Cosplay Parade

As we welcomed the students after a long and restful break, students of  Grade 4 and 5 geared up for an English culmination. It was a fantastic morning which started with the Cosplay parade followed by an in-class enactment which was based on the movies they saw during the summer break. It was a sheer delight to witness the enthusiasm and excitement of the children. Each and every performance was truly commendable. 

On the other hand, students of grade 5, enthusiastically talked about the author RK Narayan and displayed the magazines created by them over vacations. Avid readers came forth to share the book reviews of the books read by them during the summer break.

 

Creative,Curriculum,Education,Innovation,Lifestyle,Primary

VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

An educational trip to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States of America was organised by the Shiv Nadar School, in association with Ed Terra edventures. A group of 9 students along with Ms. Nandini Malhotra were a part of the trip. The students were a part of a larger group that had 41 students from two other reputed schools of New Delhi.

The first destination of the Nasa group was Orlando. The visit to the Kennedy Space Centre, Orlando was a life time experience where the team explored the Visitor’s complex, Vehicle Assembly Building, Saturn V Rocket, Space Shuttle Atlantis Complex, Rocket garden and the imax movie. They also had the golden opportunity to visit the NASA hall of fame, closely look at the lunar landing and also undergo a rocket launch simulation at the centre. They had lunch with astronaut Jon McBride, who was part of many space missions like the Challenger, Columbia etc. He shared his journey with the students and kept them entertained with stories. The students asked him their questions.

The students understood the challenges faced by the mission teams and how closely ground-based and space -based teams interact and work together to ensure a mission’s success. The visit to the Cocoa beach and Walmart were replete with loads of fun.

A tour to the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland was cherished by all .Viewing the spectacular fireworks behind the Cinderella Castle was a spellbinding experience.

The thrilling experience at the The Wizardly World of Harry Potter, Island of Adventure at The Universal Studios added a special charm to this trip.

The group took a flight to Buffalo to experience the majestic Niagara falls .The students took the excitement of the famous Maid of the Mist boat ride. It was indeed enchanting to have a view of Niagara Falls in all it’s glory and also understand the history behind the ferry, while waving at the fellow boat from Canada.

The troupe embarked on a road trip to New Jersey and savoured the beauty and majesty of the roads of America.

While taking a city tour of New York, the students also had a chance to visit Columbia university and take a guided tour, understanding the courses, campus and opportunities lying ahead.

The students had an amazing time at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, New York. Visiting Times Square, the World’s most visited place was a unique experience. The group enjoyed the trip to The Statue of Liberty. They also went for a city tour where they saw the Rockefeller Centre, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and other famous landmarks of New York .It was a majestic experience to have a 360o aerial view of the New York City from the 102nd floor of One World Observatory. The students also visited the site of 9/11 attacks, the Ground Zero.

This was followed by a road trip they took to Boston, Massachusetts, where they took a city tour, visiting the Quincy market and revisiting the Boston marathon bombing site. They were amazed to know how the city of Boston had reacted and raised money to help the victims. They then visited the prestigious Massachusetts institute of technology and Harvard school, where they also had a chance to take a campus tour of the institutions and also understand the admissions, courses and campus life.

While understanding space travel and rockets, the students also learnt invaluable life lessons like time management, taking care of finances, conflict resolution and     making friends on this trip. Overall, it was an enlightening trip.

Creative,Curriculum,Education,Education For Life,Innovation,Middle,Music,Outbound learning,Progressive,School,School Life,Travel

June Immersion - UNSC Simulation

The MUN workshop for 19 students of grade 7 was held in Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad from 24 June to 28 June 2019. It was a simulation of the UNSC i.e. United Nations Security Council. It was conducted by Emily Wood and Rose Cyburt who were from Alma in Michigan. It was ably facilitated by Anna and observed by Ms. Meenakshi, Ms. Sapna, Ms Prerna, Ms Tina and Ms Yamini from Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad. The duration of the workshop was from 9 am to 3 pm with tea break and lunch break at 10.30 am and 12.30 pm respectively.

The first day of the workshop started off with the screening of a documentary movie on climate change named-An inconvenient Sequel-Truth to power. After watching the documentary, the students discussed their concerns about climate change and asked probing questions. The students were then explained about the roles and responsibilities of the Security Council. The students were told about the other agencies of the UN that play an important role. They were also apprised of the formal procedures that are in practice in the UN.

