From the Director's Desk

“My father didn’t tell me how to live, he lived, and let me watch him do it.”Clarence Budinton Kelland


At  his Founders Day speech Mr Kapil Dev the Chief struck a chord with his emphasis on the importance of  supportive parenting. The secret of successful parenting lies not in telling our children but in showing them what matters. And sharing their lives at school is an essential part of that. So it was great to see how many of you attended the first planning meeting for the Food Festival. It was a good humoured, chaotic event full of good ideas and a number of decisions were taken. A tentative menu has been agreed and will be circulated.  We  hope that even if you were unable to attend the meeting, you will plunge into cooking and perhaps serving on the 20^th.

Activities

The variety of activities at Pathways is what enables our students to develop leadership and confidence in their abilities. I was glad to be able to talk about the multiple learning opportunities at Pathways, to the PHD Chamber of Commerce at the National Summit for Skilling Leaders of Tomorrow.

                              

This variety  is obvious if we look at the activities of a single fortnight.. In Senior school, a  Life Skills session was conducted for Form 9 and 10 on personality development , focusing on personal development and appropriate body language. Students of F11 and F12 attended the Model United Nations at Amity and you can read more about the wonderful learnings of that, below. Meanwhile as part of their IB requirement Form 12 students of Environmental Systems went on a field trip to the Shivaliks near the Ropar wetlands, to study  soil conservation strategies and migratory birds ..  They collected some samples from the Satluj river (containing the effluents of Ambuja Cement Factory) and did some experiments on biodiversity at its bank. They were accompanied by their teacher Ms Poonam Shokeen .

And as part of our ongoing college awareness  and counseling programme, our college advisor Ms Puja Rao arranged for  admissions officers from  Ivey Business School and the University of Alberta to visit the school and met students.Meanwhile a group of Middle School students accompanied by their teacher Ms Bhavya Bhatt Sawhney spent three days at Pathways Aravalli at the Round Square conference. They interacted with schools across India, Bangladesh, Dubai and thought about issues of conservation and how it is shaped by how we live our lives. They have shared their experiences on this blog.

Form 1 students went on a trip to Dilli Haat accompanied by their teachers Ms Dimpal Rawat and Nalini Sethi. As part of their unit of enquiry they were studying celebrations and festivities.


We are proud of

Shiven Narang from Form 7 for being part of a group which scripted, directed,edited and enacted a film Eddy and Curt  which won 2^nd place in the Children’s International Film Festival held in Hyderabad.

Karn Nag for participating in the FEI international Classics Jumping and Dressage event.

Professional Development

Ms Aneesha Balwani from KG and Ms Meher Khan from Nursery attended a workshop on Early Childhood Literacy. Ms Lamba and the Form 5 tutor Ms Megha, attended the IB training on assessment, in Mumbai. Mr Pabitra Pal from the Art department attended a training on teaching and assessing art conducted by the University of Arts, London.

Dr. Shalini Advani

From the Primary School Principal

I would like to share with you the best moments that I spend every day in the Primary School as I take a routine walk around the school.

My walk begins with a step into the Pre Nursery, where a child is showing off his ‘Pink Tie’ to his circle of friends in his ‘Show and Tell’ space.

Voices from Nursery are irresistible, so a peep and I become a part of a circle game, ‘Duck Duck Goose Goose’. What impresses me most here is the discipline that the students display during the game. Soon, the teacher shows the students the familiar book of ‘Goldilocks’ and queries what should Goldilocks say to the baby bear?-  the class answers in unison ‘I am sorry’.  I walk out of this class with a lesson that I have learnt on seeking permission.

Kindergarten, a class that never tires of talking, reading or playing. Click to see them and hear them enquire…

Form 1 is often chaotic as the first impressions carry. A closer look and I find a group totally engrossed in reading the ORT books with Ms. Nalini. Some of the students are busy balancing books on their heads while others are on the carpet with Ms. Dimpal discussing ‘balanced meals’. A picture that I carry in my heart right through the day of little student engaged seriously in learning.

