Summer Project - Co-Scholastic
This summer, when so many of our students found themselves trying to adjust to new realities brought by these trying times, the Co Scholastic Arts team of Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad, mindful of these challenges, worked towards letting the arts find new ways to permeate children's lives.
The team felt like this was the right time to effectively articulate the value of arts in as many ways as possible for our children.
The Music, Visual Arts, Theater and Dance department worked towards enabling and inspiring children by designing various Workshop - based modules for engaging children in summer vacation, so that creativity, beauty and goodness could be fostered and children find their expression. Several online sessions were conducted, children from Grades 3 to 10 came up with initiatives and displayed a great sense of immersion through their beautiful renditions in various Aha baskets. Some projects culminated into performances, while some are still ongoing and seamlessly mixed with their regular learning.
Teaching children on an online platform provided us with connecting with them in a whole new context. Children learnt to derive creative solutions to the challenges posed by the online platforms, learnt some new tricks and got artistically stimulated and productively occupied.
Arts truly proved to be a fundamental component to children's health and well-being this summer of 2020.
Links attached.
BHARATANATYAM NATRAJA (AHA! 3 - 5) : https://youtu.be/1L6D7r4Lyig
KATHAK - SHIV THANDAV–(AHA! GRADE 9): https://youtu.be/gTNcus8V4kc
PAITNING SUMMER PROJECT (AHA! 6 to 8) : https://youtu.be/0hoGx7SVQ1M
I WON'T GIVE UP - WESTERN MUSIC (AHA! GRADES 3 TO 5) : https://youtu.be/gHo1jVzLHqY
LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO - WESTERN MUSIC (AHA! GRADES 6 TO 8): https://youtu.be/Iet6Tjf0OlU
INDIAN MUSIC PROJECT - SWARGEET RAAG BILAWAL (AHA! GRADES 3 TO 5): https://youtu.be/9db2yiHKnnk
PAINTING PROJECT :https://youtu.be/bgBQIyz4h9I
From the Principal's Desk - 16th July
I am reminded of the beautiful song by Simon and Garfunkel- 'Bridge over Troubled Waters',as I reflect over our roles in the present situation.
We strive to be the bridge of love, care, and connection for our children in these trying times, and do our best to ease their distress or be that iridescent ray of hope.
Do listen to the song, it remains the iconic soulful rendition of hope.
Let me sum up for you how the last few weeks have been.
Board Results 2020
I am delighted to share with you the superlative results of our Gurgaon and Noida campus.
Grade 12 (2 nd Batch)
Noida Campus Topper 99.75%
Class Average Noida 90.2%
Gurgaon Campus Topper 98.75%
Class Average Gurgaon 88.19%
Grade 10 (3 rd Batch)
Noida Campus Topper 98.2%
Class Average 89.4%
Gurgaon Campus Topper 97.6%
Class Average 87.47%
We are immensely proud of our diligent, hardworking teams in the twin schools.
Pastoral Care
We have created two Pastoral Care Groups, one for Primary and the other for Middle and Senior School.
Teachers who comprise both groups have been thoughtfully selected and coached to enable and support the 2 counsellors in the school.
These two different groups of teachers will be the first point of contact for the children seeking help, a conversation, expression of stress or low moods and such like. They are what I would like to call the Psychological First Aid Group. They will report into the Counsellors who report into me.
The Pastoral Groups will be headed by the Counsellors, Tatiana Atreyeva (Primary), Manisha Massey (Middle/Senior).
That does not in any way mean that if a child/parent wants to reach out to the counsellor directly, they cannot. Yes, they can when the problem/concern is serious.
Please know that the Pastoral Group is not to address academic or curriculum/online time table related concerns. As the name suggests they are for care and comfort.
The home teachers will soon be sharing the concept note of their roles and responsibilities along with their names and ids with you.
Joy of Sharing Weeks
Each Year in the week of 14th July we start the Joy of Sharing Week. It is an unmissable date for us, the Birthday of our Founder, Mr Shiv Nadar. The week is celebrated to instil in our children the essence and significance of Sharing.
Sharing a service, sharing knowledge, sharing in abundance, sharing unconditionally and experiencing the sense of joy that fills the heart.
