News Letter - January to March 2019
Here is the News Letter From January to March 2019. Some of the glimpses of who we are and what we do.
Learn * Explore * Innovate * Evolve
Unlimited Sky-World Autism day
The World Autism day is celebrated on 2nd April globally and this month is observed as the Autism Awareness Month.
We celebrate diversity at Shiv Nadar School. In keeping with this credo, a mini exhibition of the paintings of a young 7 year old student on the Autism Spectrum was organised to mark the event. The exhibition was title “ Unlimited Sky” as a child’s imagination is as vast and limitless as the sky.
28 pieces of this student’s work were selected for the display. They were an eclectic mix of cityscapes, nature studies and motorbikes rendered through the different media he works with – pencils, crayons, pastels and water colours. They were representations of how he perceives the world and expresses himself though colours.
The peers wrote messages for him after viewing his artwork.
Completely unfazed by all the adulation and admiration he received for his work, all that he wanted at the end of the day was a burger at his favourite outlet with his parents! Such is the world seen through the eyes of a person with Autism!
Sanskrit at Shiv Nadar School, Noida
Sanskrit is just not a language, it is a storehouse of many firsts in origins of knowledge.
Our children were aired on DD news during a weekly Sanskrit program Vaartavali. It is a great initiative of DD News team which covers Sanskrit news, interviews of famous personalities, their contribution to the realm of Sanskrit, global aspect and various methods of teaching the language.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYh18GDeEW0&feature=youtu.be
The Story Weavers of Kindergarten! Our very own authors and illustrators
At Kindergarten, with the surge of language and expression, the children graduate to the next level of reading and engagement with books. The children were asked, “You read so many books by different authors, would you like to be an author too?” It was met with great enthusiasm by the children. Hence, was born a project where each child at Kindergarten was involved in making of a storybook.
From the costumes of the characters to the colour scheme of caricatures to each word in the storybook was a result of many deliberations, word blasts and brainstorming.
A completely child led project, it allowed each child’s creativity to soar and at the same time helping the spirit of teamwork to foster.
‘Amidst the Stars’ at the Kiran Nadar Musuem of Art, Noida
Keeping with the vision to provide students an environment that challenges them into discovering their talent and skills, and to inspire the joy of learning by fostering a culture of creativity, Shiv Nadar School, Noida brought forth the artworks of its student artists in the exhibition ‘Amidst the Stars’ at the Kiran Nadar Musuem of Art, Noida on December 20 and 21, 2018. Each one of the child artists approached the world with eyes sparkling with wonder and this was evident from their works on display.
Selected students from AHA Visual Arts basket, Forms 3 – 6, put up their creations across a broad spectrum of various creative styles. These young artists created artworks through various mediums, surfaces and forms to display their creative streak. They worked with paper and canvas to explore the basics of water colours and acrylic colours from simple application to creating textures. Going beyond 2D creations, children used paper and other objects to create sculptures. They enthusiastically explored mediums, such as clay, wood, wool and tissue, to give final form to their own imagination.
Parent Representative Group - Thanksgiving
The goals of Parent Partnership Programme is to engage parents more fully in the child welfare and provide support , modelling and linkages to help children in meeting their well –being goals.
The School values the PRG members as an ambassador and spokesperson through their belief in a shared vision and provide feedback towards continuous comprehensive school health and happiness.
We celebrated a year long partnership with a small Thanksgiving session with all the PRG members of Academic year 2018-19.
Making Learning Visible
"Children must be taught how to think and not what to think"- Margaret Mead
A one of a kind event that explains the above quote and showcases the children’s learning and thought process, is the "Making Learning Visible", held on 8th February 2019 for our Kindergarten parents.
Each class planned its own set of activities across the 4 strands –English, Hindi, Maths and My World. The Kindergarteners flaunted their learning and skills through interactive games, Q & A sessions and discussions with parents, who were amazed at not just the learning but also the confidence with which the children were able to independently carry through an activity.
Our young learners spoke about animals, comparing and identifying the differences between various animal’s claws and paws for the carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Games and activities were conducted to exhibit their understanding of word blends and number sense. By Kindergarten, our students know most of the “vyanjans” in Hindi, they were able to join the “vyanjans” to form small words.
Parents were amused and delighted to be put on the spot by the Kindergarteners, a satisfying sight indeed for all when the parents/students and teachers left the classrooms beaming with pride!
Teachers' Self Analysis with Dr. Aruna Broota
Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad teachers had an experience with the globally acclaimed psychologist Dr.Aruna Broota on 2nd February 2019. Dr. Broota conduced a 3 hours session for the 110 our Academic and Administrative staff of the school on the topic - ' Mental Health of teachers and it's impact on student- Role of the school'.
Dr.Broota is a highly sought after employee engagement expert with world’s leading corporates, schools, colleges as her clients.
She has over 4 decades of work experience. Her numerous scientific research breakthroughs, ongoing popular publications, well attended group motivation/ training sessions, regular public counselling over radio, TV and print media and successful individual counselling practice makes her a uniquely experienced expert.
Teachers did self assessment on their anxiety level and did reflection exercises which helped them think deep about their wellbeing as core and its further impact on the people around, especially students.
The school will be conducting more of such suggestion where the focus is on the Emotional needs of students and teachers.
Anandam: The Joy of Learning
Anandam a significant day at Shiv Nadar School, unwinding a walk down in our yearlong learning path.Anandam defines the different baskets of Aha namely Visual arts, Dance, Music and theater. The program has a holistic approach and enhances cognitive, physical, aesthetic and cultural skills in us. Finally, it acts as a platform that allows us to showcase our talent through different stage performances.