On the second day, the students were introduced to the terminology and academic vocabulary that they needed to use while being a part of MUN. The students were made aware of using formal language and how to address the Chairperson while in session. The students were told to do research about the climate change policies of their respective countries which they had already been assigned. The mentors gave a list of trusted links that they could use for research. The students did thorough research on their laptops and wrote a resolution paper.

The third day of the workshop was a simulation of UNSC. The students came prepared and had brought their well-researched papers. Their transition from students of grade 7 to delegates was smooth and laudable. They read out their papers in front of the other delegates. The speeches had to adhere to the time limit of 90 seconds.  

The fourth day saw the students deeply engrossed in more research. The delegates had informal sessions with delegates of other countries which shared their views. Groups of like-minded countries worked towards making a resolution that would be workable.

The last day of the workshop was the cherry on the cake when the delegates presented their final resolution papers. The formal process of voting and abstaining was followed and the resolutions with maximum votes were passed.

It was indeed a very enriching experience and a riveting session. The students shared that the workshop had not only helped them build their confidence but also honed their public speaking skills.

 Principal, Ms. Anju Wal gave away the certificates to the students and expressed her thanks to the two mentors and Anna. Special thanks to Ms. Meenakshi Sharma for her continuous support and guidance to children. 

 

 

Career,Competition,Creative,Education For Life,Environment,Innovation,Leadership,Middle

ART EDUCATION TRIP to MILAN & VIENNA

Culture Fox is an Indo-European organization that curates art immersion programmes in Europe for Indian educational institutions. Shiv Nadar School has been associated with Culture Fox for the last three years and has participated in two tours to Germany and Amsterdam in the past. This year was the first trip to Italy and Austria that was curated specially keeping in mind the interests of the participating students from all three campuses of Shiv Nadar School.

The 8 day long trip covered the cities of Milan in Italy and Vienna in Austria. A total number of 16 students and 4 teachers went on the tour guided by Culture Fox leaders. The entire experience was curated keeping visual arts as the focus, along with some exposure to theatre and music.

Ready to fly…

At 12 midnight when the date changed to May 25, 2019 16 students of three campuses of Shiv Nadar School with 4 chaperones assembled in front of Gate number 5 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Whilst the students were very enthusiastic, the parents had mixed emotions. The life skill lessons started with their first step in the airport walking towards the check-in counter. It took nearly two hours to pass the security check. At 4:30 am our flight took off and soon we all were asleep on board. We landed in Dubai and waited at the gate for our next flight to Milan. Our instructors Lisa and Carmen welcomed us at the Melpansa airport. By evening, Milan time we checked in at the Hotel.

 

At a good sleep, we were ready to great anticipation for our first workshop.

 

MILAN

Day 1, 25th May, 2019: Architecture Day

The trip began on a high note with a sketching tour of the picturesque city of Milan. The local Culture Fox representative in Milan was Ms. Lisa Maria Esposito, who became our leader and guide for the next three days. The first workshop was led by Mr. Federico and Ms. Juliana, who are Argentinian students of Architecture and History currently studying at the university in Milan. Our students learnt about perspectives and gained tangible skills of drawing 3D on 2D. The experience was special as they sat in front of iconic monuments on a beautiful, sunny day and attempted sketching what they were seeing on paper, while being told about the historic significance of the sites. They were taken to the Arco Della Pace and Castello Sforzesco.

It was a great beginning. We enjoyed the first activity at the Arco Della Pace immensely. The day concluded with a walk through the College of Art, Botanical Gardens and some shopping at Via Montenapoleone.

Day 2, 26th May: Fashion Day

Most students were looking forward to exploring fashion in Milan and the day began with the much awaited visit to Armani/Silos Museum. The students learnt a lot about the famous designer as they walked through the museum with an expert telling them about the significance of weaves, fabrics, colours, lights and diverse cultural influences in fashion designing. The guided tour of the museum was followed by lunch and gelatos and the day ended with a walk through Quadrilatero Della Moda or the fashion street, most of which we had seen and experienced the previous day.  On this day, we again got to spend some time outside ‘Duomo’, the second largest cathedral after the Vatican.