The date, 14th July, also reminds each child that he proudly carries the name of his Founder, the person whose life story is the stuff that legends are made of, an inspiration for the children, teachers, parents for many lifetimes to come.
You must have received the schedule of the JOS week from the home teachers. Join in the webinars of dance, music, stories, Dastan e Gohi, mental health and more.
Assessments
We are in the midst of Assessments for grades 6 to 10. I am glad that we have a more refined online model in the second round of assessments this year. Our children are nothing short of heroic, adapting to innumerable changes, coping with uncertainty, anxiety, and displaying unmatchable resilience and grit to get past the challenges.
My best wishes to you.
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy and Stay Afloat.
Best Regards
Anju Wal
Principal
Shiv Nadar School
Faridabad
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.
Silver Fiesta - 2020
Films depict raw emotions and often show our daily lives, through a cinematic lens. Movies have helped us all escape from our daily lives when we need to and thus films are an indispensable part of our lives.
Three students of our school, Arshia Jaitli, Arnav Sachdeva and Rehat Kaur participated in GD Goenka World School's ‘Silver Fiesta - 2020’, a film critiquing competition, a way to look at movies with one’s own perspective.The event was held on 30th May 2020. The motive was not to criticize, but to understand better the perspective of filmmakers and film critics and develop a sense of direction towards the art of movie-making.Keeping in mind the lockdown and online format, the event attracted 8 schools. 9 teams including the host school team enthusiastically participated in the event. The judges appreciated the hard work of the teams and based on the set criteria declared the winners. Our students did us proud by bagging the third position in the competition. Our Principal, Mrs Anju Wal, met the children virtually and congratulated the students. She also had a coversation about their experience and learnings from the competition.
From the Principal's Desk
When we closed school in March, we had a reasonable belief, like many others that we will return to our physical building in June sometime. That has not happened but what has happened is a tremendous amount of upskilling and relearning by all educators in the system.
The Shiv Nadar School leadership has met more frequently than ever before to take stock of the situation and strengthen our collective vision to ensure that the Standard and Quality of Shiv Nadar School Education will remain uncompromised.
This one hiccup year in the legacy of our school, is just that, a hiccup.
I promise you that we are here to re imagine school education, even before Covid-19, and build tenacious, robust children, with lifelong learning skills, adaptability, emotional resilience and a combativeness that will stand the test of time.
To find the synergy between technology, curriculum and pedagogy has been our key area of focus in these past weeks. Much of the training has centred around striking that harmony in teaching online.
As we progress ahead, I would like you to notice the connected learning thread that we weave across different subjects so our children can make real time connections, make meaning of the body of knowledge and process concepts, experiences, online discussions and more.
Our People, Our Strength
Turbulent times test the bedrock of relationships. I would like to share with you that in our institution each one works doggedly with an unflinching assurance that their jobs are safe.
No one has been dismissed or sent away on half salary, leave without pay and such like, which is the trend of the times at present. We are flowing against the tide because to flow with it, is radically against our values and ethics.
On Another Note
The entire Faridabad team raised money to provide dry rations to our 130 strong support staff, the bhaiyyas, didis, conductors, guards, janitors and more. I attach a few pictures in case you missed seeing them. We plan to support them for the next 3 months, each one of those families and then see how to raise more money to take it till the end of the year for sure.
We are the World
I hope you enjoyed the symphony of over a 100 children, teachers and parents singing the iconic song together. In case you haven't heard this in house production of Faridabad School, its time you did. It will fill you up with surging optimism and love.
Hiring for Talent
I have inducted more than 20 teachers in the Faridabad team, in the recent weeks, all talented, competent and aligned to our philosophy. This trend to hire is clearly different, you would agree. But we believe that great teachers make great learners. And we will make no compromise to continue to provide the cutting edge education to our children in these unprecedented times.
Technology
The Institution has made massive investment in upgrading the technological frontiers of the school. Veracross, is one example of the same. This deep and incredible learning Management System is now embedded across grades 1 to 10. It will soon be populated in Early Years too. The pathway to understand and use it will be steady and staggered and we will keep you informed of the continued progress and availability of new functions.