Form 2 is a delight to  watch as they talk in their little groups with Ms. Aradhana and Ms. Lakshmi about the ‘Differences between migration and travel’. It amazes me to see the clarity of their understanding as I evesdrop.

Form 3 are seen in little groups reading , sharing and talking about the biographies of Helen Keller, George Cadbury, Albert Einstein, Alexander the Great, Anne Frank,  Mother Teresa, Dr. Seuss, and Florence Nightingale.

A little while later, as I walk in I seem them practicing a play ‘Bahadur Bitto’ which I later witnessed their performance at the primary school assembly.

The hum in Form 4 is that of busy bees. Some are watching the night sky and constellations on Ms. Vandana’s computer while others are brain-storming on planet X and some are leafing through books on space and a little group in the corner is busy, writing reflections of what they have learnt the day before in their UOI class. Ms. Vandana is seen talking to students in each group. This leaves me with satisfaction for students are certainly deeply engaged in their own learning.

The untidiest of class is undoubtedly Form 5. My first thought is always where are the students? A closer look and I find them on the floor in tiny groups in a variety of poses, some with colours, some lying down with cushions and a book, but all engaged in their tasks of working for their projects on Exploration where they are busy preparing questions to  interview a fellow student, who is dressed up as a famous explorer.

While the school has been busy, Form 5 tutor Megha Arora and I have been away to Bombay attending a workshop conducted by the IBO on assessments in  PYP. This was a very satisfying experience as we realized that our assessment policy is totally in sync with IBO expectations. 

Form tutors of KG and Nursery, Aneesha and Meher went to a workshop conducted by Dr. Wendy in Language and Literacy in Early Childhood

Form Tutors 3 & 4, Aruna and Vandana are ready to go for a workshop in Mathematics, conducted by Shahji of Jodogyan on Fractions and Decimals on Tuesday the 29^th of November 2011.

Apart from teachers reviewing their teaching, learning and assessing strategies, the students have been involved in and out of school learning through projects, presentations, and trips which teachers have shared with you every week.

With Winter on, please ensure your children are appropriately covered.

Usha Lamba

Library

ART & THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

When we started the library in Noida School we wanted a painting on the wall. We came up with loads of suggestions finally ending with a work entitled “ You See What You Want To See” 

The effect of this piece of work is like when we look at clouds,  where one keeps finding some or the other - new shapes or forms always. That’s why we titled this painting “You see what you wanted to see”.   Interaction with viewer is a very important element in art, which is central to the painting.  Through this work we wanted to connect to all. This kind of open ended work in the library helps to raise many questions and remains always an unsolved mystery!

A  Library is a temple of wisdom and this work contributes to the idea that there are always  new things to study and understand for everybody who visits in the library. The purpose of painting is to invite people to see it again and again in the library and get drawn into the mystery of the painting. 

The vibrant primary colour with simplified shapes, dynamic lines, uniformity in texture, the colours depth appeals and connects everybody.  Pablo Picasso’s Cubism has influenced the art because of its simplification and ambiguity. We admire the power and direct impact of shapes on the spectator which one can see in Picasso’s works.

Anil Goswami & Pabitra Pal

Visit to Delhi Haat

Form 1 has been learning about how People recognize important events through celebrations and traditions, to broaden our understanding of the traditions we organized a trip to Delhi Haat to explore a plethora of traditional art form from different states of India. We saw how leather was used to make decorative artifacts from Madhya Pradesh. There were folk dancers dancing to music from Rajasthan and our students had great fun dancing to the beat of Nagara. The stall from Rajasthan showcased their traditional cloth printing called Bandhej. We also saw a video on how silk worms made silk that is used by people to make hand woven dresses in Nagaland.

The students observed the artifacts from various states and enjoyed questioning the stall keepers. They wanted to know how these artifacts were created. Who had taught them this art and for how long had they been doing this work?  These questions helped deepen our understanding of why these artifacts are called traditional.

