Eye camp & Cleanliness Drive on 10th OCT ’2014 by Khanak Mehta Gr 12 A

On the 10th of October’2014, an Eye-camp and Cleanliness drive was organized by the Interact Club of Pathways School, Noida, at the basti (village) adjoining our school.

A lot of hard work went into this event, where a group of students of form 12 prepared and rehearsed a nukkad naatak (street play) on cleanliness. The play was scripted by Abid Abbas, a student of form 12.

The event began with the students going around the basti and prompting the villagers to come

out and watch the nukkad naatak. An eye camp was also organized in the village in association with I-care Hospital, Noida. All the community members could get their eye checkup done for free and specs and cataract surgeries were sponsored from the Interact funds. Our school support staff was also invited to

participate in the eye camp and were relieved from their regular school chores for a stipulated time. We received an overwhelming registration of 106 patients during the 2 hours of camp, of which 25 patients have been issued specs for free and 6 patients have been identified for cataract surgeries.

Our students also set up a counter, where they provided free snacks and drinks to the community members. They interacted with the students of the local school, and the villagers, and educated them about proper garbage disposal. After conducting the nukkad naatak, the participants went around the whole basti, and put dustbins at each corner for the use of the villagers.

The event was a huge success, and it was extremely heartwarming to see the student body come together as one with the villagers on this front. 

Relief materials dispatched to Kashmir – An Interact club initiative by Shreya Gupta, Grade 12

We have all been avidly watching the news and reading the newspapers about the floods that have struck Kashmir. Nature's fury has led to a great loss of lives of loved ones, homes, livelihoods and so much more.

The locals have been suffering from starvation and a dire need for potable water, food, medication, warm clothes and woolens etc has arisen. At such an occasion, it doesn’t matter whether the people hurt are Hindus or Muslims, Indians or Pakistanis, rich or poor. All that matters is that our fellow humans need our help and we at Pathways believe that it is our responsibility to rise to such occasions and work together to help those in need.

The Pathways School Interact Club organized a collection drive for Kashmir to help the victims in Kashmir.

We received a truly overwhelming response from both the Primary and Secondary school students and parents and large cartons of warm clothes, blankets, medicines, sanitary and hygiene products were collected. The collected items have been dispatched to Kashmir in collaboration with the “Help foundation”.

It was heartwarming to see how the Pathways community contributed to the cause wholeheartedly. I would like to sincerely thank all the parents, teachers and students for all their contributions. 

Trip to Kumaon from 27th Sept. to 3rd Oct was a memorable and a learning experience! - By Aryaman Dewan Form 9

The trip to Kumaon from 27th Sept. to 3rd Oct was a memorable and a learning experience.

It taught me that in our lives we do not remember days but remember moments and in this trip I gathered a lot of these moments which will stay with me through out my life and which I hope will help me grow as a human being.

I thank my school and my parents to give me an opportunity to go for such a wonderful trip. Kumaon as a place is beautiful and the early morning view was just breathtaking.

Let me share some of the most wonderful moments of the trip with you.

We were in for a small surprise the first day we reached the camp as there were no proper toilet seats. To manage and to find a way of using the toilet was an experience I will never forget.

The first of trekking was also a challenge for me because of some medical problems but Mr. Satish of MindVisa, boosted my confidence and gave me the courage to overcome my problem and on the last day I was able to complete my trek in spite of my health issues. It also taught me that with the right encouragement and determination you can overcome any difficulty.

Seeing the butterfly collection and holding the snake for the first time in my hand were wonderful experiences also.

Working in the orchard and in the farm made me realize that there is more to life than laptops and video games. It brought me close to nature and now I have told my mom of handing over the responsibility of the garden to me.

Last but not the least I made a lot of new friends from other schools.

The games we played helped in breaking the ice between us and we ended up making friends from other schools especially Auroville school from down south.I learnt about their culture and also learnt some Tamil words.

I hope we remain in touch with each other and develop a friendship which lasts us a life time.

In short "I loved the trip".

Out trip to the Google Head Quarters organized by the camp k12 on 10th October 2014

It was a very interesting and nice journey to go to google headquarters. We were told about how we would have to start young in order to create the next "google". We also learnt many things about google, how it works and how awesome their infrastructure, rules, and independence is - there are no formals to wear and it provides facilities which even many high rated hotels don't have -     From meditation centers, sleeping bunkers to gym and table tennis table.

-              Utkarsh Gupta Form 9

This trip to the Google headquarters made me realize the importance of creativity and the need of thinking out of the box and being innovative. We went for a tour around the office and saw the different rooms like the gym, spa and the fitness room that were a part of the office. The experience was really different and I enjoyed it thoroughly. This gave us an idea about how this huge giant Google came into being and the numerous minds that work behind the scenes.

