Senior School Principal

One of the most cardinal and in fact, celebrated approaches towards the teaching-learning process of the IB educational philosophy is ‘collaboration.’ And since in Pathways NOIDA, we firmly believe that while we all are on the same team, what we lose in compromise, we gain by collaboration, we were only too delighted to host the ‘South Asian International Baccalaureate Schools Association (SAIBSA) Job- Alike Session’ for the community of IB teachers on 25th Feb 2012. It was the coming together of 200 IB Diploma teachers from 16 IB schools with their teachers sharing their ideas, beliefs, abstractions and even interpretations in 18 varied subjects. It was one of those experiences which was intellectually gratifying and personally benefitting. In the SAIBSA meets held once a year, we discuss curricula, opine for changes, build our teacher networks and even learn new and creative teaching techniques and theories which enrich and enhance our ability to teach (and learn). There was a clear evidence to see how all IB schools work together to see the success of IB as a brand.

In line with our appreciation and understanding of education, we took our students for an adventure camp to Rishkesh; the students and teachers alike were amazed at the absolute beauty in nature that exists at the foothills of the Himalayas. While the plan was to experience river rafting, we witnessed, through this process, remarkable skills surfacing in the children. It was simply unbelievable how these young ones found resources within themselves, to cope with their fears, adapt to the situation, take on leadership roles, solve problems and make relevant, accurate decisions- all without their knowledge and deliberation. It was most heart warming to see how they automatically transferred their learning and knowledge into practice in real scenarios- and this was the objective of our adventure camp.  This single episode of camping in the midst of nature, with a group of students suddenly allowed them to build personal relationships, negotiation skills,  shed their fears/apprehensions, become ‘risk takers’, and even assume newer, bolder roles to deal with their circumstances. Such camps are necessary to help the ‘whole’ child develop and this is the ideal way to build the ‘Naturalist intelligence’ which enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. And so, with that much fun packed into the trip, we came back from the camp with the students asking for more!

  The last three months have been busy with lots of activities and events all of which you may be well aware of since there has been much communication on those aspects from the school as well as the children. And hence I would like to shift focus to the fast approaching final exams scheduled in May! While the students are currently appearing for their mock exams, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that learning is better is stress free and calming environments and hence I would like to assure you that we at Pathways are here to assist the children in any and every aspect- be it academic, emotional or otherwise. We are here to give our best, so that they in turn will deliver their best.

Here’s wishing all my students the very best of luck.

Umar Jaffar

Senior School Principal