The VUCA Chronicles, May 2020: Machine Learning, Transforming the Face of Education
The new normal during the COVID-19 times has emphasized the impact of technology in making the world a better connected way. VUCA Chronicles, May 2020 Edition has students from across grades put their views forth brilliantly about how machine learning has transformed the face of education, life in the times of lockdown, handling boredom, impact on the economy and how this is the perfect time to take out passions. The edition also has some great work of writing on Benito Mussolini, Handling Failure, and a host of other alongwith relevant sketches by 6th & 8th graders and concludes with a Vocabulary of Governance.
The VUCA Chronicles, April 2020: Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
The April issue of VUCA Chronicles rightfully and timely celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the First Earth Day which was on April 22, 1970. In this issue of VUCA Chronicles one gets to read the minds of the country’s youth when they want to converse about the environment and their thought processes, the new normal of the lockdown and their experiences, and could space be another world to live in. Right from the Physics of the ‘Bey’Blades to how schooling is changing in the world of Covid-19, the youngsters all opened their hearts with their works. The edition concludes with book reviews and a very apt 110-year-old advertisement from Bell Telephone.
The VUCA Chronicles, April 2020
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
.jpg)
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
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.
.JPG)
Vuca Chronicle | February 2020
VUCA Chronicles February 2020
F 1 in Shiv Nadar School Noida
F1 in schools is an international STEM competition for school children (aged 9-19), in which groups of 3-6 students design and manufacture a miniature car out of the official F1 model block using CAD/CAM design tools. The regional finals for F1 was hosted by Shiv Nadar School, Noida on January 17, 2020. 34 teams from 11 schools across Noida participated in the event including one team from Jammu. The teams were judged on various criteria like verbal presentation, pit display, design and engineering presentation, reaction time and the time taken by the car to complete the race.
Shiv Nadar School Noida, bagged the ‘Best Verbal Presentation’ award and the ‘Women in F1’ award. 10 teams were selected for country finals including ‘Team Aratic’ which was from Shiv Nadar School, Noida. The members of these teams are Tvisha Raj 8 Kanha, Vaidehi Saxena 8 Kanha, Ekansh Agarwal 8 Kanha, Sidharth Shiv Kumar 8 Kanha, Oorjit Mahajan 8 Kanha, Vani Upadhyay 8 Kanha.
Funkaar - Pre-Primary
At Shiv Nadar School, we firmly believe in ‘Learning by Doing’. Experiences play an important role in a child's life by enhancing their social skills, intellectual skills, personality progress, and character appeal. With an envision of holistic development, the Pre-primary children thoroughly enjoyed their parts in Funkaar held at Shiv Nadar School on 23rd November 2019. The presentation was a colourful display in the WCH showcasing the rich and divergent acts through art, music, dance forms, theatre and their integration with the scholastic domains of Language, Math and My World. Each child was a ‘STAR’ and captivated the audience with their stellar performance. It was an event that made everyone nostalgic.
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.
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.
