Journeying Together September 2018 Vol. 25

In this Issue:

Celebrations and Festivities Global Citizenship Awards and Accolades

Empowering the Educator Project Based Learning Junior Campus Events

Students’ Corner Beyond the Classroom Teachers’ Corner

Dear Colleague,

Times have changed, so have generations

And you have taught them all

Gen X,Y & Z ;

But one thing remains true and undefeated

Your strife to change the pupil to a scholar.

Imparting is not a career, it is not a profession, not an occupation

For what would you call something you do with dedication?

It is a promise, a pledge you make to yourself,

To create a better tomorrow through your novice.

- Hemamalini Acharya

Celebrations and Festivities

Teachers’ Day

Onam and Krishna Jayanthi

To celebrate Janmashtami and Onam, students put up cultural programs with dances and

songs depicting the life of Lord Krishna, his antics and amazing feats. A traditional song and

dance of Kerala was performed for Onam. As an addition to the Janmashtami

celebrations, there was an inter-house matka breaking event held, symbolising Lord Krishna

and his friends stealing butter. The students formed human pyramids to break the pots. The

event was extremely joyful and entertaining to watch.

- G M Lavanya, grade XI

Students of the Primary celebrated Onam by decorating their class rooms with flower carpets.

The ‘Pookalams’ outside every class was a sight to behold and the fragrance, welcoming.

Discussions on the festival and its significance added to the celebration.

Ganesh Chathurthi

To celebrate the spirit of Ganesh Chathurthi, we the students of the middle school, decorated our

classes with flowers and kolams. A beautiful Ganesha idol was brought in and we performed pooja

and offered delicacies that we had brought from home.Students learning sculpture made

eco-friendly idols of Lord Ganesha during their classes.

Global Citizenship

Coastal Clean Up

All of us find it extremely disheartening to see the beach polluted with garbage. So, when we

heard about the clean-up at Besant Nagar beach, the students of classes 9, 11 and 12 jumped at

the chance. This event was organised by the Indian Maritime Foundation in collaboration with

the American Consulate. Many students from various schools and colleges participated in this

event. Everyone worked together to pick up as much garbage as possible to clean the beach. We

all are grateful for having been part of this event since it gave the opportunity to help create a

change.

- C Sowmya, grade XI

Students working on Water Conservation measured the water flow and developed a prototype to

regulate the rate of flow. A group of grade XII students collected and analysed water samples

in the city.

Prototypes to Perfect

Students came up with prototypes for an ‘Intuitive Human Centred’ waste bin which they plan to

perfect in the near future. The up-cycling teams learnt to make ‘dhonnai’ from badam leaves and

the art of making hand-made paper.

Beyond the Classroom

Nurturing Environments

Creating a learning environment outside the classroom is vital for students. On this note, the

Sociology students of classes 11 and 12 visited Madras Christian College, Tambaram to attend a

National Study Conference conducted by the Department of Social Work. The conference was about

‘Nurturing Environments for Children’ - protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse.

The students attended intense, interesting and thought-provoking sessions by speakers, educators and

professionals from various social organisations. The real life stories and case studies led to

interactive question-answer sessions. At the end of an engrossing day, students took a short walk

around the beautiful campus. Overall, this was a wonderful opportunity and a not-to-be missed

exposure for the students.

- Sneha Krishnan, grade XI

The Art, Sociology and History students of grade XI and XII visited Mahabalipuram in as a part of a

study trip integrating all the subjects.

Connecting the Past and Present

As part of their Geography project, students of Grade VII made weather instruments

and presented them in class.

Project Based Learning

Meteorologists at Work

Edible Cell

Biology whipped with a twist and a crisp

Respecting Differences

Students of grade III had the opportunity to interact with children from Shri Hari Vikasam on their

visit to our school. Students from both schools were engaged in a science activity on plants. It was

a memorable experience for children from both the schools.

Dr. Kaustav Sengupta, associate professor at

NIFT, gave the Art students of grade XI and XII

an insight into the present scenario in the field of

Art and Design. He introduced them to

various aspects like design, fashion,

accessories, design communication, career

opportunities associated with NIFT and the

application process.

Guest Lectures

Special Assemblies

We presented an assembly on the importance of caring and sharing. Our assembly with music,

dance and skit brought out the theme of kindness and concern for others.

