Images of Truth: Satya Ke Pratiroop
Shiv Nadar School Faridabad, organized a show for students and parents by the acclaimed puppeteer, Dadi D Pudumjee as part of Funkaar Week on 28th November, 2019.
DADI D. PUDUMJEE is one of India’s foremost and innovative puppeteers. He has helped contemporary puppetry gain legitimacy as an art form in India. In 1986, he established the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, which is now one of the leading platforms for innovative puppet theatre across India and the world.
He the winner of the prestigious Padmashri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.
Synopsis of the Show: IMAGES OF TRUTH- SATYA KE PRATIROOP
Commissioned by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in 1993; on its debut, Images of Truth broke the boundaries of conformed puppetry in India and inspired generations of puppeteers & performers with its performances. Ishara’s groundbreaking and inspiring. Choreographed to music from across the world, it’s a mesmerising, nonverbal, musical adaption on one of mankind’s most iconic figures - Mahatma Gandhi. Gain insight on his early life to his spiritual discovery of the universal message of Satyagraha & nonviolent protest. Images of history and contemporary India mesh together over twelve scenarios as the performers create powerful, moving images with which both the young and old alike can relate.
It was a beautiful experience for our children as it helped them to be more creative and different way to express opinions.
Mr. Pudumjee and his team of artistes interacted freely with students and answered questions which were directed upon their interests and the difficulties faced in this particular field.
Outbound Learning Experiences - Grade VI, VII, VIII
OLE at the Shiv Nadar School is yet another means to realise our vision.
We provide an environment that challenges students into discovering their talent and skills. We will inspire the joy of learning by fostering a culture of creativity. Our students will be ethical, respectful, happy and purposeful citizens of society.
Every OLE pushes the boundaries of our comfort zone, provides various experiences of art, culture and adventure, engage in community service and helps students discover themselves and expand their horizons.
Grade VI
Camping at Orchha
The grade VI OLE trip went to Orchha. In the words of a student, “The purpose of the camp is to expose us to an environment that challenges our thinking, helps us be one with nature, show us how to achieve more as a team and learn about the history of Orchha.”
The students had varied experiences - Nature walk was a trek along the beautiful river Betwa, where children enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature. The sound and light show at the Ram Raja Mahal, an important historical landmark of Orchha, had the students spellbound. It exposed them to the rich cultural and historical heritage of the city.
Team games were engaging and helped the students connect with each other. At the Raja Mahal students were mesmerized by the beautiful and impressive architecture which was a blend of Hindu and Islamic styles.
Students also listened to beautiful Bundeli folk music live by traditional Bundeli folk music artists.
A lesson in sustainability was the visit to TARAgram, a platform for the artisans to display their products made out of waste material. Visit to Radio Bundelkhand showed the students difference between metropolitan areas and rural areas. RB talked about agriculture, government schemes and played Bundeli songs for the people.
Nature, history, architecture, art, crafts, sustainability, music, dance and lifestyle differences, the students have these memories etched in their minds.
Grade VII - Uroli Camp
Uroli location was beautiful and so was the weather. After reaching the camp the students were grouped in a way that it took them out of their comfort zones and this set the pace for the entire trip.
The excited students did not need alarms, wake up calls, yet all were out of their tents to soak the morning sun and start the day at six in the morning. After a quick round of warm-up exercises, a hearty breakfast, students were ready for their action-packed day.
The activities they engaged in were; tree jumaring, rope course, rock climbing, making hot chocolate, setting up obstacle courses using the materials provided and tying rope knots. They learnt to backpack, saw snow-capped mountains and had a good measure of geography lessons.
The team was conscious about being environment-friendly, used minimal plastics and no littering was allowed. No wastage of food was allowed either which our students also abided by and appreciated the ethos.
Students enjoyed the 'talent show' and indoor games, team building activities and reflection time
Grade VIII - The wonders of Rajasthan: Jaisalmer and Bikaner
The grade VIIIs went to Jaisalmer and Bikaner this year - the place of vast deserts and royal palaces.