The programme commenced by offering prayers to the embodiment of knowledge ‘Maa Saraswati” followed by our customary LAMP-LIGHTING ceremony by CEO Col. Gopal Karunakaran , Principal Ms. Anju Wal, and the Parent Representative Group Members.
The very first act of the event was Shades of Raag- Kaafi by the students of Indian Classical Music basket. The students were introduced to the concepts of Naad, dhwani and Raag and then explored Raag Kafi in their classes. They presented Sargam geet and Lakshan Geet in teentaal. The surroundings echoed with the honey-like sound and vocals of the students.
The musical performance was followed by a Blending Percussion. During the classes the students explored rhythm techniques and learnt about Indian and western percussion instruments. Here, the students showcased a variety of percussion instruments like Congo, Bongo, Dholak and tabla using a rhythm pattern. It was a true amalgamation of the different musical instruments.
The next act - Namskriya kriya- Angikam, was a tribute to Lord Shiva, whose body is the whole Universe, whose speech encompasses all the languages of the world and whose ornaments are the moon and the stars. The students from the Odissi dance basket were introduced to the basic movements and gestures of this classical dance style. It was a captivating performance that kept the audience hooked without a blink.
As said by Shakespeare- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, such are the students of Theatre basket who get to play different roles as a part of their engagement. Students showcased the story of King Midas, a play, prepared through a series of movements and freezes. Students explored their imagination and played their roles with honesty.
The students of the Kathak dance basket had been learning about the various techniques of movements and expressions in their dance classes. They presented the famous episode of Lord Krishna stealing butter from the homes of gopis, a simple Kavitt with short tukdas, set in tentaal, a cycle of 16 beats, narrating the story through this Kathak performance. The Krishnas and gopis took us back in time and presented a fascinating dance performance.
Next performers were from the Theatre basket, who explored the folk tale of Brazil. They created the sounds, movements and improvised all the scenes during the process. The young artists performed the play- The Turtle and the Magic Flute. It was a treat to the eyes of the audiences.
As rightly said by the world renowned artist Degas” Art is not what you see but what you make others see”. Next were students from Visual Arts basket introduced who took up the stage and took their bows. Visual arts students had worked very hard through the year, to create their masterpieces. Images of animals and birds shaping the jungle scenes, were depicted in water color and mixed models in clay. Their works were appreciated closely in the Gallery Walks in the designated time.
As quoted by Plato “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” It was now time to let feet move to the beats as the talented Western Music students left the audience in high spirits, showcasing Jamming and vocals. Parents kept tapping their feet, feeling the power of the music created by the talented students. This brought us to the end of our lively stage performances. It was indeed a moment of pride and joy as we culminated our learning in front of audiences and geared up for future challenges.
The parents’ proceeded towards the Art Gallery of grade 1-2 in the shape of a beautifully put together exhibition of their works done throughout the academic year.
Aha Clay Modelling and Painting classes were spaces for Grade 1 and 2 children to experience and learn drawing and modelling organic forms such as animals and birds inspired from Nature on a rotation basis House-wise. Students of all Houses came up with a brilliant collection of paintings and clay sculptures executed in their Aha classes. Lion House came up with a series of models and drawings in pastels in geometric shapes, Panthers and Leopards came up with Animal and Bird forms respectively, in clay and painting while Tigers spent most amount of time putting together these forms inspired by Nature in meaningful compositions. The exhibition especially emphasized the Tiger House works bringing out the best of their achievements in the Art basket.
Anandam- Grade 3 & 4
Anandam is the culmination of AHA Arts programme. It engages with traditional art forms actively, working individually and in groups with each other in consonance until they find their equilibrium.
The Visual Arts students of grade 3 and 4 showcased paintings, craft items, sculpture and mixed media artwork using different mediums and materials. They further shared their experiences with the parents during the walkthrough.
In Hindustani Classical Vocals, students presented ‘Raag Yaman’. They began the presentation with Swasti Mantra followed by the Sargam Geet and Bandish in Teentaal (16 beats) and concluded by singing a Tarana.Students of the western vocals basket presented ‘Thunder’ by Imagine Dragons, ‘Count on me’ by Bruno Mars and ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry. The songs were enjoyed and appreciated by the audience.
The AHA music students in the Instrumental basket presented a scalar exercise played in harmony followed by a medley of Cha-cha-cha, a genre of Cuban music. The students displayed coordination of various harmonies on keyboards, guitars and ukuleles, put together along with rhythmic sequences on different percussion instruments, such as Cajon box, Djembes, bongos, scrappers, drums and cymbals.
In Odissi dance presentation, students performed on Geet Govinda recital - "Muha Muhi Kishore" - in which they portrayed how Radha and the Gopis are enamoured by the divine beauty and grace of lord Krishna. The mesmerizing performance left the audience spellbound.Through the Bharatanatyam performance, students demonstrated the first two series of Adavus: Tatta Adavu and Natta Adavu. They also demonstrated the 5 types of animals through Dance.
‘How to eat like a child’ - Based on the book by Delia Ephron of the same name, students of the theatre basket presented twelve lessons on how to be a child. Some of the lessons presented were: how to beg for a dog, how to trouble your sibling, how to act after being sent to your room and how to play. The presentation was filled with light moments highlighting the ups and downs of childhood!
'FarFarLand’ - Adapted from the famous work ‘Andher Nagri Choupat Raja’ by Bhartendu Harishchandra, the play FarFarLand pin pointed the loop holes that are there in the socio-political systems. The play aimed to awaken citizens to their rights and the importance of their opinion in a political structure, such as our democracy.
‘Pa…se…Paani’ – This play was an adaptation of Sukumar Ray’s Abak Jalpan (Bangla). The play was an attempt to begin a dialogue towards unpacking our unresolved conflicts and creating multiple avenues to find probable solutions.
