EARLY YEARS PEDAGOGY SHARING SESSIONS UNDER THE NEW NORMAL
Orientation Sessions on ‘Junior Math Pedagogy and ‘Language Teaching Pedagogy’ were conducted for Early Years Parents in the month of June through the virtual platform of Google meet. The session was broadly on the common agenda of sharing an understanding of the Junior Maths and Languages approaches through hands-on activities.
The facilitators demonstrated few activities which helped in demystifying Languages and Mathematics learning processes. The idea was to showcase that these applications beyond Homeroom setting are possible, by enabling parents to support their child at home with related practices.
The Nursery parents were made aware of the school’s partnership with ‘Jodo Gyan’ in Junior Math Program. The facilitators also gave an insight into different activities encompassing the key language skill of Listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The facilitators went on to demonstrate and explain how parents can be enabled to support children at home with language-related practices.
Parents of grade 1 students were given demonstrations of few activities that were delivered during the first phase of CLS and how those learnings would be consolidated further and taken towards meeting the future mid-term Goals. The facilitators went on to share a blended and integrated approach towards Language development, that were delivered during the first phase of CLS and how those learnings would be taken further towards meeting the future mid-term Goals.
The session was fruitful for the Early Years parents as it helped them to understand the unassuming efforts to be implemented at the home front combined with the online learning done by the facilitators for a successful learning pedagogy.
Kahaani Palampur Ki: An Attempt Towards Arts Integrated Learning
Kahaani Palampur Ki 2.0 is a novel attempt towards arts-integrated learning. The brainchild of Ms. Anisha Madhukar, supported by Ms. Manjima Chatterjee, the project brings Social Science alive through the story of Village Palampur.
This reinvigorated module takes the learner to Palampur, its characters, contexts, and contradictions. The module also brings together Action Research into Arts integrated learning. The module has been an immense learning journey for the team.
The objective of this endeavour is to understand the complexity of coordination in transactions, between infinitely varied activities of a number of individuals each of whom has their own private goals; and rights in a Politico-Economic system; and thus to examine the possibilities of negotiating the status quo or, look at alternatives.
The outcome statement for the students’ understanding is for the three key principles of No Free Lunch Principle, The Cost-Benefit Principle, and the Principle of Margin.
The first stage of research involved students who were introduced to contexts and situations which required their intervention as experts to offer solutions. Thereafter the strategy involved the teacher and student getting into a fictional space to engage with the topic of learning. The teachers’ role in this endeavour was to merely help students engage with the situation and not about getting the delivery right.
The entire team was highly encouraged by the school leadership by being the ever encouraging pillars of support.
To read more about this much interesting attempt, you may access the live report here
Safeguarding our Mental Health in Covid times - Webinar Series
Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad hosted the first of its 3-Series Webinar on _Safeguarding Mental Health in Covid Times_ on the 4th of June, 2020.
The first episode of the webianr was held for the parents of our students ranging from grades 7-10.
Our three panelists- Mrs. Anju Wal (Principal, SNS-F), Mrs. Mamta Sharma (Parent partner, Mental Health Coach), and Ms. Manisha Massey (Senior School Counsellor, SNS-F), with Mrs. Geetika Jatta as the moderator, answered pre-received questions thematized under "Academics, Behavioral, and Emotional" aspects, as well as live questions that we received during the 90 minutes of the webinar."
The panellists spoke about accepting and adapting to the the new normal.
The new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, online-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues take time to get used to. Adapting to lifestyle changes such as these, and managing the fear of contracting the virus and worry about people close to us who are particularly vulnerable, are challenging for all of us.
They spoke about the important that a routine at home both on weekdays and weekend. Mrs. Anju Wal stressed on the fact we need to mind shift to know what is in our control - Exercise our circle of influence. Children our observing us 24x7, hence Role modeling as parents is important. It is important that we acknowledge the feelings but not mandatory to provide solutions. Talking to the children about facts of Corona virus is good but we should make sure that it is not only talking the virus- It should be controlled information. For our mind to relax, it is vital that we should cut off from screen at least two hours to prior to bed time. A very interesting activity was shared by our counsellor called - Jar of Activity.
These activity jars are packed full of simple, easy to prepare ideas to help kids make their own choices, direct their own play and keep them busy.
The webinar focused on few strategies to deal to mental well-being. Our purpose is to stay connected while distanced.
Father's Day Celebration Early Years
Early Years celebrated Father’s Day for the very first time on a virtual platform on 19th and 20th June, 2020. The children were excited to have their fathers with them for the session. It was lovely to see the father-child duo sitting together in colour coordinated T-shirts.