-          Mehak Diwan Form 9

It was remarkable and pleasant trip to go to Google Headquarters. We were told about how they want us to create the next “Google” and we will have to start young because all the successful developers started at a very young age. I learnt about many things in Google: there way of working, their amazing office which was uniquely built with bunker beds and saunas and their culture.

-              Aryaman Dewan Form 9

When I looked at the Google Headquarters outside, I thought that it was just another typical, boring office with people wearing formal dresses, but when I was inside, I thought of only one thing, “Is this an office or a mini amusement park?!” There were so much of cool stuff to look at, learn and even play, as there were games like air hockey and table tennis. I wish this trip never ended but sadly it had to end. But who knows, maybe there might be another field trip coming soon!

-              By Deeksha Rajesh – Form 8

 Visiting the Google headquarters was an amazing experience for me as it opened my mind and made me realize that thinking out of the box and being innovative is very important. The tour around the office was also good and the building was very colorful and creative. This was a very good experience and I would like to visit there again.

-          Rhea Agarwal- Form 9

Sports Update from Pathways School Noida

    Inter School Swimming Competition held at Pathways World School Aravali

The following students participated in Inter School Swimming Competition held at Pathways World School Aravali on 29^th & 30^th September, 2014. Pathways School Noida Swimming Team won 4 Silver and 3 bronze medal in the competition.

Sr	Name	Form		Performance	Position
1	Ansh Anand	5		25 Mts Butterfly	2nd
2	Shubhankar Nehra	3		25 Mts Free Style	3rd
				25 Mts Breast Stroke	2nd
3	Vanshika Goel			25 Mts Back Stroke	2nd
		7		4x25 Mts Free Style Relay	3rd
				4x25 Mts Medlay Relay	2nd
4	Harshita Gupta	6		4x25 Mts Free Style Relay	3rd
				4x25 Mts Medlay Relay	2nd
5	Arti Khurana	6		4x25 Mts Free Style Relay	3rd
				4x25 Mts Medlay Relay	2nd
6	Navya Gupta	5		4x25 Mts Medlay Relay	2nd
7	Snigdha Khurana	7		4x25 Mts Free Style Relay	3rd

  DP Boys Inter  IB School Sports Competition held at GD Goenka World School, Sohna Road, Gurgaon 

24 of our students participated in the GD GOENKA INTER IB SCHOOLS SPORTS COMPETITION from 24^th-26^th September, 2014, in Soccer, Basketball and Swimming. Our Soccer Team reached the semifinals and our Swimming Team consisting of Ayush Dev, Nirvaan Krishnan, Ishaan Khandelwal and Nikhil Dutta won 3 Gold Medals, 1 Silver & 1 Bronze Medal. Ayush Dev was also adjudged the Best Swimmer (Boys). The schools participated in the competition were Ullens School, Nepal, Cathedra John School, Lonavala, GD Goenka World School and Pathways World School, Aravali.

Sr.no	Name of Students	Form		Events	Position
1	Ayush Dev	12		100Mts Freestyle	1st Position
				25Mts Breast Stroke	1st Position
				4x25Mts Freestyle relay	2nd Position
2	Nirvaan Krishnan	12		50Mts Freestyle	1st Position
				4x25Mts Freestyle relay	2nd Position
3	Ishaan Khandelwal	12		50Mts Freestyle	3rd Position
				4x25Mts Freestyle relay	2nd Position
4	Nikhil Datta	11		4x25Mts Freestyle relay	2nd Position

From the Director's Desk

The past fortnight has been filled with activity, - academic, sports and culture. Designed to give a holistic experience to our students to discover their potential in different areas, compete with others their own age and work hard towards building up their skills, it showcased our students skills in many ways.

Interschool Sports Events

Different teams of students learnt and challenged themselves at multiple inter-school events. Our sports teams have done particularly well.  The swim team came second of 21 schools at a competition at Vidya Global School winning 7 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals.

At the inter-school squash championship hosted by Pathways Noida we won the Overall Championship in Girls Category and Runners Up championship in Boys category. Individual students won 2 Gold, 2 Silver & 2 Bronze medals.

Our PE department has been working tirelessly to develop team and individual skills and are owed much appreciation for their hard work. Secondary school team practices in basketball and soccer have now begun from 6.15 – 7.30 am. After school practices are on for swimming, squash, badminton and golf.

Inter school Cultural Events

Primary school students from Form 5 took part in the inter-school drama event organized by Vasant Valley school.

In a devised performance on the unusual theme of aliens who steal the underpants of earthlings, they were widely appreciated.

