National Cube Championship 2020
Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad hosted the second edition of the National Cube Championship 2020 on 1st February 2020. The championship was organised by the Delhi Cube Association.
The event saw participation from students from various schools across Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bombay, Bhopal, Moradabad, Yamunanagar etc. Some Schools were represented by groups, while others had children participating individually. The participation numbers, almost 400 + speak about the popularity the Rubik's Cube has been gaining as a competitive sport. There were nearly 200 participants from the Shiv Nadar School.
The event saw participation in various age categories 4-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14 + and open category and in various events like 3x3, 2x2. Skewb, pyraminx, mirror, 4x4 and solving the three layered cube single handed. Some of them were first time cubers and some already a part of the cubing community. The awards were presented in various categories to the top 10 children. A combination category which included solving three cubes in less than 2 minutes saw many gold medal winners. In the open category, there were parents, grandparents who showed enthusiastic participation and were able to solve the 3X3 in less than 3 minutes.
Rubik’s Cube has great benefits, foremost being de-addiction from gadgets and reduced screen time. It helps build neural networks, better focus, concentration and memory. It’s not just about fun solving the puzzle it also improves your cognitive skills.
The aim of the competition was not just to create speedcubers but to make cubing to be a way of life for children.
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.
Atitude of Gratitude
Shiv Nadar School, firmly believes in Gratitude and Respect for all. The support staff doesn't need a special day to be thanked for all that they do each and every day to help students and mentor be their best. In heat or col, they are always ready to provide unconditional support/service towards maintenance and a smooth functioning of the school.
Keeping this in mind, our Principal along with the Administrative Team organized a ‘Watermelon Party’, to Beat the Heat for them on Thursday, 30th May 2019.
They deserve our gratitude and respect.Their dedication and commitment to work is always appreciated.
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.
Anandam: Discovering Talent and Skills
The school witness a vibrant display of paintings, sculptures and artworks prepared by students of Grades 3 and above, along with presentations of theatre, music and dance on 9th January.
From beautiful pots in different techniques and shapes to Water Color glass frames, to portrait drawings in pencil and pastels to canvases in acrylic color, were exhibited with full fervor in the merry gallery spaces of North Block with a curatorial anchor of keeping one kind of forms together for display purpose.
Aha Painting and Pottery
These classes were spaces for Grade 3 to 5 children to experience and learn drawing, painting and pottery making on a rotation basis. Students of all three baskets namely Painting 1, Painting 2 and Pottery baskets came up with a brilliant collection of paintings and terracotta pots executed in their Aha classes. Students of all three baskets of Aha 3-5 played a key role in the process of Display, assembling installations with a purpose, giving inputs for curation. Students of Aha 6-8 Painting baskets came up with a series of paintings on canvas and paper illustrating their inner thoughts, meaningful and purposeful ideas and skill based study works. Students even assembled together a ‘Live Painting’ which was their first ever Video Installation as part of the exhibition.
The ceremonial lamp of knowledge and creativity was lit by honorable Principal Ms. Anju Wal, and the Parent Representative body of the school which was followed by the invocation rendered by the students of Hindustani classical music.
The Hindustandi Classical Music
The Hindustandi Classical music basket for Grades 3 to 5, began their journey with exploring the concepts of Thaat, Shudh, komal and teevra swaras. They attempted to identify notes with only the tanpura. They were familiarised with the grammar of Raag bhopali. They went on to create patterns in the same Raag and practiced singing various alankaars. They beautifully presented madhya laya bandish in Raag bhopali. This bandish began with a guru mantra followed by a composition in Jhap Taal, a cycle of 10 beats. During the performance the students attempted to improvise on stage, which is a very important aspect of Indian classical music. They concluded the performance with the bandish “Maheshwra Mahadev” set in teen taal.