Webinar on Mental Health and Wellbeing of Parents
We launched our first in the series of the said webinar on Thursday,4th June. Parents of grades 7 to 10 were the invitees and we addressed several questions on how to cope with the stress, children's whimsical behaviour, family and work pressures and such like. The panellists comprised, Manisha Massey, our senior school counsellor, Mamta Sharma, our parent and certified psychologist, and myself.
Or next is in the series is round the bend and we will let you know of the date and the year group. Our plan is to cover all age groups and offer this opportunity to all parents.
Assessments in Middle School
We conducted our first marked assessments with the novel use of technology for grades 6 to 10 before the summer break. The children did us proud. I believe when we assume the best intentions of people they rise to their best. Our children conducted themselves with honesty and sincerity to do the tests remotely. My gratitude to all the parents too who were our co invigilators in this process.
My Conversations with You
I have met almost 500 parents in the last 2 weeks. It was wonderful for me to see you and converse with you. I do hope that you felt equally good to connect and hear what we are doing and thinking. I certainly will meet all our parents in the days to come. It is my fortune to see the tremendous attendance for our conversations. Let’s keep it going.
Online Classes Resume Today (15h June)
As we stand at the intersection of uncertainty and strong resolve, we are luminously clear that a shut school building will not shut out the learning of our children. If anything, it will only incrementally raise it to adapt to phenomenal change, increase the reservoir of empathy and compassion in their hearts and embrace reimagined processes, skills and knowledge.
Enjoy the Experience. Feel free to connect with me to share your thoughts.
Stay Safe Stay healthy and Stay Indoors as we fight this together.
Best Regards
Anju Wal
Principal
Shiv Nadar School
Faridabad
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Learning Styles Assessment and Social Emotional Resilience
The department of SEN+Counselling organized a session for Scholastic Teachers from Pre-Primary to the Senior School, on the topic titled LASER- Learning Styles Assessment and Social Emotional Resilience for Teachers on Monday, 13th January,2020. The facilitator for this session is Dr. Sakshi Mehrotra.
Dr. Mehrotra has worked on a short training for teachers and mentors for building emotional intelligence and linguistic capabilities to understand learning styles in children. Dr. Mehrotra is a professor of psychology, a counselling psychologist, a Certified NLP Practitioner, and a member of the American Psychological Association, and conducts various workshops with schools and universities, corporate organizations, and professional psychologists.
Given our annual theme of building resilience and our focus on SEE learning across the school, this training seminar session was extremely beneficial for us as educators, and for our school.
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.
Swiss Innovation Camp
The Swiss Innovation Camp was a 7 day camp where 4 students accompanied by a teacher travelled to Geneva, Switzerland from 13th - 19th October 2019. The camp aimed to immerse the children in the scientific innovation brewing in Geneva, which is the innovation hub of Switzerland. The Camp included workshops at CERN as well as other leading Swiss research centres. The aim of the program was to build an understanding of the Swiss Innovation Ecosystem and what makes it successful. The workshops gave the students the opportunity to experience different scientific innovation centres, interact with leading scientists involved in cutting edge research, and get a glimpse of what a career in science looks like. It also aimed to inspire children towards design thinking and research.
The main attraction of the workshop was the visit to CERN, the largest experiment in the world that aims to answer the big questions of life - ‘Where did we come from?’ , ‘What are we made of?’ and ‘Where are we going?’. Students visited CERN and learnt about its history, mission and sociology by interacting with a Physicist. They also discussed experimental tools, innovation and impact. Students visited one of the 4 particle detectors at the Large Hadron Collider - CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) in France. They went 100 meters below ground level to see the particle detector at arm’s length. The students participated in a team activity at the Globe of Innovation at CERN where they learnt many facts about CERN and particle physics in the process of completing a team challenge.
The students experienced a guided tour to the United Nations Headquarters, where they learnt about the history and functioning of the headquarters. They even witnessed a live United Nations session from the gallery. The students were made familiar with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which are a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by 193 Member States at the UN General Assembly Summit in September 2015. They then participated in a UN SDG challenge where they had to use technology to come with a design to contribute to one or more of the UN SDGs in teams.
The students participated in a competitive Robotics and Coding workshop where they learnt how to program a robot to perform the stipulated task, in teams of two.