Travel by train followed by a bus journey, the children saw many one-humped camels, goats, ponds, cacti, windmills (hurrah for the use of clean energy!) and sand dunes. Students stayed in a camp in the middle of the desert half an hour away from Jaisalmer. Students visited historical sites, enjoyed visiting a local government school, a museum, traditional Rajasthani cuisine and folk music/dance/puppet show, a camel safari and camel research Centre.
Forts: The Patwa haveli. was made by Guman Chand Patwa and mesmerised the students. In the words of a student “The haveli is designed like a Lego house and it is made of yellow sandstone. What’s more- the windows could be moved from the inside.” The Jaisalmer Fort is a fort that is still lived in. 2000 people currently reside inside the fort and they own shops.
Junagadh Fort at Bikaner had sprawling and luxurious bedrooms, guest rooms and weapons. The coronation room and courtroom had many walls studded with precious stones and gold. It had a World War I era plane and an interesting way of air conditioning used long ago - involving the use of water, a spray and a hand pump.
Museums: At the Jaisalmer War Museum, the children saw various weapons and tools used in various wars and operations by the Indian Army. Students saw tanks and planes that had been used by the Indian Army. They were explained what Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra were. They also watched a film on the Indian Armed Forces and were filled with pride and respect for those who selflessly guard the nation.
Shree Sadul Museum named after one of the kings of Bikaner had a collection of weapons, cutlery, golf clubs, polo clubs cameras, sunglasses and paintings belonging to the royal family - it was a glimpse into the past and the old style of living. They learned that the royal family used private train coaches and had a private train station in their palace!
School visit: The students visited a local government school - Amar Sagar Village School. They saw their classrooms and had a chat with the schoolchildren. They played a cricket match with the hosts. As one of the children said, "even without a proper cricket pitch to train and play in, they beat us in two overs in a four over match. This showed us that if you have the talent and willpower, and if you put in enough effort, you succeed.” They met the sarpanch of the village (who was also the Principal of the school) and had a discussion with her. She told them that they treated their school as a temple and took their shoes off outside the classroom. Their school was a Sanskrit medium school. They discussed the differences in the two schools while acknowledging the common goal of providing the best learning possible.
Other activities: The camel safari was fun. The camels had very creative names - Michael Jackson, Cheta Lal Ka Bhai, Children were amused that there was a whole Cheta Lal family of camels: "Cheta Lal Ki Beti, Beta and of course, the most important, Cheta Lal himself!
A Rajasthani puppet show regaled the students and at night a DJ had the students swaying to the beats of the music.
Karni Mata Temple also known as the Rat Temple had the children on tenterhooks- most of the students were apprehensive at the prospect of encountering thousands of rats. It is home to more than twenty-five thousand rats! There were rats everywhere. They were harmless and were only interested in food. After coming out of the temple, the students realized that it was not a bad experience at all.
The Camel Research Centre had camels of many colours - white, brown and even black! Students learnt that camel milk was healthy, contains low fat, used for ice cream, kheer, tea and coffee, sold at the Centre.
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Watching 12-Year-Old Riddhima Pandey Convince an Entire School to Fight Climate Change
On 14th November 2019, 12-year-old climate change activist, Riddhima Pandey was scheduled to speak at Shiv Nadar School in Faridabad, on the occasion of Children's Day.
It was quite the irony that her address was cancelled owing to all schools in Haryana being shut due to the state of hazardous air quality.
Four days later, while Delhi's air quality measure may have moved up a few notches to 'Very Unhealthy,' Riddhima's message remains unchanged: We need climate action, now.
To know more, click on the below link.
EFL Session - Technology & You- Generation Entrepreneur – Be the change maker!
We initiated our 3rd Topic of Education for Life-& Technology & You ( session 2) on , 31st Oct 2019. The session was based on Generation Entrepreneur wherein we talked about understanding the power of envisioning future and an individual's role in crafting the future, be it education, medicine, astronomy or defence. The possibilities of mind is endless when people don the hat of builders/change makers through the use of ever-changing technology. The session was curated and conducted by Mr Kumar Gaurav, who is a parent of our school and also works as Director of Technology & Digital, Publicis Sapient.
Sharing a glimpse of the same.