Senior school students took part in a literary festival at Pathways School Gurgaon, based on a devised performance on the themes in The Kite Runner

A group of students participated in the Model United Nations organized by the Doon School.

Another team took part in the technology competition hosted by Pathways School Aravali. They won the first position in animation and third in web design.

In School Activities

The secondary school saw an interhouse competition on Soapbox oratory. There were outstanding and persuasive arguments on topics like why cell phones should be allowed in school and why it is wrong to use the word “gay” as a critical or derogatory term.

The student council organized a beautiful event for Teachers Day. An assembly saw music, dance

and drama performances with appropriate themes. What was evident was the enormous affection between teachers and students. Teachers were presented with flowers, cards and cake and classes were taken over by students.

IB Diploma students in Form 12 have just completed their presentations for Theory of Knowledge which revealed their thoughtful responses on a range of issues.

Form 5 which is studying a unit on economic activity ran a bazaar which raised money by selling home made products and food.

IB Sessions

Representatives from the IB office in Singapore visited and our coordinators and Principals were able to have detailed interactions with the managers of the PYP, MYP and Diploma programmes. Such meetings strengthen our relationship with the IB and ensure that we continue to bring in all the latest developments being introduced by them.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Middle and Senior School parents will have an opportunity to review your child’s progress at the parent-teacher meetings scheduled on the 20th (for form 6 & 8) and 27th (Form 7, 9-12). You will also receive your child’s mid-semester grades to look at specific subject performance. Primary school parents will meet teachers in November.

School will remain closed for the mid-semester break from Monday 29th September to Sunday 5th October. Please note that in the week of Founders Day, we will as usual be moving to evening school hours (3.30 pm – 8.30 pm) in order to enable evening rehearsals.  I will be writing with more details nearer the time.

Dr. Shalini Advani

School Director

From the Middle School Principal, Mrs. Sunanda Sandhir

Experiences, Exposure, Workshops, and Interactions are all essential for learning .All these form an integral part of the learning process at Pathways Middle School.

We have begun the IB Middle Year Program in Grade 6 and 7 this year. This  focusses on the process of learning  and helps to develops essential skills  which lays a solid grounding for the Diploma in  grade 11 & 12.

We were happy at the number of parents who attended the  Assessment workshop.

They were   apprised of criterion referenced assessment in the Middle year Program. This approach helps to determine whether each student has achieved specific skills or concepts and provide feedback on how they can better these concepts and skills . Parents participated actively with lots of enthusiasm which is an indicator of  a successful workshop.

Eight Students from Middle school also participated in the Mod Quiz  which is  the Annual Quiz of Modern School.  Seven students from middle school also appeared for Techathon –the annual technology competition held at Aravalli. Two students, Deeksha Rajesh and Nakul Wadhawan won the First prize in the event  “animate your imagination” where they used Flash Pro to create a storyboard.

Literary week began last week.

The theme is The Art of story telling. The students did various activities during their English Lessons . Ms. Himani  Dalmia who is a writer and has written a novel ‘Life is perfect’ had a very successful interaction with Grade 8 students.

Reading is an important skill which is, without doubt, one of the most powerful and enjoyable recreational and educational tools known to man.  Keeping this in mind a book fair has also been organised for two days during this week.

Wide ranging activities as mentioned are a reflection of our efforts to keep both students and staff stimulated and enjoy the process of learning and growing.

Mrs. Sunanda Sandhir

Middle School Principal

Academic Awards 2014

Primary School Awards 

Awards do not just highlight the achievements, but also encourage people to work harder and aim higher.

We believe in acknowledging and valuing each child’s strength and achievements. With this perspective, and as a tradition, Pathways Noida recently held an awards ceremony on 28th August 2014 celebrating students’ achievements in last academic year. All the students from

Nursery to Grade 5 received awards from our Chief guest Dr. Kiran Datar - an educationist and member of the School Executive Committee. Parents of all these awardees cheered for each child walking up confidently on stage to receive the awards. It was a day when each child felt proud of his/her accomplishment(s) and seemed motivated to work even harder in this academic year!

Secondary School Awards 

Awards are given as a form of recognition for work done well. In Pathways School Noida, we celebrate students’ academic and other achievements every year in the form of an award ceremony, where parents are invited too, to celebrate their child’s success.

This year, on the 28th of August, on the occasion of the Annual Academic Awards ceremony, the chief guest Ms Priyamvada Taneja, who is the Development Manager for India for the IB Organization and the Pathways School Chairman Mr Praveen Jain were present along with the School Director Dr. Shalini Advani and the Principals Mr Alexander Abraham and Mrs Sunanda Sandhir to award the secondary school students with certificates and trophies.

