environment to a more open one of formal schools, and to teach the three tools ?reading, writing and arithmetic? through the play-way method. It also aims to prepare children for the admission tests of various public schools.

Birthday

The school was started and is being run by a committed husband-wife team, Rajesh and Neena Sharma. What began in a two-roomed structure on the first floor of a Bariatu Housing Colony flat, with three children, today is a full-fledged preparatory institution that attracts quite a crowd. In fact, it was so popular, that the number grew up to 30 in the first year itself.

Today, the school has made quite a name as a well-known pre-school of Ranchi. It is meant for children between two and five years. The school is built in an area of 3,000 square feet.

Uncle and aunty

Children learn how to read and write under the watchful eyes of Neena Sharma, who is an excellent singer, and Rajesh Sharma a state-level football player.

Students find it entertaining to sing poems and rhymes and learn with Neena, while school director Rajesh Sharma looks after the overall administration. He is also the in-charge of PT and games. It is his duty to keep the kids physically fit.

Hear hear

In the words of Rajesh Sharma: ?Running a pre-school is not an easy task. Children come to us at a very vulnerable age. When they enter the school, it?s a major change for them. They react to this change in many ways. They cry and scream and roll on the ground to protest. Our first job is to win their confidence and make them feel at home.?

Daily duty

School entails hard work, even for the little ones. After written work, the tots are taken to the play room where students get an opportunity to participate in their favourite games.

But there is a hidden agenda here, too, to make the children react to a more social and formal environment and to familiarise them with it.

Uniformly

Dress code for the boys is sea-green shirts, while for the girls, it?s bottle-green shirts with bottle-green tunic.

Calender

The school lays great emphasis on extra-curricular activities. It organises events both at inter-school and intra-school level. Annual sports day is organised in December and an annual cultural show in March every year. These are the two main attractions of the school academic calendar. Drawing competition, recitation contest and fancy dress shows are the other events organised at intra school level.

While at the inter-school level, The Little People Quiz Contest and The Little People Summer Soccer camp draw enormous craze among the students of Ranchi. They are organised every year and more than 20 schools of the city participate.

Good,better and best

The real strength of the school lies in its students, who appear in various admission tests across public schools and come out with flying colours. Students from here are selected in top Ranchi schools. 75 students have been sent to public schools in the current session.

Here is a list if you want to know more ? DPS, Ranchi, St Xavier?s, Bishop Westcott Girl?s School, DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Surendranath Centenary School, Bridgeford School all have a Little People as a student.

Tap-tap

The school has also started a dance institution from last year. It specialises in modern dancing.

fact file

Name: Little People Preparatory School

What is it: A pre-school for children between two and five years

Address: Bariatu Housing Colony, Ranchi

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 125

NUMBER OF TEACHERS: 6

ADMISSION FEES: Rs 1,185 (At the time of admission).

MONTHLY FEES: Rs 260 per month.

ADMISSION TIME: It is open throughout the year with no formal interview.

PRINCIPAL: Neena Sharma

CLASSES: Baby Nursery, Nursery & LKG.