FUN’KAAR, 2021

Fun’kaar is a magical word that infuses energy and creativity into our spirits. As Ananda Coomaraswamy says, “An artist is not a special kind of a person; rather each person is a special kind of artist.” Shiv Nadar School Noida yet again celebrated Fun’kaar, that time of the year when the artist in each child lets loose to paint his own canvas of free thinking.

Early Years

This year the theme of Fun’kaar in Nursery was “I Love Animals” where the children delved deeper into the Animal Kingdom with the theme mascots Avi, Scuba Diver Maya, Farmer Friedo and Forest Officer Jaya.

The students of Kindergarten embarked upon their inquisitive journey and explored the theme of “Water” this Fun’kaar. From the story of Drippy, a drop of water, the students journeyed to Palghar to understand the various sources of water to an actual farm tour by a parent to understand various “Underground Sources of Water”, the students had a terrific time with their enquiries on ‘Why water should be saved’ and turned Water Detectives to check those wasting water.

The theme ‘Exploring Landforms and Shelter’ was full of discovery and an opportunity to delve into why “every step matters”, where the students turned naturalists, urban planners and weathermen to discover various landforms, habitats, ecosystem, and weather conditions to understand the need for shelter and how to make it ideal for the environment!

In addition to the above, the students had a great time in school with Musical Sargam Assemblies, Monday Mazedaar sessions, playing traditional games, to watching stories role played by facilitators, art & story sessions, musical presentations, playing shop activity and sessions with the famous ventriloquist Mr. M Santhosh Kumar.

Primary Years

The Primary Years at Shiv Nadar School, Noida has a firm belief in the integration of the 3 Hs - Head, Hand and Heart - in the design of learning.

In the Fun'kaar process at Primary Years, the students were encouraged to incorporate traditional learning with the knowledge and understanding available at present, integrate the learning available in different pockets of academics, and apply the same with an eye to improving lives at a personal, local as well as global level. For instance, as a part of the very first Fun'kaar Week, the Grade 5 students learned about building shelters (Environmental Studies) and measurement (Math) by actually constructing temporary shelters made out of locally available material - bamboo, straw and bricks - for the ground staff. The structures were a source of immense satisfaction for the students, particularly when they saw the ground staff making optimal use of them in the hot Delhi summer!

This academic year, with the changing paradigms in education, the focus of Fun'kaar week were the concepts of 'change and connection'. During this time, the students learnt that exposure to art helps them express, embrace change and stay connected with each other and their learning.

Grade 2 explored how rituals and traditions provide a window to our tradition, Grade 3’s thrust was with Habitats and Adaptation, Grade 4 continued their inquisitive journeys by working towards how Maps and Symbols help us explore the world while Grade 5 worked proactively on Mixing Materials to Create New Products.

In addition to the fun filled classrooms, the students had a number of fun sessions like making Boondi Mithai at home, Kalbeliya Dance Screening, student led workshops, folk stories, designer writing workshops, workshops on animal habitat and adaptation, a virtual tour by the Wyoming State Museum, arts & music fest to name a few.

The learning journey for Primary Years Funkaar is showcased through a website, for each of the Form. It includes the glimpses of all the workshops, student and parent led sessions and other homeroom activities around the celebration.

https://www.sites.google.com/view/funkaar-21-22-shivnadarschool