- Students of IV Anandabhairavi

We welcomed Ganesha with the shlokam “ Ganapati Bapa Morya’. Our friends presented a ppt on

Ganesh Chaturthi in which they spoke about the different ways the festival is celebrated. Our

assembly on ‘Make a Difference’ had speeches, songs, a small skit and a dance with some

gymnastics included in it. All of us enjoyed our assembly a lot.

- Students of IV Sindhubhairavi

Grade IV Shankarabaranam conducted an assembly to celebrate International Literacy Day.

There was a presentation and a skit on a boy who did not want to study and what happened to him.

Teacher’s Day is celebrated on September 5, in honour of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The day

started off with Guru Vandanam, followed by Dandiya. All the teachers enjoyed this special day.

- B Nandita Rao and KR Ramanathan , grade IV

Culture was the theme of the Grade VIII Neelam assembly. The mime performed during the

assembly highlighted the idea of equality, patriotism and ‘coming together’ of cultures. The

dance was an integration of the east and the west.

Our assemblies on ‘Peace and Love’ included speeches by students. The song ‘Light a Candle

for Peace’ and dance to the tune of ‘Heal the World’ were performed. A mime and a

presentation on ‘Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes’ was part of the assembly.

- Sia Bhargav, grade IV Mohanam

At the after school care, children are engaged productively in activities that help develop life skills

in a safe and caring environment. Children participate in experiments for developing pre-science

skills, fireless cooking to encourage healthy eating, creative exploration through art & craft,

painting, games, pretend play and free play in the multipurpose children's indoor play area.

Junior Campus Events

Fun After School

The little ones help make a beautiful

‘pookalam’

Little Krishnas and Gopikas at play during Krishna Jayanthi celebrations. A grandparent shares

interesting stories of Lord Krishna

PP1 children during a ‘Show and Tell’

on Farm Animals

Silver - Kiruthika S K (Grade XII) Aakash M (Grade X)

Bronze – S Yamini (grade X), Samyuktha Narayanan (Grade XII), S Aditi (Grade XII)

Best Select Award – Sai Lavanya (grade X ), Dhanush Gajula (Grade X)

Sanjana Aravind Sridharan (Grade X), Rishabh Mohan Chatterjee (grade XII)

Awards and Accolades

Bridging Cultures through Art

As part of InKo’s Art exchange programme, few of our students were part of a contingent that

visited Busan, South Korea.

In their own words –

“Wearing hanbok during the tea ceremony was a very special treat where we got to interact with our

Japanese and Korean counterparts.”

- Samyuktha Narayanan, grade XII

“The cultural programme taught us new things about Korean culture and was also a platform to

share ours.”

- S Aditi, grade XII

“We visited their Beomeosa temple, Haeundae aquarium and other places. We got to meet Buddhist

monks and got to know about their lifestyle.”

- Kiruthika S K, grade XII

Sowmiya Paranan and Carina Veda

Perla of grade XII won the 3rd place in

quiz.

Connaisance

Our under-12 cricket team won the SCC Cricket

Academy under 12 Independence Trophy. Dhruv

Thirumalai from grade VIII won the Man of the

Series award while Veera Rajavel from grade

VII won the promising cricketer award. Dhepesh

Narayana S and Ekansh, both from grade VI,

and Dhruv Thirumalai from grade VIII also won

Man of the Match awards.

At the South India under-12 tournament conducted by R.K.T. Cricket Club in Trichy, our team

emerged winners. The following students won awards –

Man of the Match – Ekansh (grade VI), Aadhav S Bharadwaj (grade VIII), Vishal Sachin Perla and

Dhruv Thirumalai (grade VIII)

Man of the finals – Aryan Balagopal T B (grade VI)

Best bowler of the tournament – Vishal Sachin Perla (grade VIII)

Man of the tournament – Dhruv Thirumalai (grade VIII)

Best fielder of the tournament – Abhinav (grade V)

Cricket Mania

Samyukt Vasu and G Tarun Pravin from grade XII

and Mehul Saravanan from grade XI won the 2nd

place in debate.

At the under-13 cricket tournament conducted by the Rising Star Cricket Academy, our school

emerged runner up.

Vishnu Rajaraman from grade VII won the Promising Cricketer award and Dhruv Thirumalai

from grade VIII won the Man of the Series award. Vishnu Rajaraman from grade VII, Vishal

Sachin Perla and Dhruv Thirumalai from grade VIII won Man of the Match awards.

