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STUDENT EDITION

FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020

WEB EDITION

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ENVIRONMENT

Climate change willcause more extremewet, dry seasons: Study

The world can expect more rainfall asthe climate changes. It can also expectmore water to evaporate, complicatingefforts to manage reservoirs and irrigatecrops in a growing world, warns a new study.Examining the magnitude and variability ofprecipitation and evaporation and how muchwater will be available during the wettest anddriest months of the year, researchers foundthat dry seasons will become drier and wetseasons will become wetter.

YOU’D RATHER GET ACORONAVIRUS VACCINETHROUGH YOUR NOSE

O f the 150-plus coronavirus vaccinesin development around the world,the lion’s share will rely on a nee-dle prick to make their way into the body.

Most vaccines throughout history havebeen jabbed into the upper arm, often togreat success. But when protecting peopleagainst pathogens that invade the airway,like the coronavirus, an intra-muscularshot isn’t necessarily the best strategy,some experts say.

SONU SOOD TO WRITE A BOOK ON HISEXPERIENCES WITH THE MIGRANTS

MUKESH AMBANI IS THE 6THRICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD

Mukesh Ambani,Chairman and ManagingDirector of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL),became the world’s sixth-richest person—surpassing Alphabet co-founder Larry Page—af-ter his real-time net worth rose by $2.17 billion to$72.4 billion. Apart from being the richest Indianand Asian, Ambani, 63, is now all set to join theexclusive club of the world's top fiverichest people.

MEGHAN URGES GIRLS TO DROWN OUTONLINE 'NOISE' WITH POSITIVITY

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex,has urged girls and women fromaround the world to drown out"painfully loud" negative online chatterwith positivity. Addressing 40,000 teen girlsand young women via video at the UN Foun-dation's 2020 Girl Up Leadership Summit,Meghan said that the generation she wasspeaking to, grew up with digital technol-ogy and knew online media better thananyone. “You understand that our onlineworld has the power to affirm and supportas much as it does to harm,” she said.

A ctor Sonu Soodis all set to comeup with a bookrecounting his experi-ence of help-ing the mi-grant workers reachtheir hometowns duringthe Covid lockdown.The book will be pub-lished by Penguin India.

The past three and half months have been akind of a life-changing experience for me,

living with the migrants for 16 to 18 hours a day andsharing their pain. When I go to see them off asthey begin their journey back home, my heart isfilled with joy and relief. Seeing the smiles on theirfaces, the tears of happiness in their eyes has beenthe most special experience of my life, and Ipledged that I'll keep on working to send them backto their homes until the last migrant reacheshis village, to his loved ones

➥ Many microbes, including the coron-avirus, enter the body through themucosa — wet, squishy tissues that linethe nose, mouth, lungs and digestive tract— triggering a unique immune responsefrom cells and molecules there. Intra-mus-cular vaccines generally do a poor job ofeliciting this mucosal response, and mustinstead rely on immune cells mobilisedfrom elsewhere in the body flocking to thesite of infection.➥ Given the rapid spread of the coron-avirus, some say, it makes sense to devel-op vaccines for the airway

HOW IT WORKS

CLICK HERE: WWW.TOISTUDENT.COM

I RECOMMEND

SITES FOR HANDS-ON SCIENCE

EXPERIMENTS

1 Check out the MMaakkiinngg SScciieenncceeMMaakkee SSeennssee website. This web-site has downloadable experi-ments, along with a fun-filledactivity book, which will keep youentertained for hours.

2 The PPBBSS KKiiddss site has a sec-tion called Zoomsci. In thissection, there are experi-ments that are broken into differ-ent categories. Check out The FiveSenses section, packed withexperiments, all about smell,sight, touch, taste and hearing.

3 The Discovery Channel’sDDiissccoovveerryy KKiiddss is anothersite to bookmark and fea-tures science games, books andactivities . Two activities perfectfor summer, include growing yourown fungus garden and becominga bug detective!

4 BBiillll NNyyee is one crazy science guy! His website has experiments rangingfrom Life, Physical, Planetary and Space Science.

5 The EExxpplloorraattoorriiuumm is notonly a great place to visitwith the kids, but the web-site provides a lot of ideas youcan do at home. A few activitiesinclude, glue-stick sunset, laserjello, ice balloons & much more!