Day 3, 27th May: Visual Arts Day

The workshop on this day was led by Ms. Silvia Fiani, a Milanese artist, at her quaint, little studio. The students learnt various water colour techniques and were encouraged to express their inner emotions using this medium on paper. We also filled a questionnaire to centralize our thoughts before sketching our inner portrait. The workshop was engaging and gave the opportunity to students to think creatively and paint skillfully. After the workshop, we grabbed snacks at the supermarket, picked up our luggage and headed to the airport with Ms. Carmen Pohl, the Founder of Culture Fox, to catch a flight to Vienna.

VIENNA

Day 4, 28th May: Theatre Day

The first day in Vienna was truly the best day of the entire trip for most of us. The students were introduced to ‘Theatre of the Youth’, the largest theatre for children in Europe. We went to Renaissance Theatre, where we were given a guided tour of the stage specially designed for their ongoing production of Robin Hood. They learnt about stagecraft, projections, props, music, costumes, make-up, wigs and all that goes into making a musical theatre production. The stage tour was followed by a brief description of the storyline of the play. We then watched the entire three hour long production in German with a house full of children of all ages. Even though we did not understand the language, it was easy to follow the story and was very exciting to see all the tricks unravel on stage. The day ended with a lovely meal of juicy burgers and lemonade.

Day 5, 29th May: Photography Day

On our second day in Vienna we went to Metro Kinokulturhaus to see an exhibition of Polaroids taken by German filmmaker and photographer Wim Wenders curated by Filarchiv Austria. Here the students attended a workshop on Polaroid cameras. This was followed by an outdoor mobile photography workshop led by Mr. Rafael Haider. Despite the fact that it was raining and dark outside, the students enjoyed learning about photography from their mentor and walking through the city, taking pictures of beautiful buildings and of each-other on their mobile phones using techniques.

Day 6, 30th May: Music Day

Another exciting day learning about the musical heritage of Vienna! We went to the House of Music, where we were given a guided tour by the museum representative. Each floor of the museum had a different theme and presented knowledge about the history, science and art of music in a very interactive manner. The students were introduced to the great composers of Austria and they playfully learnt scientific facts about sound and music. While the tour guide was very helpful, it felt like we were rushing through each floor. Everyone ended up spending more time in the shop on the top floor than actually engaging in the carefully curated musical activities.

The House of Music was followed by attending an Organ concert in Baroque St. Peter’s church. This was a unique and a very calming experience for most of us. The tall, intricately decorated walls of the church resonated with the sound of the Organ and we were all consumed by the mesmerizing music. The day ended with a visit to the Summer Palace. The rain finally stopped and we could enjoy the breathtaking view of the city of Vienna and take a walk in the royal gardens of this beautiful historical site.

Day 7, 31st May: Visual Arts Day

We visited Kunst Haus Wien designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser on our last morning in Vienna. A unique and colourful building showcasing the works of this artist and environmental activist was a window for us to understand the need for immediate attention to our environment. The guided tour familiarized us with the life and journey of this important Austrian artist and thinker, which was culminated with a brief drawing activity. It was interested to know that Hundertwasser paintings had elements of nature in each painting. This was followed by some shopping and another stopover at the supermarket for picking up snacks for the airport.

 

Here are some reflections of students about this trip:

 

WHAT ARE MY 3 TAKEOVERS FROM THIS TRIP:-

  1. My first takeover from this trip is time management. In this trip I didn’t only got to learn Arts, I also learned time management. We learned how to save time in eating sleeping and even shopping. We did this eating faster in breakfast sleeping early and waking up early and saving time in shopping.
  2. Shopping in budget :-

We used to get lunch money or meal money almost everyday and we had to spend it by buying food. Now we were not allowed to buy any aerated drinks, chips, candies etc. that means you were only allowed eat healthy food.so if you buy a sandwich which will cost 2-3 euros you still have 3 euros in which you can buy a bottle of juice which will be a healthy meal.

 

What I learnt in arts?

 

1.Photography-i learned a lot in photography.now i know how to properly use a polaroid camera because of the workshop.now i also know that how you can make portraits and reflections in digital photography

2.Visual art(sketching)

I learned a new technique called the 2D and 3D perspective. In this technique you can sketch famous monuments and architecture like Arco Della Pace and Castello Sforzesco which we sketched.

 

-Siddharth Sood

7 Corbett

 

This was my second ‘Culture Fox’ experience. It was a wonderful experience as last time was.(Yuvraaj Chopra – 7 Corbett)

 

Three Takeaways-

  • How to be able to take care of ones belongings.
  • Building relationships and working in teams whether at the workshop or in the hotel rooms.
  • Understand various different cultures and to be able to like the differences and appreciate them.