It was a great learning experience for the students and the teachers.

Ms. D.Rawat  & Ms. N. Sethi

AIMUN ‘11

The Amity International Model United Nations was held from 19^th-20^th November. It was one experience that I (a.k.a. the delegate of Myanmar) will always remember. From the mock sessions in school to the final day, it was a wonderful and an enjoyable experience. The team that went from PSN went with an aim to learn and participate in an atmosphere which comprised of people all over the world. The mock sessions were a huge help, where we got a practice of how an MUN session would be when in process. From the first day, we adopted the formal title of ‘delegates’ and were anxious yet nervous. The Opening Ceremony contained a series of speeches and the official opening of the MUN conference by the Secretary General. During the first session, we were listening to each debate with our ears wide open. The ambience was a serious one, with the delegates fighting their cases against each other. At the end of the day, it was a result which was surprising to see, that all the delegates had only one thing to say: “WOW, what a wonderful experience”.

Day two, and we were off to the campus, to face another long and tiring, but exciting day. The breaks in between the sessions provided us with the time to make & interact with friends.

Everyone was mesmerized with the way the members of the Executive board spoke, with the help of their lexicon and knowledge, they were sounding similar to actual political leaders. They had their facts right in place, and knew everything about UN inside out. The day ended with a final decision hanging in the air, with the choice of having to pass one out of three different resolutions.

Come the third and sadly, final day of the MUN, it was sure a disappointment that this grand event was coming to an end, but as they say “good things come to an end quickly”, everybody made full use of the day with the delegates participating to their best potential & capability. After three hard working days, the committee was a great success with the passing of the final resolution. The event was ended with a splendid speech given by the chairperson of Amity. Soon after, the award ceremony was in process, with the delegates of USA bagging about four different awards.

I would like to conclude this by saying that this was one MUN (the first for most of us) that we will always cherish and learn from. We left the conference, having learnt a lot, with the hope that PSN will be a part of those going up on the stage next time.

Abhimanyu Bhalla

Maths Department

THE MATHS PROGRAMME AT PATHWAYS

A major focus of the Maths programme is to ensure that our students love Math. Mathematical thinking is an essential part of everyone’s education and we develop activities which get every level of student to see its beauty, the relevance of Maths in everyday life and the joys of mathematical challenges. With the right approach, every student is a Mathematician.  In this piece we feature how Maths works at different levels of the school.

Primary School

In our recent unit of Exploration, the students were made to do some exploration in math with shapes. For this we had a guest lesson conducted by our Middle School Principal and Math teacher- Mrs. Sunanda Sandhir. The students played around with many shapes and folded them into halves . They figured out the lines of symmetry, learnt to record their work in a group and also figured that in some polygons the number of lines of symmetry is equal to the number of lines in the shape.

We also have a Math corner where equipment supporting our units is displayed other than the stuff that the students keep adding to it normally. These may be math games and Jodo Gyan shapes for them to play around with.

Students watching Flipchart on shapes under the unit symmetry

Group work: recording their observations

Middle School

 “Whoever said maths was all about numbers must stand corrected, actually maths is numbers and loads of fun with them! Maths is not about a board, and some weird symbols scribbled along the edges, which  no one even gets! What really maths is—is what happens in a room which has a label in black, bold letters which proudly reads the word ‘Maths Room’ (Form 6 student)

Last week, we had an adventure with Factors. We were all asked to sit in groups of 4 and each group was given one packet of blocks. This was surely a task, as Miss Vandana called out some numbers we had to quickly arrange the blocks according to the factors of each number. Each round had a different winner which was decided by keeping mind the time the group took and of course the answers.  We had soon enough learnt factors and it was on our fingertips by now. So we decided to aim on Integers. It was a new topic which was introduced with a new activity. After learning the basics in class we went downstairs to the open-atrium and excitedly sat on the stairs. The game begun with the instructions each child would be given a chance to roll a dice twice, the number which came the second time would be taken as an integer, keeping that in mind a student had to go to the stairs keeping a ‘0’ as their starting point then we had to subtract/add the numbers by stepping either down the stairs or up. The staircase on which you finally land would be your answer. We all had our chances and were so sad when the lesson got over but we were excited too as we knew they will be another maths class with another activity waiting for us…”

                                                                                                            by Mehak D

Grade 9 is going crazy!