Through the year, the students of Grades 6 to 8 have explored Raag Jog and Raag Ahir Bhairav and they presented a composition titled 'Saajan' followed by “bandish” in the two ragas, set in teen taal, a cycle of 16 beats. The compositions celebrated the home coming of the beloved, emphasizing on the significance of spirituality in literature used in music. The parents were thrilled to learn that they were improvising on stage keeping the complicated rhythm in mind. They concluded with a Tarana in Raga Ahir Bhairav set in ek taal, a cycle of12 beats.
Tabla
During the Aha classes, the students of the Tabla basket learnt various aspects of Rhythm. They were taught about Indian and western percussion instruments. Through the year, they were given various activities to enhance their rhythmic skills. The students of Grades 3 to 8 presented ‘Taal Tarang’ set in Teen Taal. They beautifully presented the technical aspects like TIPALLI, kayada, Palta and Tihai, Tukda and they concluded in drut laya teen taal and tihai.
Odissi dance
The Odissi dance students explored on preparing their bodies for dance through various exercises and movements and were introduced to the traditional repertoire of Odissi.
They beautifully presented an invocation called Mangalacharana, which includes Jagannaathashtakam - A shloka (hymn) in praise of Lord Jagannath an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and Guru vandana which was followed by Pushpanjali which means offering of flowers and Bhumi Pranam which means salutation to mother earth.
The invocation for Grades 6 to 8 also included Sabha Pranam (trikhandi Pranam), the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
Theatre
Grade 3 to 5 students of the theatre basket presented the Wizard of Oz!
While working on this fantastical story, the students got the opportunity to explore various possibilities in acting, through body movement and exaggeration of action and still images. This allowed them to expand their body language and enhance their speech and voice.
When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical Land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow that needs a brain, a Tin Man missing a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West to earn his help.
Grade 6 to 8 students presented The Comedy of Errors was written by Shakespeare is known to the world. After both being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins’ lives in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. The main focus of the production was deeply driven to the language of Shakespeare, understanding the beauty and the sub-text of the script. The play is done in a conventional structure where actors trying to explore the design aspects of composition, and movement of the actor.
Kathak Dance
The Kathak dance basket were told the story of the origin of dance, and then were introduced to different classical and folk dance forms in India. They studied rhythm and the ‘taal’ concept, and learnt how to express through numbers. Tatkaar, hastak, spins, neck movement and various tukras, and tihais were taught in the Aha class.
The students 3 to 5 beautifully presented a composition of the great poet Surdas set in teentaal, depicting different leela’s of Lord Krishna, focusing on the rainy season. This bandish - “Barkha Ritu”- set in raag Sur Malhar, Teentaal.
The students of 6 to 8 beautifully presented the ‘Nritta’ aspect, or pure dance form of Kathak, taking you through complex rhythmic footwork, spins, and mathematical compositions set in teentaal - Madhya laya and for the first time ever was accompanied in live music, Ahmad Hussain on sarangi, Naveen sir on Tabla, Aishwarya Ma’am on Nagma. They concluded with a choreography on a Tarana set in ektaal, a rhythmic cycle of 12 beats.
Western Music Basket
The students of the western music basket have been exploring sounds identified as ‘notes’. These are arranged in countless different patterns to produce melodious tunes. The students learnt to create rhythmic melody patterns, such as: Pyramid of Notes, importance of Time Signature in rhythm, role of Dynamics etc.
The student Choir presented before you a bouquet of songs. They worked religiously on training their voices for singing, learning to play chords and executing a regular repeated pattern of movement on Djembe.
The mini-orchestra (students of 6 to 8) presented a blend of unique tones and styles of playing. They have undergone an invigorating process and have worked religiously from learning the chords to executing a regular repeated pattern of movement on a Djembe or a Snare Drum. From an Egg shaker to follow the Rhythm moves on a Tambourine; they have learned the art of blending in rhythms and melodies systematically, leading to the production of this Symphony.
The program ended with Principal addressing the parental community and appreciating the students and teachers for their endless effort in making Anandam a huge success.
The vote of thanks was presented by the Head Boy Sahaj Gard and Head Girl Mannat Kaur of the school. The Exhibition and Program got a very heartwarming response from the Parent Community and other viewers as it encouraged and inspired the students.
