Guiding and educating GenNext
Navin and Naidu were among some of the proudest parents in New Zealand when their young daughter, ShantiPushpal, walked on stage to receive a medal for studying English and maths far beyond her school grade level.
“We were very proud,” Navin said. “It’s a huge achievement for someone her age. She has put in a lot of effort to achieve this. We always support her, but seeing her up on the stage was an amazing experience for me as a parent.”
The event held on November 29 at the Hilton Hotel in Auckland was theAnnual Kumon Advanced Student Forum that brought together some of the brightest students from around New Zealand. At just seven years old, Shanti Pushpal was one of the youngest students to be awarded for her achievements in Kumon, as she can understand high school level English and solve math problems studied in Year 5.
To inspire the students, speaking at the forum were Manukau East National List MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Natalie Tsang who completed the Kumon English Programme in Year 6, and Daniel Flynn, co-founder of the popular ThankYou Movement in Australia. The young ShantiPushpal said she related the most with Natalie’s story of overcoming challenges in Kumon: “I liked the forum because I liked Natalie’s story of how she kept on going even though it was challenging, and it was great to see other kids who have completed the maths and English programmes because I want to do that too.”
For Navin and Naidu, the event was a chance to see where ShantiPushpal’s advanced learning can take her and a chance to introduce a special guest to Kumon. “The Forum gave us an idea of where ShantiPushpal can go to from here. It gave us huge motivation for us to be a guiding light for her through the Kumon Programmes,” Naidu said. “We also invited ShantiPushpal’s primary school principal, Wayne Bainbridge from Matipo Primary, so we have been involved in getting him to know about Kumon and the achievements that can come with it. He put a photo of ShantiPushpal and himself on the school website and Facebook pages and since then, we have got so many people asking us about Kumon!” she said.
Besides her advanced maths and English knowledge, ShantiPushpal, who started Kumon when she was four, has been developing other skills. “I see Kumon can benefit children beyond the subjects. It helps children to become a complete learner and be disciplined. The way I see it is you need to brush your teeth every day and you need to nourish your mind every day as well,” Naidu said.
Navin agrees that Kumon is more than math and English, “She’s picking up habits that will hold her in good stead in the future,” he said. “She sits down and does her math in the morning and her English in the evening. That will become a habit over the years and as she grows older, it will stay with her.”
ShantiPushpal is looking forward to continue her learning over the holidays and her goal is to be invited to next year’s Kumon Advanced Student Forum and to one day complete the Kumon programmes. “I would really like to complete the Kumon programmes because it is really interesting to know all those facts!” she said.
Approximately 100 students of all ages were awarded for their academic achievements on the day. The event was also attended by a team of robotics students from Auckland University, Robotics Association (AURA), who exhibited small robot vehicles and cartoonist Rob McLeay who ran cartooning workshop.
Navin and Naidu were among some of the proudest parents in New Zealand when their young daughter, ShantiPushpal, walked on stage to receive a medal for studying English and maths far beyond her school grade level.
“We were very proud,” Navin said. “It’s a huge achievement for someone her age....
Navin and Naidu were among some of the proudest parents in New Zealand when their young daughter, ShantiPushpal, walked on stage to receive a medal for studying English and maths far beyond her school grade level.
“We were very proud,” Navin said. “It’s a huge achievement for someone her age. She has put in a lot of effort to achieve this. We always support her, but seeing her up on the stage was an amazing experience for me as a parent.”
The event held on November 29 at the Hilton Hotel in Auckland was theAnnual Kumon Advanced Student Forum that brought together some of the brightest students from around New Zealand. At just seven years old, Shanti Pushpal was one of the youngest students to be awarded for her achievements in Kumon, as she can understand high school level English and solve math problems studied in Year 5.
To inspire the students, speaking at the forum were Manukau East National List MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Natalie Tsang who completed the Kumon English Programme in Year 6, and Daniel Flynn, co-founder of the popular ThankYou Movement in Australia. The young ShantiPushpal said she related the most with Natalie’s story of overcoming challenges in Kumon: “I liked the forum because I liked Natalie’s story of how she kept on going even though it was challenging, and it was great to see other kids who have completed the maths and English programmes because I want to do that too.”
For Navin and Naidu, the event was a chance to see where ShantiPushpal’s advanced learning can take her and a chance to introduce a special guest to Kumon. “The Forum gave us an idea of where ShantiPushpal can go to from here. It gave us huge motivation for us to be a guiding light for her through the Kumon Programmes,” Naidu said. “We also invited ShantiPushpal’s primary school principal, Wayne Bainbridge from Matipo Primary, so we have been involved in getting him to know about Kumon and the achievements that can come with it. He put a photo of ShantiPushpal and himself on the school website and Facebook pages and since then, we have got so many people asking us about Kumon!” she said.
Besides her advanced maths and English knowledge, ShantiPushpal, who started Kumon when she was four, has been developing other skills. “I see Kumon can benefit children beyond the subjects. It helps children to become a complete learner and be disciplined. The way I see it is you need to brush your teeth every day and you need to nourish your mind every day as well,” Naidu said.
Navin agrees that Kumon is more than math and English, “She’s picking up habits that will hold her in good stead in the future,” he said. “She sits down and does her math in the morning and her English in the evening. That will become a habit over the years and as she grows older, it will stay with her.”
ShantiPushpal is looking forward to continue her learning over the holidays and her goal is to be invited to next year’s Kumon Advanced Student Forum and to one day complete the Kumon programmes. “I would really like to complete the Kumon programmes because it is really interesting to know all those facts!” she said.
Approximately 100 students of all ages were awarded for their academic achievements on the day. The event was also attended by a team of robotics students from Auckland University, Robotics Association (AURA), who exhibited small robot vehicles and cartoonist Rob McLeay who ran cartooning workshop.
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