“If you compress a gas it gets hot. The more you compress it the hotter it gets. How hot does a bike pump gets….”

Grade 9 IGCSE group is getting a great mental workout in analytical skills through application problems in mathematics. Just when they learn the numerical and feel relieved for ‘topic is over’, they come face to face with the problems that demand analyses of the situation. Being a specialty of IGCSE, they have to master it and hence…go through mental gymnastics!

Chinese Multiplication

Product of 45 and 256. Note the order of the numerals in 45 is reversed down the left column. The carry step of the multiplication can be performed at the final stage of the calculation (in bold), returning the final product of 45 × 256 = 11520.

Multiplication Reinvented – glimpse of a typical activity in grade 9.

Students are also exposed to investigations/project based problems whereby they evolve mathematical formulae and generalize the given task.

Rationalize… (No, not √5+2 divided by √5-2) MATH STUDIES! 
                                                                                   
Aakanksha Gupta

A math studies student being asked “You took math studies!? Why?!” is a very frequent occurrence.

My aim is not to contradict the fact that Math is something that is very much necessary in an individual’s life, regardless of whether that person is an accountant or a historian. I do very much agree with this statement and I can cite a few instances to prove it, such as: While shopping or predicting future stock market prices or an author calculating the number of copies of a book that have been sold in a year or counting down the days till a certain event or even telling the time.

In Math studies, we study sets, intensive statistics, trigonometry, geometry, introductory calculus, etc. We even cover topics that the other two math levels do not study about, such as logic.
Therefore, even if a student is not particularly fond of math and does not want to take it up in the future, IB will encourage that student to enjoy the subject by taking Math studies.

Application of Maths

Does math have any use?

Students of grade 11 were sent into the field to interview an insurance agent to understand insurance and the role of Probability in it. We started with a group brain storm session to understand the task properly. This was followed by them (with help of their parents) identifying an insurance agent to interview. They were also expected to do research and collate information based on a task sheet given to understand Probability and its role in the field of insurance. They had to have a record of conversation with the agent. And write an analysis in the end of their experience. They were asked to pace out the work on their own and give me a timeline. I went back and forth on email with them after each task. They had to submit a draft and then the final work.

While everyone enjoyed the experience and wants more (!), we all felt the necessity for greater planning in detail before venturing out again.

 Ifrah and Apoorva at their interview

Students are also encouraged to engage in group activity like presentation. Here is a glimpse of some students making their presentations:

Mansi and Ammarah talking about Algebra of Linear and Quadratic Expressions

Abhimanyu and Arunav making use of Electronic Board as a part of their presentation

And the journey continues with hunger for more knowledge remains live forever!

Writing by teachers & students

Collated by Raju Verma – Head of Math

From the Director's Desk

As you can see we are trying a different newsletter format. Families of students in Form 7 & 8 have already been receiving class blogs instead of the more traditional pdf format. It allows for greater flexibility and I would be interested in receiving your feedback on this.

Founders Day & After

Our first Founders Day gave everyone a chance to share the talent and hard work of our students and teachers. Being the first Founders, there was a special dinner after, and many of you appreciated the sense of celebration which such an event creates.

After Founders and despite initial protests, our students quickly settled back into their academic schedule, homework and assessments. In December, students of Form 9 & 11 will have exams and 10 & 12 will sit formal Assessments. A schedule will be sent out to you in advance.

Food Festival

Our next major event involving parents is the food festival at the end of the semester, which we hope will be entirely produced and managed by parents. I will be writing to you separately with details and I hope that parents will enthusiastically participate as you have always done.