Anandam: The Joy of Learning
Anandam a significant day at Shiv Nadar School, unwinding a walk down in our yearlong learning path.Anandam defines the different baskets of Aha namely Visual arts, Dance, Music and theater. The program has a holistic approach and enhances cognitive, physical, aesthetic and cultural skills in us. Finally, it acts as a platform that allows us to showcase our talent through different stage performances.
The programme commenced by offering prayers to the embodiment of knowledge ‘Maa Saraswati” followed by our customary LAMP-LIGHTING ceremony by CEO Col. Gopal Karunakaran , Principal Ms. Anju Wal, and the Parent Representative Group Members.
The very first act of the event was Shades of Raag- Kaafi by the students of Indian Classical Music basket. The students were introduced to the concepts of Naad, dhwani and Raag and then explored Raag Kafi in their classes. They presented Sargam geet and Lakshan Geet in teentaal. The surroundings echoed with the honey-like sound and vocals of the students.
The musical performance was followed by a Blending Percussion. During the classes the students explored rhythm techniques and learnt about Indian and western percussion instruments. Here, the students showcased a variety of percussion instruments like Congo, Bongo, Dholak and tabla using a rhythm pattern. It was a true amalgamation of the different musical instruments.
The next act - Namskriya kriya- Angikam, was a tribute to Lord Shiva, whose body is the whole Universe, whose speech encompasses all the languages of the world and whose ornaments are the moon and the stars. The students from the Odissi dance basket were introduced to the basic movements and gestures of this classical dance style. It was a captivating performance that kept the audience hooked without a blink.
As said by Shakespeare- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, such are the students of Theatre basket who get to play different roles as a part of their engagement. Students showcased the story of King Midas, a play, prepared through a series of movements and freezes. Students explored their imagination and played their roles with honesty.
The students of the Kathak dance basket had been learning about the various techniques of movements and expressions in their dance classes. They presented the famous episode of Lord Krishna stealing butter from the homes of gopis, a simple Kavitt with short tukdas, set in tentaal, a cycle of 16 beats, narrating the story through this Kathak performance. The Krishnas and gopis took us back in time and presented a fascinating dance performance.
Next performers were from the Theatre basket, who explored the folk tale of Brazil. They created the sounds, movements and improvised all the scenes during the process. The young artists performed the play- The Turtle and the Magic Flute. It was a treat to the eyes of the audiences.
As rightly said by the world renowned artist Degas” Art is not what you see but what you make others see”. Next were students from Visual Arts basket introduced who took up the stage and took their bows. Visual arts students had worked very hard through the year, to create their masterpieces. Images of animals and birds shaping the jungle scenes, were depicted in water color and mixed models in clay. Their works were appreciated closely in the Gallery Walks in the designated time.
As quoted by Plato “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” It was now time to let feet move to the beats as the talented Western Music students left the audience in high spirits, showcasing Jamming and vocals. Parents kept tapping their feet, feeling the power of the music created by the talented students. This brought us to the end of our lively stage performances. It was indeed a moment of pride and joy as we culminated our learning in front of audiences and geared up for future challenges.
The parents’ proceeded towards the Art Gallery of grade 1-2 in the shape of a beautifully put together exhibition of their works done throughout the academic year.
Aha Clay Modelling and Painting classes were spaces for Grade 1 and 2 children to experience and learn drawing and modelling organic forms such as animals and birds inspired from Nature on a rotation basis House-wise. Students of all Houses came up with a brilliant collection of paintings and clay sculptures executed in their Aha classes. Lion House came up with a series of models and drawings in pastels in geometric shapes, Panthers and Leopards came up with Animal and Bird forms respectively, in clay and painting while Tigers spent most amount of time putting together these forms inspired by Nature in meaningful compositions. The exhibition especially emphasized the Tiger House works bringing out the best of their achievements in the Art basket.