 

What did you learn in Arts-

  • I learnt how to take good photographs and all the details that need to be kept in mind while taking pictures.
  • Learning about the work that goes on back stage in theatrics

 

What Life skills did you learn?

  • I learnt how to be independent and look after my personal belongings and remain organised.
  • I learnt to make new friends and learnt to stay away from home without my parents.
  • I learnt to eat different food from what I’m used to at home.
  • I learnt to be punctual and on time for the various activities without someone reminding me for the same.

 

Would you like to go again for Culture Fox and Why?

Yes I would like to go again with Culture Fox as it is a wonderful learning experience outdoors and in a completely different environment from what we are used to. I love the way the programme is structured to enable us to learn yet have fun while learning. In the usual vacations which we take this kind of learning is not possible. This exposure gives a vast experience in a few days and would be very helpful in the future for me also. The kind of exposure we get to various forms of arts is helpful for us to decide what we like and what we would like to pursue.

 

Arts,Creative,Education For Life,Innovation,Lifestyle,Middle,Music,Outbound learning,Performing Arts,School,School Life,Secondary,Senior Secondary

Culminating activity for Human Body and Communication

Learning at Shiv Nadar School is experiential and hands-on. In sciences and social sciences/EVS, we  follow a project based approach, where curriculum objectives are summarized into a ‘driving question’. Students then discuss ideas, brainstorm and meditate upon the question, post which they carry on investigations in their independent groups. Collaboration and Critical Analysis are key components of PBL. It is also an approach in which text-book learning is contextualized to the real world.

 

Grade 4

As a part of their first theme, ‘Human Body’, students of grade 4 learnt about various concepts such as skeletal system, muscular system, digestive system, functions of these systems, process of digestion, healthy food habits, how does the body work . Students were deeply involved in researching about various exercises that help us keep our body fit. Based on their research work and classroom study, students' presented their learning in the form of a health camp. As a part of closure to this theme, students were divided into teams and each team had a role to perform. One group was involved in the skeletal rap, another in talk about our body parts and healthy food habits while other groups set up whole body checkup (eyes, ears, face, nails, weight, height and BMI)  and exercise room.     

 

Grade 5

As a part of their first theme, ‘Communication’, students of grade 5 studied about what is communication, means of communication and its timeline, ethics of communication such as soft skills and interpersonal skills, netiquettes, plagiarism and how advertisements affect us. Students as a part of their culmination, prepared presentations, speeches, street play, shadow play, skits, lap books, posters and they also depicted their learning of themes through info-graphics. Students were quite engaged throughout the culmination. Students also presented the power of communication through a motivational speech as a sports coach and a politically influencing speech as a politician  

Curriculum,Education,Innovation,Primary,School

FUTURE READY LIFELONG LEARNERS

Shiv Nadar School Career Guidance Centre (CGC) is very nascent in Faridabad campus. It is a non-judgmental, open-minded space to connect and collaborate with students to make them future ready in the ways that best resonate with each child's personality. The CGC gives concrete shape to students' goals and interests, options for higher studies and ultimately, career choices, in a supportive environment.

The CGC has a clear mandate to create a cadre of young people well-equipped to decide their paths forward into the world beyond school. It provides excellent tools, programmes and platforms so that children make confident and informed choices.

 

Walk the Talk is one such initiative wherein experts from different fields come to talk to students. Such sessions serve to dispel existing queries regarding certain career choices, as well as to inform students on new and emerging professional and academic domains

You will be happy to know that we hosted our first 'Walk the Talk' session with RJ RAHUL MAKIN wherein he shared his journey, experiences, challenges and various opportunities that came his way.

He talked about the importance of reading and to be updated about the world around. He spoke about his success mantra with our young scholars i.e. one should follow his/her passion with complete dedication, hard work and right attitude. He shared some really great insights and real-life stories which had a positive impact on our children.  He said “Just be yourself, as you cannot mask yourself for too long’. He stated that every individual should identify that one innate talent that he/she is born with and pursue it wholeheartedly. 

There were two special things about the session, one that we had RJ Rahul Makin on board and second that the show was hosted by and for the students of Shiv Nadar School.

Our Grade 9 students found the session an enjoyable learning experience.