6 Looking for sciencefair/project ideas? SScciieenncceeBBoobb can be a great resourceproviding resources to get yourchild thinking of what they’d liketo create

HRD normsR

eleasing the“Pragyata” guide-lines for onlineclasses, the Union

HRD ministry has recom-mended a cap on daily ses-sions and their durations fordifferent levels of school stu-dents. The ministry framedthe guidelines, following

concerns raised by theparents on schools con-ducting online classes,like regular schools,

thereby increasing chil-dren’s exposure to digitalscreens manifold, since the

closure of schools fromMarch 16, 2020, after theCovid-19 outbreak.The guide-lines highlighted that “it isimportant to have presenta-tions, which are easily read-

able, slides must follow cer-tain rules, like not more thanfive bullet points, maximiseuse of infographics, graphs,charts and avoid tables asmuch as possible”.

CAP ONLINECLASSES AT2-3 HRS:

➥ According to the guidelines, theduration for online classes for pre-primary students should not bemore than 30 minutes; for classes Ito VIII, two online sessions of up to45 minutes each are suggested;for classes IX to XII, three shouldbe four sessions of 30-45 minutes durations

➥ It has also made specific recom-mendations based on the accessibilityof digital resources across house-holds — right from those with access

to 4G connections with laptop, smartphone and TV to those with nodigital device

➥ The HRD ministry has recom-mended eight steps of online ordigital learning — plan, review,arrange, guide, talk, assign, trackand appreciate. These steps guidethe planning and implementation of digital education step by stepwith examples

➥ The guidelines also talk of the

need of assessment, concerns whileplanning online and digital education,like duration, screen time, inclusive-ness, balanced online and offlineactivities, level-wise modalities ofintervention, including resource cura-tion, level-wise delivery; physical,mental health and well-being duringdigital education

➥ The guidelines also urge par-ents, teachers and schools to takeprecautions on cyber safety andethical practices

T H E G U I D E L I N E S

EDUCATION

NASA's most advanced Marsrover Perseverance will belaunched from Earth onJuly 30, on a mission to

seek signs of ancient microbial life,on what was once a river delta three-

and-a-half billion years ago. The in-ter-planetary voyage will last sixmonths.

INTO THE FUTURE

Three countries — UnitedStates, China and theUnited Arab Emirates — aresending unmanned space-craft to the Red planet inquick succession, in themost sweeping effort toseek signs of ancientmicroscopic life, whilescouting out the place forfuture astronauts

TIME TO TEST YOURKNOWLEDGE ON MARS

1 Which is the only country on theplanet to have successfully land-ed robots on Mars?a) USA b) Russia c) China

2 Which rover confirmed the thepresence of complex organicmolecules on the Red planet?a) Pathfinder b) Curiosity c) Spirit

3 On which crater of Mars willPerseverance land on February18 2021?

a) Jezero Crater b) Aniak c) Yuty

Answer: 1A; 2 B; 3A

➤ Should the SUV-sized vehicle touchdown unscathed, it will start collectingand storing rock and soil samples, to beretrieved by a future mission andbrought back to Earth in 2031➤ Perseverance follows in the tracksof four rovers before it, which wasfirst launched in the late 1990s➤ Together with satellite and surfaceprobes, they have transformed ourunderstanding of Mars, showing thatthe Red Planet wasn't always a coldand barren place ➤ Instead, it hadthe ingredients for life as we know it:water, organic compounds and afavourable climate

MAKE GRATITUDE A HABIT TO BECOME MENTALLY STRONG

1START A GRATITUDE JOURNAL: SonjaLyubomirsky, author of ‘The How ofHappiness’ suggests that journaling ismore effective, if you first make the consciousdecision to become happier and more grateful.So make a decision, then write a gratitude jour-nal, in which you log in the things/people youare thankful for.

