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.
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.
OLE to Sariska
OLE Trip, Grades 8 and 9, to Sariska, 26th May to 28th May 2019.
The students began the first day full of excitement and enjoyed the calendar making activity. The students were enthusiastic and by the evening they jumped in the pool to beat the heat.
The stduents also enjoyed the astronomy activity, watching the moon, its features and phases.
The second day was the most enjoyable and exciting for the students. The students went to Sariska Tiger Reserve and saw tigers, deers and elephants. The excitement of the students was worth a watch. The students post the lunch participated in rocket making activity and gave it flight of their imagination.
The students again went in for a swim and in the evening , played team games to build stronger bonds of frienship and learnt the art of collaboration.
The students ended the trip with a team building games and certifate of a
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.
Majkhali : A journey in the wilderness
The objective of the Outbound Learning Experience , OLE, at the Middle School stage is to ignite the inquisitiveness of the child for nature and the environment at large.
The OLE allows children to engage in exploratory activities and experience the nature up and close to facilitate acquisition of essential life skills and to apply these to real life contexts, beyond routine life.
The trip was organized in collaboration with Edterra and wias conducted between 26th May (Sunday) – 30th (Thursday) May, 2019.
The students engaged in various activities like Early morning trek, where they undertook 4 hours long trek with breaks in the middle to reach a hilltop temple on the first day. The students also spent time settling down in their new surroundings and room mates. Post lunch the students were divided in two groups, where one group participated in valley crossing , the other group worked on treasure hunt.
The second day the students participated in adventure sports, rappelling and survival tactics. They also made Maggi and very proudly fed all the teachers. The evening Bonfire was full of stories about Tigers, leopards and other majestic cats
The last day in the camp was about introducing the students to the emerging technologies of blog writing and podcast.
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.
Father's Day Celebration
The Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad hosted the 3rd Father’s Day on 20th July 2019. The fathers of our students in Nursery and KG attended and participated enthusiastically. It was an event packed day for them, which began with an address by the Principal followed by singing songs with the children in the amphitheatre and then off to the sports field. After a scrumptious breakfast the fathers along with their children co-created a craft –a handprint. Going forward, enthusiastically they collaborated in the Fire Free Cooking Competition where they made ‘bhelpuri’ and ‘choco balls’, with the ingredeints provided. They had to garnish and present the dishes to the judges to taste. Their keenness to participate in the competition was appreciable. It was a memorable day with lots of moments to cherish.
Junior/Senior Student Council - 2019-20
John. F. Kennedy rightly said that “Leadership and Learning is indispensable to each other”, and it was epitomized in our Junior and Senior Student Council Elections. The students took ownership of the process from the very first day. After long conversations with peers, parents, teachers, they were able to reflect on their strengths and shortcomings which helped them submit nominations for the suitable positions. But the path to glory had just started! The next day, all the candidates sat through interviews where they expounded on their motivations for the specific posts. It was clear to the committee that these students came with a lot of passion, solutions, and zeal to make world a better place; but only a few could move to the next round. Now, the agendas were to be communicated to their peers. The stood before the audience and spoke about their beliefs and logos with such poise and grace! We also witnessed fantastic teamwork in the campaigning of the candidates, their friends coming together to shape the public opinion and intelligent voters engaging the candidates in conversation. Parallelly, IT faculty of the school was busy creating a software which would facilitate paper- free voting. It was an ambitious task but the school’s promise to the environment and sustainable living culminated with the electronic voting taking place and the results being announced the next day. This election saw the true amalgamation of technology and human will at Shiv Nadar School Faridabad.
