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
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.
World Dance Day
"Have feet, will dance". Give the world a reason to dance.
On account of World Dance Day all the AHA dance basket of Grade 1 &2 students with the teachers gathered to shake a leg accompanied with different kind of music..Every move they made was adorable going with the flow of the music lost to the world
Spic Macay
Shiv Nadar School’s endeavour has been to promote different art forms, be it dance, music or visual arts. We invited the famous Odissi dancer, Ms. Vidushi Kavita Dwibedi, who captivated the young audience with her graceful movements and expressions. She started with a small introduction to the Odissi dance form, one of the oldest surviving dance forms of India. History tells us that like some of it’s contemporaries, Odissi too was a temple dance performed by the "Devdasis". The "tribhangi", i.e., the independent movement of the head, chest and pelvis is what sets this dance form apart.
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:-
- 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.
- 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.
Foundation Program for IB Diploma Program Batch of 2021: May 3-24, 2019
After being authorized to offer the IB Diploma Program in February this year, the classes are scheduled to begin in July 2019. The students who have joined the Diploma Program were engaged in the Foundation Program from May 3 to May 24, 2019.
The Foundation Program was designed with the objective of encouraging informed decision making by students after learning about the scope and nature of subjects that are offered at the school. This was accomplished through hands on activities, discussions and field trips related to all the six subject groups.
Students reflected on the process and the learning continuously and hence helped create a compilation of the event report that was a true expression of how effectively the program objectives were met.
The comprehensive report can be found at below mentioned link.
Newsletter Vol 4- From The Principal's Desk
Here is the Newsletter for April-May 2019.
Beat The Heat - Nursery & Kindergarten
Beat the Heat day was a day of fun and frolic for pre-primary students. Children had a bundle of activities to beat the scorching heat. For making this day memorable, parents had volunteered to
organize and conduct games and activities for children They kick-started the day by with a craft activity, in which the children decorated a popsicle stick. They went on to capture their fun day by
taking a picture at the photo booth followed by two amazing games that were set up at a double height area. Last but not least, the children moved towards the football ground to have a gala time to
splish-splash some water in the water games. The event wouldn’t be complete with the cool ice-creams which were served in their respective classrooms before they bid adieu to make more memories
during their summer holidays.
Beat the Heat day turned out to be a memorable day. Children were all smiles and set for their holidays.
World International Yoga Day
International Yoga Day was celebrated by the mentors at Shiv Nadar School with great zeal and enthusiasm.
Principal, Ms. Anju Wal demonstrated various asanas like Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and Vrikshasana (Tree Pose). The importance of each asanas were explained simultaneously. Principal, encouraged the mentors to practice regular yoga to remain fit and flexible.
She stated that Yoga will enhance in keeping the body and mind healthy, stress-free and in a cheerful condition.
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.
“आम और शरारत”
The season of the “King of Fruits” was celebrated as the “Mango Day” on 10th July 2019 at Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad. The days’ activities were planned, integrating My World theme - ‘Summer Season - Fruits’ with language and numeracy. Nursery teachers presented a play on the story “आम और शरारत” introducing mango as the ‘King of Fruits’, building vocabulary and sharing the various products we get from mango. Post the play, teachers set up stalls in the school and pretended to sell mangos. The children were excited to buy mangoes using the blocks as money. Adding to the experience, the children were later served mangoes to explore the smell, texture and taste of the fruit. Back in the classroom, children were happily engaged in the craft activity of tearing and pasting on mango cut outs. A fun filled day thoroughly enjoyed by the children.