2Send small tokens, thank you notes or let-ters of gratitude to the people, who areimportant in your life; tell them why theyare special to you

3CREATE A COLLAGE: Morin suggests thatlooking at pictures of people/things thatyou are thankful for, will serve as a greatvisual reminder of the good things in your life

4CREATE A RITUAL WITH YOUR FAMILY:Creating a unique ritual with your familycan help you ensure that you practise itdaily, feels Morin

5Just say a heartfelt ‘thanks’ to expressyour appreciation to avoid expressing onlyin your head. Appreciate the peoplearound you, and thank them

nitya.shukla@timesgroup.com

In a recent article, AmyMorin, a psychotherapist,TEDx speaker and authorof ‘13 Things Mentally

Strong People Don't Do’, haswritten that practising grati-tude is the ‘simplest andfastest way to build mentalstrength.’ In fact, according towww.positivepsycology.com,when we express (and receive)gratitude, our brain releasesdopamine and serotonin, thetwo crucial neurotransmittersresponsible for our emotions,and they make us feel 'good'.They enhance our mood im-mediately, making us feel hap-py from inside.

➥ According to Laurie Santos, a cognitive scientist, gratitude affects our interpersonalrelationships. Multiple studies suggest that if you express gratitude to the people you care about, you can end up boosting those relationships.

➥ That’s not all! Harvard Health Publicationsreports that “gratitude is strongly and consis-tently associated with greater happiness. In fact,the simple act of writing down things that youare grateful has a range of benefits, includingbetter sleep, suggests Greater Good ScienceCenter of UC Berkeley

B E N E F I T S HOW TO PRACTISE GRATITUDE THROUGH SIMPLE WAYS

Show gratitude towards your parents, peers, elders and every other living being. Don'tforget to share your experiences at toiniei175@gmail.com/timesmailnie175@gmail.com

➤ Most of the Eastern US, including all ofSouth Carolina, has high precipitation thatis well distributed throughout the year,researchers found. The region and otherslike it can expect greater precipitation andevaporation in both wet and dry seasons,according to the study. ➤The greatest con-cern for such regions will be more flooding.The regions that will be hardest hit by cli-mate change are the ones that already getslammed with rain during wet seasons andstruggle with drought during dry seasons.They include, much of India and its neigh-bours— Bangladesh and Myanmar, alongwith an inland swath of Brazil, Africa, andnorthern Australia

CORONA UPDATE

BOOKIN THE NEWS

CELEBTALK

A mbani's net worth of $72.4billion is higher than thecombined net worth ofIndia's next five billion-aires—Azim Premji ($16.9bn), Shiv Nadar ($15.8bn), Gautam Adani ($12.6bn), RadhakishanDamani ($11.8 bn) andCyrus Poonawala ($11.8bn). Of late, Ambani, whoowns 42% of RIL, has bene-fited from a flurry of invest-ment into Jio Platforms Ltd

There will always be negativevoices, and sometimes thosevoices can appear to be out-sized; sometimes they canappear to be painfully loud.Your gut will tell you what'sright and what's wrong, Thehardest part is to chase yourconvictions with action

Perseverance rover tosearch for life on Mars

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

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It’s not just a place where you get to learn Einstein’s Theory of

Relativity. It’s also a place where you can think beyond the class-

room. Hence we say, SCHOOL IS COOL!02

Merit comes with determination, courage and persistence, all are qualities that need to be developed with practice

Name: Pratiksha KapoorBoard: CBSESchool: DonBosco SeniorSecondarySchool, NerulPercent: 98Hard work alonecan bring success. Listen to yourteachers and parents, concentrate onwhat you want to achieve.

Name: Tec Narayan BrahmachariBoard: CBSESchool: ShethVidya MandirEnglish HighSchool, VasaiPercent: 97.6It is essential tocome out of your comfort zone andstrive hard to score well, hard work aswell as smart work is necessary to aceall the examinations.

Name: Samyuktaa SivakumarBoard: CBSESchool: RyanInternationalSchool, KandivaliEastPercent: 98.8Continuous practiceand in depth understanding of the concepts alongwith a good balance between studyand play will keep stress at bay.

Name: Sanchari MajumdarBoard: CBSESchool: ApeejaySchool, Nerul,Navi MumbaiPercent: 97.2To reach your goals,studying on a regular basis with sheerperseverance and focus is essential;managing your time efficiently is thekey to achieve your dreams.

Name: Neeraj RadhakrishnanPillaiBoard: CBSESchool: OmkarEnglish MediumSchool, DombivliPercent: 96.4To acquire asatisfactory score itis important to have a good balancebetween sports, academics, goodbehaviour, and most importantly self-study.