Career,Curriculum,Education,Innovation,Leadership,Middle,School

Summer Bonanza: Fun under the Sun

What better way to enjoy the last day of school and welcome the Summer break other than having some fun under the sun!! The students of pre-primary had an exciting day participating in the event Summer Bonanza. The highlight of the event was the children in their swimwear, running to wet themselves and play with water, flowing out from the water sprinklers in the middle field.  

 

A day filled with treats started at Breakfast where the children were served sandwiches and macaroni. After they which they all took turns and participated in the different activities that were planned. These included music and dancing, creating a craft, playing with water from the sprinklers, eating ice cream whilst sitting under umbrellas in the summer sun, getting colourful tattoos painted on their hands and finally a movie with pop-corn and lemonade.

 

Loving hugs, bye byes and off they went home. Not before saying, “I will miss you ma’am. Happy holidays”.

 

Creative,Dance,Education For Life,Innovation,Pre Primary,School Life

Education for Life

Education for life (EFL) is one of its kind initiate designed and curated by our CEO Col. Gopalkarunakaran for Grade 9 students which aims at providing exposure and engagement to navigate and succeed in life beyond school.

It is a student centred holistic life skills development program designed for imparting critical life lessons to equip students of grade 9 to be better prepared to enter their adulthood.

Mark Twain once said,” Don’t let schooling interfere with your education”. It is imperative to expand our traditional field of study which may be insufficient for understanding the challenges of working in the real world.

We at Shiv Nadar School believe that apart from the academic excellence our children need knowledge, skill and attitude to face a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world.

Program Outline:

The Education for Life program will offer topics/themes to students from grades 9 & 11 which are relevant to the present times and are beyond the scope of the curriculum addressed in schools. Themes chosen for this program are scaffold to activate the collective intellectual abilities of the students and will target different skills which will support the dynamic development curve that is seen in students entering adolescence. Below is the list of suggestive topics/themes:

  • Post-Independence History of India

Topic: Post Independence History

  • Year’47- Independence, Partition, Partition, Pakistan and war
  • Year’62-The Chinese Conflict
  • Year’75 -The National Emergency
  • Year’89- The Barbi Incident
  • Year’91 -The Economic Liberalization

 

 

   
  • Effective and Dynamic  Communication
  • Health and Nutrition, Know your body
  • Non-Googleable Questions

Highlights:

  • Each theme is broken down to modules, delivered by subject/domain experts and industry veterans
  • Program facilitators from Media, Corporates, Professional Development terrain to bridge the divide between school and outside world
  • Curriculum curated after thorough analysis of current scenario and needs of the future
  • 18 hours of deep engagement per child, spread across 8 months

 

Career,Curriculum,Education,Education For Life,Innovation,Leadership,Middle,Progressive,School Life

Afsana by Rituparna Ghosh

On 27th April 2019, children's of age group 6-8 years ( Grade 1-3) of Shiv Nadar School, attended a story telling session titled as Afsana by Rituparna Ghosh at Radisson Blu , Faridabad . Rituparna Ghosh has an eminent personality and was so real into her character while narrating the story to the students. The story began with a song where few lines were said by the narrator and then humming was done by the students and the audience present in the hall. She even used props to introduce certain sounds like of rain, and by herself she produced sounds of different animals that were the part of the story. Not only  this she even chosen few people from the audience to play the characters of the story which she was reciting.

The story was all about being of what an individual is and not thinking to be perfect, because every time there will be some imperfections which one would have. Like a lotus flower blooms in the morning and then closes it's petal at night , knowing that it can only bloom in the morning , similarly one should be happy and satisfied of what the individual is rather than questioning it.

The students enjoyed the story shared by Ms. Ghosh and had a great time over there. They even received a small token of gift by the team of the story telling session organizers and they were happy at the end. 

Education For Life,Innovation,Primary

Author Visit: Ms. Nandana Sen

 

Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad hosted the award-winning actor, screenwriter, author and child-rights activist, Ms. Nandana Sen on Monday, 15th April to talk about her new book, Talky Tumble of Jumble Farm. Just like her distinct filmography and pronounced presence on screen, Sen introduced the kids to her book with zealous energy. She took the children on a journey through a farm of antonyms, anagrams, synonyms, and much more with the protagonist of her book, Talky. The energy in the room was palpable after Sen started her presentation and the students immensely enjoyed the illustrated narrative. Talky

Curriculum,Education For Life,Innovation,Primary,Reading

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