Vidyuth T (grade IX), Shabbir H Madraswala (grade VIII) and Dhruv Thirumalai (grade VIII)

have been selected for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association City Round Robin under 14 cricket

tournament.

In the Science Talent Contest 2k18

conducted by Rotary Madras Southwest,

Srinidhi Sudarsan and K Pavarnaa of

grade VIII were awarded the 2nd prize in the

Junior category.

Shraddha Padmanabhan of

grade V secured 2nd Place in

KUMITE technique in the CSIKA National

Karate Championship 2018.

Empowering the Educator

Ms. Maya Thiagarajan from Learning Tree conducted a workshop for the

teachers of middle school on developing observation, critical thinking and questioning skills..

Ms. Magdalene Jeyarathnam and Mr. Eric Miller conducted a workshop for teachers of Primary, on

storytelling and role play in teaching and learning. The workshop focussed on challenging behaviour

and situations in a classroom scenario. Stories pertaining to various subjects as stand-alone resource

or as integration were discussed.

Ms.Sivakamasundari and Ms.Hridya of the Math department participated in the IMSC

(Institute of Mathematical Sciences) symposium on the ‘Purpose of Mathematics’ and

‘Intended Curriculum’.

Ms.Gaythri Gargeya of the Math department attended a workshop on ‘Active Learning in

Mathematics’

World Literacy Day

World Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8. Globally, 750 million adults are

illiterate. Two thirds of these people are women and several are children. In a world where we

depend on technology, it is essential for us to be literate. Unfortunately, various situations contribute

towards illiteracy. For example, in some countries, women are not allowed to be educated. This is why

literacy is on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The UN has pledged to help attain world literacy

by 2030 by setting up camps in undeveloped countries.

An increase in world literacy will have a butterfly effect in better employment opportunities and

housing domains. Individuals will also get to be a part of better communities or localities. We must

help each other reach this goal of world literacy and fulfill the promise of the 2030 agenda for

Sustainable Development.

- Reshmi Balakrishnan, grade VIII

The bright, blue sky

Is where the birds fly.

The strong, tall tree,

Is where hangs the hive of the bee.

The sun is shining

On the clouds with a silver lining

Nature is a beautiful sight

Which is wonderful in bright light.

Nature is a place to think

Where all living things are linked.

It is quiet, calm and cozy

It is never ever lazy.

- D Vaathsalya, grade V

Nature

Forever in our hearts, whether young or old.

Reasonable to say that they are as good as gold.

I am no one, but for you,

Every friend is special, no matter who!

Nothing else matters, when you have a good friend.

Daring and caring until the very end

So my dear friends, I say to you, never bend until the END!

- Mavillapalli Paresa Kedar, grade VI

Friends

Students’ Corner

“The road to happiness is always under construction.” A brief on this topic should be easy enough to

write about. But only after I started writing did I actually realise how resonant the prompt was. And

how brutal it was to realise how misguided we as humans can be. Happiness is, and always will be,

something that everyone strives towards, yet no one really arrives at in the end. In fact pursuing

happiness is like climbing a mountain. A towering mountain where every single time you crest the

summit, you’ve only reached a ridge. There’s always a higher peak, a better horizon to see.

In the end, yes, I do agree that happiness is a road eternally under construction. The closer we seem

to get to the destination, the farther it actually is. It’s a road we all take, and all of us want to get to

the end. However, there is a catch. We are so often so focused, so fixated on getting to the end of the

road, or looking in the mirror at the turns we could have taken, that we forget to look outside the

window. We forget to take in the clouds, the sky, or even the trees. And that is where we all are

making the same mistake all too often. While the main destination may be ahead, so far ahead that it

may be unreachable, there is happiness to be found en route. Not just at the end of the road though.

All around us. So next time, dear reader, when you find yourself fixated on that faraway point,

gearing up for your next climb, stop. Stop and take it all in.

- Amrutha Nathan, grade X

Road to Happiness

Teachers’ Corner

Teacher Editors - Ms. Hemamalini Sivakumar, Ms. Yoshida Menon and Ms. Thara Mohan

Student Editors - Ms. Gayathri and Ms. G M Lavanya

Design and Technical Support - Ms. Preethi E

Photography - Mr. Ganesan and Mr. Sugumar

In October …

October 2 - Gandhi Jayanthi

October 10 to 21 - I Term Holidays

October 22 - School Reopens

CA/SA– Please refer to our website for dates of examinations.

Fun days around the corner…