SAT Coaching

The school has facilitated training classes for SAT, the entry exam required by most US universities. The training is being conducted by Princeton Review and the school provides the premises to make it convenient for students to work in a familiar environment. Most students in Form 11 plan to sit the SAT exam which will be held in January.

Activity Programme

As many of you saw, there has been a dramatic expansion in our sports facilities. Students are  loving the swimming and riding classes and the golf programme. All of these activities are also available in the after-school activity programme twice a week. Once a week a variety of musical options – guitar, violin, table, drums, vocal -  is also available for those who are interested in pursuing an instrument seriously.

 

                               

Broadening Education

A number of activities and trips have taken place to broaden our students awareness of the world they inhabit. Primary and middle school students continue our contact with the NGO Goonj, learning about minimizing waste and the value of recycling. Students from Form 7 & 8 are also participating in the inter-school Round Square meet where they will deepen their understanding of biodiversity.

We also continued our faith-based assemblies with a focus on Guru Nanak Jayanti. A guest speaker spoke about the event, there was the singing of a kirtan and kara Prasad was distributed as in a traditional gathering of Sikhs.

Shalini Advani

School Director

From the Middle School Principal

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Voltaire

It is important to appreciate the journey that is taken to reach a destination as it provides encouragement and motivation to move on . We firmly believe in this and our students therefore are lauded for their efforts, their hard work and not just excellence. This week five middle school students were awarded certificate of appreciation for exemplary work in different areas by Dr. Advani.  These certificates are awarded after students receive ten credits for their hard work or excellence in different areas of learning.

         

                      

Middle School students completed the presentation of their Assemblies. They did it effectively and their theme was well thought and appropriate. Each assembly planned   sent out a message of requirement of developing   essential skills. Form 8 presented on ‘Importance of Change’ ,Form 7 students spoke on essentials of being an ‘Inquirer’ and Form 6  addressed skills of ‘Self-management ‘.

Five of our students have gone to Pathways Aravalli to participate in Junior Round Square Conference.  Round Square is a worldwide association of more than 70 member schools on five continents, of which 20 are in India. These schools share a commitment, beyond academic excellence, to personal development and responsibility through service, challenge, adventure and international understanding. This is one of the steps that we take to provide varied learning experience to our students.

Middle School students also visited ‘Goonj’ this week and will launch their Goonj campaign as a part of community service, as done in the previous academic year.

 All of these experiences , create a love for learning among the students since learning is no longer confined to textbooks or even the school building.

Sunanda Sandhir

Our Trip to Goonj

Visit to  NGO

On Friday 4^th November 2011  3,4 and 5 went to a trip and the place was called Goonj. Goonj is a place which helps poor children without parents. People give stuff that they do not need like books, clothes etc. Those things are sorted and remade and are then given to the poor children.

Anhad Viswanath

Form 5

 My Trip to Goonj

We went through school bus. We all were excited and curious to know about Goonj. Ev ryone was busy chatting, playing games and as usual teachers were busy talking. We were accompanied by Ms.Aruna, Ms.Vandana, Ms.Megha and Ms.Nagma. As we reached we were excited to see how Goonj actually looked. We were surprised as our teachers took us through a gully to another where 2 men and 1 woman were standing. Goonj was first started by Mr .Anshu Gupta only with his 67 old clothes. Nowadays Goonj

 sends around 70 ton of cloth. We first went to the cloth sorting area where they sort clothes and put them in bags so they can give it to the needy people later. Goonj can’t give these things to people for free they will have to do something for the committee only then they will be given. Only if something like a natural disaster happens then they can’t ask people to do something so they give it in free. They were many questions raised as children were exploring the life of the children who all couldn’t afford education and a life like ours. It was a pleasure seeing in a world like ours still some people cared for the poor.

But a big shame seeing how much we waste and how are they using all this to make such beautiful things. Our guide was very kind to us and was answering even silly questions. We were amazed to see that they collect and sell the staples that they get from the paper pieces. They even make purses from jeans. I wish we had more time so we could get to know more about how they work in a team which will be a lesson for student council.