Name: Tulika PadhiBoard: CBSESchool: DAVPublic School,NerulPercent: 99Stay motivated,focussed andconfident. Clear all your doubtsbeforehand and make sure that youread the textbooks regularly, follow thisand you'll surely ace the examinations.

Name: Aryan ShrivastavaBoard: CBSE School: DPS,PanvelPercent: 98.2The secret which Ifollow, to reachexcellence, is tomaintain perseverance and devotiontowards any element of life! One mustconcentrate on one’s goal.

Name: Vanditha PradeepBoard: CBSESchool:GreenfingersGlobal School,KhargharPercent: 98.7I express my respect, love and gratitudeto my parents and teachers for their sup-port and encouragement throughout myacademic year. All of them deserve muchmore deep gratitude and love.

Name: Ankesh GuptaBoard: CBSESchool: KendriyaVidalaya, PanvelPercent: 96.2Set your daily goalsand try to completethem anyhow by the end of the day.We should always keep short-term andlong-term goals. Work hard and bestrong willed.

Name: S.D. VidhulaBoard: CBSESchool: TreeHouse HighSchool, VirarPercent: 96.2The more you'll wantto do, the higheryou'll reach. So as long as you have thehunger for success, you will always havethe power within you to achieve it.

Name: Prapti VithalaniBoard: CBSESchool: Sri MaVidyalaya, ThanePercent: 96.4Success is always aresult of relentlesseffort — the pursuit ofexcellence is the key.Follow everything that your teachers tellyou, obey your parents and you will seean amazing performance.

Name: Shreya SinghBoard: CBSESchool: ApeejaySchool, KhargarPercent: 97.20It's good to haveambitions butexpectations aretoxic. Work towards your goal withoutany incentive of results. I express mygratitude to my school teachers andPrincipal Ma'am.

Name: Rimjhim TiwariBoard: CBSESchool: JaipuriarSchool,Sanpada,NaviMumbaiPercent: 96.20Developing a habit ofstudy is a must, no matter how manyhours you put in. Consistent hard-work and mock tests help you ace therace!

Name: Mithali BhosaleBoard: CBSE School: MNRSchool ofExcellence,Kamothe, NaviMumbaiPercent: 98.80Prepare a timetable, follow it zealously.Trust your teachers and parents. Studyregularly throughout the year. Keepyour motivation levels at their highest.

TALES OF SUCCESS

Name: Siddhi ModiBoard: CBSESchool: ApeejaySchool, KhargarPercent: 97.20Plan ahead, workhard, never give in tolethargy. Set high butachievable goals, work towards themthroughout the year. Follow your parentsand teachers totally. I am thankful toPrincipal Ma'am.

BATCH FROM HELL AND BACK...

O ur batch has seenmany hardships:switching to the oldboards system from CCE andour Math paper leaking inthe 10th; and the pandemic in the 12th.Could you ask for more?

The pandemic is unfortunateand most of us saw a dip inour percentage. In thatregard the year was a curse.But in view of the worldaround us in murky water, wecan only consider ourselvesfortunate to have been

spared from the riskybusiness of papers.

PAVIT SOHAL, St John’s High School,Chandigarh

Warriors of

2020The Batch of 2020 will be recognised as a cohort thathas had to face unique challenges, with unparalleled

resilience and grace. As they go on their nextadventure, we know they will provide some inspiration

to make the world a better place... Times NIE spoke withstudents from across India to know more...

BATCH THAT LEARNT THE WORTH OF FREE-DOM AND SANITATION

The batch of 2020 seems to be the most unlucky.We were deprived of the fun that comes with theend of our schooling years. We were also desper-ately waiting for the holidays between our last examand result day, but all went down the drain. Somestudents did not even get the chance to take theirlast exam and prove their true potential. Yet 2020has had its share of excitement. We got to spend timewith our families which we couldn’t have in the usualscenario. We also got to know the worthof freedom and sanitation – two extremelyimportant things that make our life.

THE BATCH THAT WAS SUMMONED BY A VOODOO DOLL!