Nursery Children along with their fathers had much fun creating their individual steps for an action song “Everybody Do This” which they performed together. The children joyfully cheered for their father’s as they sportingly participated in various games. A special story on fathers, “What makes my dad special” was read out to the children. The fathers were delighted to see their children perform a special father’s day song “Daddy you’re my superhero” and embraced and hugged them as they wished them a Happy Father’s Day. They made a small snack by mixing ingredients to prepare a fruit / aloo chaat and relished eating it together.
KG children along with their fathers enthusiastically participated in bonding exercise session that included jogging on the spot, passing the ball, throwing and catching the ball. After the exercise session, they performed fun activities as per the act written on the slip picked by the teacher. It was fun to see the fathers doing different things such as dressing up their child as themselves, sharing a joke, drawing a sketch of their child to name a few. The children giggled and enjoyed the acts performed by their fathers. After the game, they prepared a sandwich using the ingredients of their own choice and participated in lemonade making activity. It was delightful to see them working together to make the snack and lemonade. It was a feast to the eye to see them relishing the food items they prepared.
The children hugged their fathers and said a big thank you to them for all the things they do for them. The session concluded with the fathers thanking the teachers for an engaging session and the efforts put in by the teachers.
WELCOMING ABOARD THE NEW PARENTS
An online orientation session for the New Parents of 2020 was organized, keeping with the new normal, to welcome them aboard on June 2, 2020. The session was aimed at building a shared understanding of our vision, values, and establishing a lasting connect with the child's alma mater.
The orientation began by welcoming the new parents, providing them a platform to interact with the Senior Leadership, and to know each other. It was followed by sharing the journey of the foundation, its philosophy, ethos, and about all the initiatives taken by the foundation.
The Parent partnership program was shared with the parents, emphasizing on the strong connect between the school and the parents. At Shiv Nadar School, the parents are valued as ambassadors and spokespersons through shared visions and sharing of precious feedback towards continuous and comprehensive School health and happiness.
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The Butterfly Times: Giving Wings to the Primary School Students
The Shiv Nadar School Noida is pleased to announce the inaugural issue of the Butterfly Times, dedicated to the Primary Years. The Butterfly Times is honoured to salute the indomitable courage of Anne Frank - who features on most lists of teen icons.
Having a fair proportion of contributions from Grades 3 – 5, The Butterfly Times is another effort of the school to evolve as a useful platform for students to hone their Reading, Researching, Reflecting, and Writing skills.
We hope that students and parents alike will enjoy the great read of The Butterfly Times.
The May 2020 edition of The Butterfly Times can be accessed here
PARTNERING FOR STUDENT WELL-BEING : ONLINE PANEL DISCUSSION
The first series of discussions “Partnering for Student Wellbeing” was held on the 27th of May 2020. The theme for this session was “Respect, responsibility, and inclusivity: with regard to gender and sexuality “.
This discussion had a panel of 6 – 2 parents: Ms Aarushi Bhattacharya ( parent of senior school), Mr Arunabh ( parent of primary school) Singh, 2 students from the outgoing Grade 12 - Ananya Meghani and Trishan Dolny and 2 educators: Ms Shanaaz Khan ( Head of Social Science) and Ms Nooraa Sinha ( Head of Wellbeing and Counselling ). It was moderated by Ms. Manjima Chatterjee ( Head of Arts)
The invitation to attend was extended to parents of Grade 6 – 12. They were interactive in their questions and comments and it was a very enriching discussion. For all of us, the highlight was having a student voices amongst us, telling us with deep reflection and clarity what they need from us as educators and as parents.
The future sessions too will represent students, teacher experts, and parents.
Education for Life: A Session by Dr. Ravindran for the New Parents
The renowned Educational Psychologist, Counsellor Trainer and Teacher Educator, Dr. V.S. Ravindran, addressed the Nursery parents on the very purpose of ‘Education for Life’ on Monday, May 18, 2020. Keeping in times with ‘the new normal’, the online session covered various sub-topics and concerns related to parenting in the current times.
He commenced the session by getting the parents to take the new normal in their stride with regards to the online classes for the early years’ children and not to get pressured if children were taking time to adjust to the newer ways of learning.
He further outlined the importance of parenting with special emphasis on disciplining children, ‘rules remaining rules’, and inculcating the value of relationships in the child. Parents were also briefed about handling tantrums in children and sibling relationships. The session concluded with a number of queries and concerns put forth by the parents, for which Dr. Ravindran gave a framework for parents to ease out parental anxieties. The session was extremely helpful for the parents in understanding how much communication helps in understanding one’s child.
