Joy of Sharing 2021

The Joy of Sharing week marks the birthday of our founder, Mr Shiv Nadar, and brings alive his vision of sharing joy, compassion and the philanthropic spirit with the community of our school. The essence of ‘Joy of sharing’ was imparted to the children through various activities. The celebrations began with a discussion on the meaning of the word –’Sharing’, understanding “Who is Mr. Shiv Nadar?” and “Why do we celebrate Joy of sharing week at Shiv Nadar School?” Sharing is one of the most important virtues which bring happiness in life.

Grade 1

Students conducted various art and craft activities like spray painting, origami, card –making, pencil pop-ups and drawing. Intriguing science experiments on surface-tension, turning primary colours into secondary colours, pop-rocket were also led by our little learners. 

Parents also came forth to celebrate the joy of sharing by conducting various activities like art and craft (book holder from waste material, landscape painting, snake craft, pencil pop-ups), fire-free cooking (club sandwich, Nutella fruit sandwich) and storytelling session (Giraffes can’t dance).

The joy of sharing was continued as teachers engaged learners in interesting activities like elephant mask making linked to the English story ‘Gajjapati – Kullapati’, science experiment (balloon activity), storytelling sessions and other games.

Grade 2

The Joy of sharing week commenced with the narration of an insightful story ‘The Giving Tree’ by the HRT’s during the Circle Time. This was followed by an engaging discussion on the meaning and the reason behind celebrating the Joy of Sharing at Shiv Nadar School.

The children enjoyed various craft activities like raised salt art, origami composition, hand puppets etc. conducted during the week. They were very excited to share their birthday messages for Mr. Nadar on his 76th birthday and made beautiful handmade cards for him.

Celebrating the spirit of sharing, 4 children from each section collaborated with the teacher for a storytelling session for the kindergarten children. The story ‘Nobody Laughs at a lion’ was appreciated and liked by all. On 16 th July the week culminated with a special morning assembly. The highlights of the assembly were a melodious song- Gift to you by Music Teacher Mr. Dennis and a Hindi play - ‘Ekki Dokki’ by the grade 1 teachers which shared the message that the ‘real joy in life is not in what we get but in what we give’.

Grade 3

Grade 3 conducted several activities as part of the Joy of Sharing Week. We discussed the importance of communities, of standing by each other and how we are grateful for connecting virtually despite our distance. The class led several activities – Joy of Eating together, Joy of Making together, Joy of Compliments etc. Students taught each other different recipes, gave each other compliments, made crafts to decorate and celebrate.

Grade 4

Grade 4 celebrated the ‘Joy of sharing’ week with so many different activities. Focusing on inculcating the values of giving, sharing and social responsibility in our children and experiencing the joy in doing that, we had various sessions throughout the week during our circle time like Fire-free cooking sessions and knowledge sharing led by children, creating useful items using materials available at home (craft activities), sharing a compliment, exercises for eyes, making eye soothers etc.

We unfolded the plan for the following day a day prior to keep the excitement going and the children well prepared before the sessions. Our children participated with all their hearts and brought forward certain skills that were hidden from each other.

Grade 5

Grade 5 celebrated 'Joy of Sharing' enthusiastically with a multitude of activities. Students engaged in fire-free cooking exploring delicious delicacies like coconut laddoos, sandwiches, Dora cakes, oreo balls, etc, purely student-led. Their circle time was filled with joy as students discussed their pets and how they care for them. Art and craft activities were also student-led along with some presentations, it was an amalgamation of sharing and exploring. 

Middle and Senior School

The week’s line up featured guest speakers from various fields in sessions led by the students, for the students and parents of the grades 6-11. 

12 July 2021: 

Mr. Shivang Mehta, an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer and Canon India ambassador joined Aryan Veer Goenka (Habitat Conservationist, Senior school) and Ria Singh (Environment and photography enthusiast, Grade 11) for a conversation on the power of photography and its role in conservation in India. 

A former journalist and PR professional and now an author and one of India’s leading wildlife photographers – Mr. Shivang Mehta has worn many professional hats. His love for the forests of Kumaon pushed him to choose Corbett as his main area of work and he left the cozy comforts of corporate offices to work on the field with his organisation Nature Wanderers which he started in 2007.

The conversation candidly covered stories from his adventures and students’ questions around photography as a career, conservation and the need of sensitivity towards the rich wildlife of our country. 

13 July 2021: 

The senior school counsellor Ms. Manisha Massey facilitated a panel discussion with student panelists Sadhya Gaur (Grade 10), Suhani Sharma (Grade 11) and Madhuanisha Katoch (Grade 11) and child psychology expert Ms. Sarika Kumar, who is also a parent of the school. 

The discussion addressed student survey questions raised anonymously on adolescence, keeping a healthy mindset while coping with the pandemic, generation gap and other sensitive student issues. 

The panel touched upon perspectives from the experts and how students perceive and work their way through the various challenges that come up in online learning, including homework and assessment anxiety. 

14 July 2021: 

Disputandum 1.0 , a  two-round parliamentary debate was held on the 14th of July., Disputandum was led by the MUN secretary Yagna Gupta (Grade 11) and Mannat Kaur (grade 11).

A neck-to-neck competition was held between participating student teams and eventually the audience voted through mentimeter to pick the team Golden Jackals as the winner of Disputandum 1.0. The parameters of voting included matter, manner and the most creative name.

An expert panel of students Aarav Balyan, Yashvi Midha and Krishiv Khatri, who have been trained under the Behes program, were the jury members who were called upon for a decision when there was a tie between two teams. 

15 July 2021: 

On Thursday, Cultural secretary (senior) Avni Thapliyal and House Captain (Tiger House) Tia Jain led a conversation with Ms. Dhwani Vij. Dhwani is one of the founding members of theatre group ‘The Third Space Collective’ in Delhi and is an actor, director and educator of Theatre. 

The conversation was studded beautifully with excerpts from her previous work, and explored the depths of production, lighting design, casting and community involvement with Theatre along with addressing the student audience’s queries about the field. 

16 July 2021: 

The culmination of Joy of Sharing week was marked by Siyaahi 2.0, a poetry slam event started in the year 2020, where parents, students and teachers alike, all came together to share their self-composed poetry and recite other beautiful works by famous poets.  With a line-up of more than 20 participants, the evening culminated into a beautiful shared space for the love of language and explored themes from comedy, satire to the depth of blues. 

We believe that this celebration and its tradition speaks volumes of the culture at SNS, a culture that students, teachers, management and parents build together. We would like to thank our parent community for being equal partners in this journey. 

These extraordinary times compel us to think differently and therefore our aspirations for JOS unfolded with a unique flavour and nuance.