OLE to Sursinghdhar - Grade 5
On 21st October students of grade 5 went for an outbound learning trip to Sursinghdhar, Uttrakhand. The peaceful environs of the campsite was a perfect location to explore the beauty of nature. The trip started with the acclimatization trek followed by an array of activities including monkey crawling, double trouble, mowli walking, zip line, rappling and sky ladder. There were many challenging team activities where students were required to go through many obstacles and work as a team. Students learnt the art of survival cooking and first aid. Social games like treasure hunt and bonfire provided enough opportunities for camaraderie. It was an engaging and enriching experience that will forever be etched in the impressionable minds of our students.
Book Launch - ‘Being Gandhi’ by Paro Anand
Harper Collins in collaboration with Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad launched eminent children’s author, Paro Anand’s book ‘Being Gandhi’ on 22nd October 2019.
‘Being Gandhi’ is extra relevant in today’s times, when the entire world is celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation.
It was a riot of colours to see students dressed in different uniforms of DPS Greater Faridabad, Manaskriti, Aravali and DAV Public School.Shiv Nadar School,and Vidsan Chatterhouse.
The book launch was launched in the presence of the Author, Ms. Paro Anand and Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad Principal, Ms. Anju Wal.
Our principal,Anju ma'am presented her a painting made by one of our students, as a token of appreciation.
The author's introduction was given by Avni Thapliyal and Krish Jain, after which the author had an interactive session with the students.
Ms. Anand’s reading of the first chapter made the launch extremely interactive and it filled the hall with laughter.The students were very impressed with the relevance of Gandhi in today’s world.
The interactive session become further interactive with the question answers session with the author. The students’ questions ranged from asking the author questions about her reasons for switching from fiction to real history to asking about why she chose to be an author. The plethora of questions kept the students and the author thoroughly engaged.
The author then gave copies of signed books to the students who were interested to buy the book.
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Education for Life- Technology & You
We initiated our 3rd Topic of Education for Life-& Technology & You on 11th October 2019, Friday.
The session talked about the fact that It's never about the technology but what can we do with it - As technology gets into the DNA of everything we do, it is really important for us to
understand that we, as human beings are up in the value chain and it is imperative for us to understand that we need to use technology wisely and not get consumed by it.
The session was curated and conducted by Mr Kumar Gaurav, who is a parent of our school and also works as Director of Technology & Digital, Publicis Sapient.
Sharing a glimpse.
Walk the Talk with Grade 3
Beyond the classroom experience: Walk the Talk - Interactive session with Career Experts for grade 3.
The students of grade 3 interacted with career experts in three specific fields - Film, Culinary Arts and Aviation.
Mr. Subhash Bhanwala discussed the various stages in film making and production emphasizing upon his role as a film editor.
Mr. Bharat Burman challenged the students to wear his hat as a chef to plan a hypothetical school party.
Ms. Smriti Minhas captured the students' undivided attention with fun facts about serving on an international airline like 'Why we keep the window shutters of an aircraft open while taking off and landing?'.
125 plants planted!
Students of Grade 2 learnt about interdependence of plants and animals and the human impact on environment in their ongoing theme- Circle of Life.
After rigorous classroom discussions and with the aid of critical thinking tools like Ladder of inference, students came to a conclusion that the way forward to help reduce the human impact on environment, is to plant more trees.
With great excitement and enthusiasm the children have planted plants like ficus, curry plant, snake plant etc with the help of the school gardeners.
Students also pledged to nurture these plants and water them regularly.
Grandparents' Day Celebration
“What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humour, comfort, lessons in life and most importantly, cookies.” -- Rudy Giuliani
The Pre-primary students at Shiv Nadar School celebrated Grandparents’ Day with great enthusiasm. The celebration was held on 6th September 2019.
The day began with the special performances by our kids for their grandparents, followed by breakfast in dining area. The children were eagerly waiting to spend some time with their grandparents in the Homeroom. They played the game passing the parcel wherein all the grandparents enthusiastically participated and enjoyed playing games with their grandchildren, shared heartwarming stories and sang cheerful melodies.
The day ended with craft co-creation by students and their grandparents. They created beautiful pieces of art using their fingerprints and handprints. In all it was a delight to see the grandparents and children enjoying their time together.
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