Turning Ideas into Action : Student Council Elections 2020
As educators, it is always incumbent upon us to nurture the seeds of leadership and empowerment that have been sowed and ensure that they bloom despite the challenges of the new normal. It was thus decided that we continue with the process of formation of the New Student Council (Phase II- Vice Council Elections).
A platform of the students, for the students and by the students, the Student Council is nothing short of a laboratory of leadership. Built on the premise of empowerment, agency, teamwork, consensus building and self-exploration, it enables the students to come out of their comfort zones and hone their abilities to be future leaders.
Beginning on 8th May 2020, the process included an online orientation of Year 11 students, followed by an application round (with a statement of purpose), clearing up rounds of Group Discussions and Personal Interviews. The candidates are now slated for digital campaigning.
Our Student Leaders - Council Heads and Electoral Literacy Representatives from Grade XII have also conceptualized and built a comprehensive website designated for this purpose, containing all details related to this election and providing a genuine platform for the candidates enabling the larger student community to know their prospective leaders better.
Continuing with the school’s philosophy of life-long learning and standing true to the core value of ‘sense of purpose and responsibility’, our student leaders have set themselves as good role models. Truly exemplifying student-led learning, they have taken up the challenges whole-heartedly, with a positive attitude and an encouraging smile. And in this whole process, they themselves have, unknowingly, started on the path of self-discovery.
We are proud to share with you the link of the website: SNS elections 2020
Anandam Baithak 2019-20 Grades 3 and 4
Anandam is a time when we get together to celebrate our children's learning in the Aha Arts program. It is a beautiful process of the child discovering an interest in an art form, finding appreciation from their peers and looking for the 'Aha' moment. Students of Grades 3 and 4 put together the Anandam Baithak with performances that captivated the audience completely!
Visual Arts
Students explored various mediums and materials in Visual Arts. Based on the theme ‘Relationship,’ they tried to capture family photos through painting and created photo frames using cardboard and handmade paper. Students designed an advertisement on their favorite toy using wet and dry colors on paper and learned 3D writing. This was a project related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Some of the students' works were selected for display at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida through an exhibition based on the same topic. Students created paper casting 3D sculptures using old plastic bottles with tissue paper and glue. They also explored papercraft design with paints and dry colours.
Theatre
Creative drama is a form of process drama that focuses on the use of story dramatization techniques. It has been used extensively to promote language and literature skills as well as creative and critical thinking.
In the theatre play ‘The Journey’, students picked up the themes ‘Mission Mars’ and ‘Do not litter’ for their culmination showcasing. Their performance was well appreciated by the audience.
An original story ‘A True Patron’ was put together that centered around a girl who, to prove to the adults around her, starts practicing what they say. When she is grounded for not sharing her things, she turns the table around and starts sharing generously.
‘Looking for a Change,’ was an attempt to draw attention to difficulties in sustaining our lives and functioning towards their betterment. The play highlighted solutions by seeking immediate redressal to these issues within our social boundaries.
Dance
The Odissi students demonstrated the results of their first forays into Odissi, such as standing & sitting postures, sculpturesque stances, footwork, hand movements and rhythmic patterns along with the padhant (sound rhymes that are spoken).
The Kathak students demonstrated their first forays into Kathak by way of spins, footwork, hand-movements and basic rhythmic patterns along with padhant (sound rhymes that are spoken). The Kathak and Odissi students presented these elements of their dance forms in a jugalbandi set to our National Song, ‘Vande Mataram’.
The Chhau learning showcase consisted of basic steps of Chhau Dance, such as Chali, Ufli and basic sitting and standing postures.
In Bharatanatyam, students explored various types of body movements with the use of the Pada Bhedas (different feet positions). They focused on sustaining the position of Araimandi - which is the basic position of Bharatanatyam and practiced adavus in this position. In order to do this, students were exposed to different warm-ups to train the body. The Bharatanatyam and Chhau students presented a jugalbandi on our National Song – ‘Vande Mataram’ where they presented expressional sequences interspersed with pure dance movements or bol in their respective dance styles.
Music
Students in Hindustani Classical Vocals, presented the swarmalika, followed by the bandish ‘Tore Jaun Re’ in Yaman-Kalyan in Teen Taal and concluded with a beautiful Sufi qawwali ‘Nit Khair Manga’ by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Western Vocals students presented ‘Happier’ a song by Marshmello, ‘Something just like this’ by Coldplay, and Un Poco Loco from the animated movie Coco. The foot-tapping numbers received loud applause from the audience.
The Orchestra students presented their learning of the basics of music followed by the melody ‘Ode to Joy’, by Beethoven. The students also presented a medley of instrumental folk music from the states of Assam, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir.
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