Newsletter Vol.3 from the Principal's Desk
Dear Parent
Three weeks of the New Year are underway, the children are back where they belong, the laughter fills our corridors and the sun shines brighter on Shiv Nadar School. Wishing you a Happy, Engaging, Meaningful and Joyful New Year. May your aspirations be fulfilled and you remain healthy and robust through the year.
We closed the year with some interesting, significant and impactful events.
The students of Grades 7 and 8 stood first in the Regional Round, Northern Region, Robotics Championship. They proceed to Bangalore in the first week of February for the National Round.
Dr. Amrita Dass, the iconic Career Counsellor, Founder Director of International Career Studies organisation, led a session on career counselling for grade 8 parents and students in December.
Middle School students marked C V Raman Day with a day dedicated to STEM presentations, experiments, explorations and gaming stalls.
On their journey of steady independence, grades 3 and 4 spent a night in the school late November and did the many splendoured things they wouldn’t otherwise on a Friday evening at home. I am sure they shared their experiences with you.
Our first time participation in the Carol Singing Competition at the Holy Child Auxilium School, Delhi made us immensely proud. Grades 3, 4, 5 students of AHA Western Music picked up the first prize and left their imprint on the event with aplomb.
We also picked up the second prize at the Inter School Folk Dance Competition. Our dance theme belonged to Sambalpuri folk dance of Odisha.
Basketball girls’ team has trained and played matches, gaining strength and moving notches ahead in stamina, skill and spirit.
In the 3rd week of December, we organised an Art Festival, inviting stalwarts from the Art World. Artists, Manu Parekh, Jayshree Burman, Gogi Saroj Pal, Pradeep Maitra and more took sessions, art workshops with grade 4 to 12 students. Students from Noida and Gurgaon School too participated in the day-long Art immersion program.
We closed the year with a Music and Food carnival as you know. Thank you for joining in the revelry with evocative food, electrifying music and ‘let your hair down moment’. We clocked a footfall of over 3000 or more people from our community.
The New Year brings tidings of gathering momentum in the last tri-semester of this session. The phase 2 of our building is coming up with state of art facilities of squash and badminton courts, swimming and a vast running track. The multi-purpose hall is quite incredible and will be with us by July 2019.
We will soon invite you for its inaugural.
The New Year has begun with our Middle School students Graphics and Robotic teams blazing through 10 teams of Gurgaon Schools at the Techno Fest, at Presidium Gurgaon, winning the trophy for both Robotics and Graphics in Junior and Senior Category.
And now round the bend are few significant events you would like to note:
Republic Day - Flag Hoisting on 26th January at 9 am
Anandam in February for grades 1 to 8
Nursery and Kindergarten Learning Walk Days
Kindergarten Long Fridays in February – Transition to grade 1
Final Examination for Middle School, 15th February commencement.
Start of Coffee Evenings across 1 to 8.
Post Admission Orientation Days in March
Close of Term on 16th March.
These are some of the highlights I share with you. Every day is rewarding to see the growth, movement, and learning curve of each child, perceive the pangs of the young adolescents in our midst, revel in their Eureka moments and be the anchor in their journey to adulthood. We stand fortified each morning with an undeterred eye on our vision, our core values in our mind, and unconditional love for our children in our hearts.
With Best Regards
Anju Wal
Principal
Shiv Nadar School
Faridabad
Christmas fire-free cooking session with Parents
To add to the Christmas celebrations, and as a part of our Parent-Partnership program at Shiv Nadar School, team Grade 2 invited parent volunteers to conduct a Christmas fire-free cooking session with the children of Grade 2, in the week before Christmas.
Mother of Divisha Garg of 2 Corbett volunteered to teach the students to make ‘Snowman Truffle’. Students were very excited to prepare something on their own. She demonstrated each and every step on how to make a snowman truffle. Throughout the session, the children were engaged and had a fun time learning to prepare a new delecious dessert.
Mrs. Garg was also delighted and shared that she would love to come again for any such activity.
Mother of Lareasha Sachdeva of 2 Gir volunteered to teach the students to make snowman cookies.