There were two categories of awards given - one called the ‘Special Awards” given to students who have stood out with their contributions to the school community in various ways, over the last academic year. These awards also recognize certain special attributes that have been demonstrated by the students like “leadership”, “global citizenship”, “IB Learner Profile” “creativity” among others. The “Academic Awards” are given for those students who have exceeded the expectations and for those who have met the expectations set in each subject area. While this ceremony is a celebration for many students, it also serves to inspire others to set goals for next year.

Physical Education Department - Sports Updates by Mr. Deepak Thakur, HOD

1.            Early Morning Basketball Soccer Team Practices:

To develop healthy sporting culture and strong sports school teams for the future we have started with early morning coaching for teams for secondary school Basket ball and Soccer.  The practices are from 6.15am to 7.30am on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday for Basketball and Thursday and Sunday from 6.15am- 7.30am & 7.00am-9.00am respectively for Soccer. I would like to thank parents for supporting their child to attend the morning practices. In the future  we will be starting the practices of Athletics as well.

2.            Team Practices After School Hours:

The regular practices are going on for the Swimming, Squash, Badminton, & Golf from the beginning of the academic year. The details of Practices held after school is as follows:

Sr. no       Sports             Days                                                                          Time                                                                                                              

1              Swimming        Monday,Friday & Saturday whenever required     3.50pm-5.15pm

2              Squash                   Monday & Wednesday                                        3.50pm-5.15pm

3              Badminton              Monday &  Wednesday                                       3.50pm-5.15pm

4              Golf                       Monday,Wednesday, Friday                                 3.50pm-5.15pm

3.            Swimming Championship at Inter School Competition held at Vidya Global School Meerut:

It gives me a great pleasure to inform you all that Pathways School Noida Swimming Team has secured a 2nd position in the Inter School Swimming Competition held at Vidya Global School Meerut on 29th & 30th August, 2014 by winning 7 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medal. Our school has just missed the championship by 2 points. There were 21 schools participating in the competition from Meerut, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Chandigarh, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Noida.  I would like to congratulate our swimming team for their excellent performance and hard work they have showed during practices and competition. The Swimming team performance are as follows: Ansh Anand, Taijasi Nigam, Falak Suteri, Saara Khungar, Hyun Lee, Navya Gupta, Snigdha Khurana, Sahurya Joshi, Rananjay Singh & Shubhankar Nehra. 

                                                                    Chae Eun Lee  - Best Swimmer Award U/15 Girls

                                                                   Harshita Gupta - Best Swimmer Award U/13 Girls

4.    2nd Invitational Inter School Squash Racket competition winners from Pathways School Noida

 It gives me a great pleasure to share the result of 2nd Invitational Inter School Squash racket Competition held in our school from 11th – 13th September, 2014.There were 8 schools participating in the competition from around Delhi NCR. More than 150 matches took place in 3 days from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm.

The Squash participants of Pathways School Noida have made us proud by Securing Overall Championship in Girls Category and Runners Up championship in Boys category. I would like to congratulate winners and participants of Pathways School Noida for winning 2 Gold, 2 Silver & 2 Bronze medals which have contributed for achieving the championship. Below are the details of Pathways School Noida Winners: Kritin Kaila, Suhani Goyal, Navya Gupta, Suhani Goyal, Saideep Ganesh, Kavya Gandhi, Vanshika Goel, Taapsi Kohli 

                                                                                                    

University Visits

This week saw a lot of interaction among the students of the Diploma Program and Universities which visited the campus to share the unique opportunities that they offer to students for undergraduate study. In the run up to the preparations for college applications, this US University Fair surely gave direction and some guidance to both the decided and the undecided student on the way forward. As a prelude to all these discussions, a presentation on ‘Financial Aid and Scholarship Information’ was jointly conducted by the Admissions Officers of the different universities.

SciencesPo, a leading university of France,

visited our campus today. Since its creation in 1871, SciencesPo has been France’s preeminent university for the social sciences. Its alumni include a Secretary General of the United Nations, four Managing Directors of the IMF, numerous corporate leaders and five of the last seven Presidents of the Republic. Many of the classes are taught in French, but it is possible to study entirely in English. They offer dual degrees in with international partners including Columbia University in New York, the London School of Economics and Fudan University in Shanghai. The interaction of our students with Ms. Neha Khanna, the Deputy Representative of SciencesPo to India, has sparked a lot of interest in the students of our senior grade and true to the spirit of the IB, they are exploring these opportunities that present themselves from different parts of the world.

by Ms. Deblina Chakraborty, College Advisor