Batch of 2020 is the talk ofthe town! Everybody fromkids to elders show sympathyfor us as we didn’t celebrate ourlast moments of school life. It isindeed a ritual to celebrate thelast year of school but COVID-19

had other plans. Our journey of 14years ended unnoticeably. It hap-

pened so quickly that manyof us have not yet come to

the realisation that our schoollives have ended. Also, we thestudents of batch 2020, arefacing the biggest identity

crisis of our lives – not knowing if we are still school stu-dents or pass outs!

S NIVETHITHA RAJALAKSHMI,Stanes Anglo Indian Higher

Secondary School,Coimbatore

WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THISYEAR WITH MIXED FEELINGS

For a class 12 student, 2020was supposed to be atransition year afteryears of hard work andpatience. Ideally by July2020, we had envisionedourselves in our dreamcollege, but instead wewere left hanging with anindefinite status. On thebrighter side, studentspreparing for entranceexams have got more timeto revise intensive por-tions. Batch of 2020 hasmixed feelings about the situation. But nothing wecannot manage.

MAITREYI ARWARI, B K BirlaPublic School, Kalyan,

Mumbai

LESSON FOR OUR BATCH - HEALTHBEFORE REPORT CARD

I was disappointed after hearingthat I will not be able to appearfor two board exams. But asdays went by, I realised my healthand safety is of greater impor-tance. Even though the reality isnot honey-sweet, I am not heart-broken with the marking schemethat CBSE chose. The 2020 batch didlearn a great lesson —your health comes beforeyour report card.

SRIJITA CHAKRABORTY,BDM International

BATCH OF 2020... MADE USALL BRAVE WARRIORS

We are united globally. I see this year asa boon. The batch where all studentsembraced the unprecedented timewith innovative measures. This year was andstill is full of challenges blended with ouradaptation and the zeal to survive. This batchof students, with great rigour,energy and ambition faced the

challenge and did a good job too. AsGeneration Y, we have tackled the untowardsituation in a valiant way keeping health andsafety as our first priority. After all, ‘jaan haitoh jahan hai’. This year has helped us to learnand understand how to cope with difficult situ-ations. As brave warriors, we students havewithstood whatever came our way. But we didnot let adversity deter us from learning a lot

about how to sustain andmanage ourselves.

BHAVYA SOOD, AGDAV, ModelTown, New Delhi

AS A BATCH GLOBALLY WE WOULD HAVEMASTERED MANY TRADES... I HAVE!

For us, the batch of 2020, it is the year that was supposed todecide the course of our lives where we would step out from thecomfort zone of our school and graduate to college. We werenervous yet excited. Suddenly life seems to have come to a halt. Istrongly feel that my worries and apprehensions are insignificant infront of such a huge global challenge. And on the brighter side, I havehad all time in the world, what with my entrance exams postponed, thepressure has evaporated. I have played innumerable card games, quib-bled with my brothers over board games and even tried to learn cook-ing – a feat I had previouslydeemed impossible. Celebratingbirthdays online is fun too.

VEDIKA GUPTA, Jayshree PeriwalHigh School, Jaipur

2020 GOT THIS BATCH TOGETHER!

The class 12 batch of 2019-20 were attempting theBoards when the pandemic hit the world and allhell broke loose. Did we complain? No. We waitedfor our government to take tough decisions and wewelcomed what came our way. This batch will surelybe remembered for the grace and humility we haveall shown in accepting our grades and performance.And I speak for all students across the globe whopassed out from school this year.

We are going to make the most of it and always bethat batch which proved to the world that when

calamity strikes, thebrave get stronger.

KALYANI SREEJITH, KVPangode, Thiruvananthapuram

2020 - MOST PROACTIVE AND RESILIENTBATCH, EVER!

T he Batch of 2020 has beenthrough what seems like arollercoaster ride. From exampatterns being changed to notbeing able to complete even theboard exams. But when you look atthe larger picture, it has taught usone thing that this generation great-ly needs – resilience. It has shown usstudents that no matter how tough thegoing gets, one must adapt to beable to survive. Along with all thedamage that this pandemic hasdone to the world, it has become a boon too.

SHAMONA KOSHYPSBBLLA, Bengaluru

VANI DEV PHARASI, DoonInternational School, Dalanwala

Reporting by Priyangshi Chakraborti and Abhijeet Krishnan

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