Keeping in sync with the spirit of Christmas, the children were very excited to make the snowman cookies. The ingredients gems and choco chips set their mouth watering.
An interactive session, Mrs Sachdeva demonstrated how a snowman cookie is made. She further shared the recipe with the students. Few students took notes and excitedly shared that they are going to make the cookies again during the holidays for their friends and family.
Mr. Narwat, father of Priansh Narwat of grade two Kanha volunteered for fire free cooking. It was a very engaging session where he taught children to make vegetable sandwiches. Mr. Narwat created a very comfortable environment in the class right from the moment he entered, which surely added to the richness of everyone's experience in the classroom. While he started with modeling it for children, he gave a full opportunity to children to make their sandwiches independently. As he was teaching them he also talked about the nutritional value of vegetables and cheese for children. It definitely motivated them to finish off each and every bit of the sandwich. Mr. Narwat set a great example for children as well as other parents by volunteering and breaking the gender stereotypes related with cooking. It will surely inspire other fathers to engage themselves with the children in non-normative ways.
It was a great session full of fun, warm bondings and of course delicious sandwiches.
Dr Rohini Khattar parent of Myra Khattar from 2 Sariska to volunteer for a fire free cooking program in 2 Ranthambore.
Dr Khattar with her great cooking skills and her natural knack for creativity helped the children prepare a reindeer sandwich which the children absolutely enjoyed.
It was a great pleasure to see the little hands joyfully apply the spread and fillings and assemble the olives and the gems and prepare cute little rudolphs in their plates with Rudolph the red nose reindeer playing in the background.
Mrs. Mahani, the mother of Aneesha Mahani lifted everyone's spirit by teaching 2 Sariska how to prepare Chocolate balls. The children loved the process of crushing the biscuits into a fine powder. They then carefully added Milk maid to it and rolled the mixture into chocolate balls, chocolate snow man and much more! The children relished what they had made and shared their chocolate balls with each other.
Mrs. Mahani beautifully engaged with the children, helping them in each step. The children affectionately thanked her and gifted her a plant. The children excitedly shared that they would go home and make it again for their parents.
Book Launch- Constitution of India for children
Ms. Subhadra Sen Gupta launched her new book 'Constitution of India for children' on 7th February 2020 in Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad.
The occasion was extra special since it coincided with the 70th anniversary of India being a republic.
The book was welcomed with open arms by students of all 7 school which were present for the launch. The children loved the book for its easy language and colourful illustrations. Ms. Gupta's discussion made the constitution come alive and the session reached its zenith by deep and detailed questions asked by students.
VISIT TO PRAKASHDEEP SCHOOL, SECTOR 21A FARIDABAD
On Friday the 7th of Feb, some Students of Grade IV and V visited PrakashDeep School in Sector 21 Faridabad.
Prakash Deep School is a non-profit organization for the underprivileged operating from a park in Sector 21-A Faridabad for the past six years. The current strength of the school is 250 children which have been divided into ten groups according to their age and capabilities. There are 15 teachers who impart education to them. Three of these are volunteers. The school imparts free education, a mid day meal and basic health care. Children are exposed to Art and Crafts, Classical and Folk Dances and vocational training apart from academics. In order to inculcate a sense of responsibility towards the society, the children are encouraged to perform Random Acts of Service to the Community" on a regular basis.
Our students very enthusiastically did the Mindful Chants blended with some well-known English inspirational songs which helped in creating an aura for everyone. This session was led by a guest from Australia, Mr. Steve. Our students felt the positive vibes which were strengthening their Mind, Body and Soul in a powerful way. Later we watched few performances presented by the Students of Prakash Deep School which was a feast for the eyes. They also got some snacks provided by the organisers.
At the end our Students danced on some good songs and got some pictures clicked with the Chief Functionary Mrs Savita Datt and with the Guest. Our Students found this visit very fruitful. The memories from this trip will remain with the children and aid their academic learnings in varied ways.