The students visited the first IB school ever - Ecolint, and witnessed the marvel of the progressive educational system. They participated in a STEAM Project at their STEAM lab, where they created an ECG machine with the materials available. They also learnt to create designs using a Wiacom.
The students visited the Biopark - the Biotechnology Innovation centre in Geneva. There, they were introduced to advances in the field of Biotechnology and the use of technology to support healthcare. For example, the students saw a small implantable device that can be be used to monitor the occurrence and frequency of Epilepsy in patients, helping in proper management of the disease. The students were introduced to the Blue Brain Project which is in the process of mapping the brain functioning with all its complexities, which will allow a better understanding of the functioning of the brain.
Biomotion workshop attempted to explain the laws of physics by using live demonstrations. Learning was enjoyable and interactive for the students.
Apart from the many workshops, the students participated in a Treasure Hunt where the students went out in teams to solve the clues, exploring the prominent places through Geneva in the process.
A days trip to Chamonix, France was the highlight of the trip. The group went for a hike with a guide in a small French Village amidst breathtaking landscapes. They also went atop a mountain via a cable car and explored the French Alps.
The trip saw cultural immersion in food and Swiss mannerisms. Our children got to learn the Swiss values of punctuality, cleanliness, and courtesy. New friendships with students of other schools in the group were formed. Students got a chance to be responsible and independent. It was a truly enriching experience for the 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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Literary Week Grades 2 to 5
Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad observed Literary Week with an array of activites through the week from 16th September to 20th September, 2019. Literary Week is observed each year to ignite and fuel interest in reading, creative writing, etc.
Grade 2
Grade 2, this year, explored a world of fairy tales, fables and folk tales. Besides being entertained, the children were exposed to a variety of different characters. Shattering the conventions, these little ones also wrote their own creative stories and poems and illustrated them beautifully.
The Literary Week was culminated with a ‘Cosplay’, where our little ones came in dressed as their favourite character. The performance was grand and lively with few handmade props for some vivacious characters. The corridor was filled with smiling faces and laughter, and, saw many characters come to life!
Grade 3
Celebrating Comics
Grade 3 celebrated the Literary Week by exploring a new yet familiar genre of literary writing: Comics. Tied with the chapter Florence Nightingale, the students explored the form of comics beyond the text. A discussion on the relevance of comics in today's age sparked the conversation among peers - the responses ranged from comic as an easy to read medium of taking in information to its versatility as visual art. The children made their own comics illustrating stories about their pet, the latest supervillain Thanos and some even explored Panchtantra-esque themes. Well-illustrated and drafted, the comics were presented on the day of culmination in a learning walk among grades. Peer-learning was evidenced as children spoke to each other about panels, gutters, speech bubbles. The excitement in the air was palpable as our little authors and illustrators proudly presented their work.
Grade 4
"The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke”
The crescendo was reached of the truly inspirational literary week where grade 4 exhibited the art of storytelling and grade 5 presented their poems. Throughout these 7 days, our children delved deep into the literary masterpieces- Kaabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore (Grade 4) and The Chimney Sweepers by William Blake (Grade 5).
The culmination started with an exhilarating storytelling session by the students of grade 4. It was a matter of joy to witness our 10-year-old children perform! They spoke fluently, with appropriate tone, intonation and voice modulation! All the characters came alive...the hunter, the grandma, Red Riding Hood, the wizard!
Right after the performance, the poem gallery was inaugurated where the students presented the drafts through which the final bound book of poetry was brought together, piece by piece, after several drafts. After all, the journey was as important as the destination! The bound book of poems written by Grade 5 was presented to Ms. Wal. It will be available in the library soon.
Grade 5
Literary week was celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm from 16 th to 20 th September. Grade 5 chose the theme of ‘poetry’ to kindle the love of poetry in young minds. The journey began with the understanding of ‘Chimney sweeper’, a poem by William Blake. Thereafter they composed poems on social issues. After a couple of drafts, the final poems were compiled into a poem book. Principal, ShivNadar School Faridabad, Ms. Anju Wal, inaugurated the poem book in the ‘poem café’ organized to culminate the literary week.