I felt very guilty about how they work. I think that they should get a prize from our school from the student council’s hand. I have learnt a lesson that we should  reuse reduce and recycle. They have got many awards and I wish they keep getting more. It was a good experience learning about the life of unprivillaged people and how they earn their lives. Around 70 – 90 people were working there.

Here is something you can type on youtube and see the video  “Anshu Gupta of Goonj talks about the importance of clothing”

Dhruv Sahni

Form 5

Something new that surprised us:

What surprised me was how organized they were. Each box and each room had a label.

It also surprised me how they used their scraps for making something or the other. Eg Pieces of T-shirts and sari’s were made into skipping ropes. If there was an unusable Electronic they would take it apart and sell all of the pieces.     

 What we Learnt: I learnt about how we need to and can reuse things to make really cool stuff. I also learnt that we should help those in need and not just think about what we want or what we need.

We should be thankful for what we have and keep the needy ones in mind.

Anjali Peterson

Form 5

Goonj a wonderful experience!

 Rabbi Hillel said that “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?” Form 7 and 8 got an opportunity to visit Goonj an NGO (non-governmental organization). Goonj takes our used and unwanted material and makes full use of it. They make products out of those things in ways we could have never imagined. How many of you have ever thought of making a Bag out of your torn or old jeans or even using Audio tapes to decorate your bag? Well at GOONJ they not only imagine it but make it possible! What really impressed me was that -There is no such word as waste materials at Goonj. Give them anything and they’ll make full use of it. “And let me tell you that there are no designers minds at work; it’s largely the ingenuity of our own minds”.

 I used to ask myself that I have DC shoes, Guitar, Laptop, Nice clothes to wear all the other things I have ever desired for ;so  why do  I need to think about the poor, after all I’m rich and have every right to be  happy too.  But this visit changed everything .I couldn’t believe that a single visit to Goonj would have such a deep impact. It did, it changed everything. It changed the way I think and look at life and others. To me charity was giving money and discarding what you dint need  but now I feel:

               Charity is not just about donating money, it is the feeling of helping others to improve their lives.

 Donation should not come from the pocket but it should come from the heart.

Just think about those children who don’t have all the luxury that we have. Some of them have even lost their parents. I was deeply touched when I got to know that they are happy with what they have and don’t curse anyone for their poor conditions. We all are told from a very young age that – YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY WITH WHATEVER YOU HAVE but I want to ask YOU yes YOU who’s reading this article, aren’t you hungry for more things even though you have already got a lot of do you not always  want more?

            On this note I would like you to spare a few moments to think about people who do not have means to fulfill their basic needs. All that is required from you is to give your used and unwanted material to bring a smile on a poor kids face. Let’s all promise to help the cause of Goonj in every possible way we can

Parth Kapoor

Form 8

A walk to remember

Chandni Chowk, a part of the Walled City was built by Shahjahan in the 17^th century as a landmark city for the world to see.

Students from grades 9-11 embarked on a historical journey on the 2^nd of November as a heritage walk guided by representatives of the NGO, Itihaas. We started off at Chandni Chowk where we were enlightened about the history of our location and were given an itinerary for the day.

Firstly, we became aware of Mirza Galib, who was a famous Urdu and Persian poet while visiting his Haveli (mansion), we gained knowledge about the architecture of that age and of how its beauty has been tainted due to industrialization in Delhi.

Thereafter, we ventured through the various galis (lanes) of Chandni Chowk until we divided into two groups to interview a kite maker and a dishmaker. It was great to see how certain family traditions, for example: businesses were still existent even after a span of 50 years. Then, we went on to see the splendor of the magnificent Jama Masjid. After which, we went for a ride in the ‘Chandni Chowk sewa’ shuttle bus to the renowned Paranthe Wali Gali, where everybody got a taste of Old Delhi’s beloved paranthas.

After our delectable meal, we made our way back to the buses.We reached school and took with us the enriching experiences we had that day.

Ifrah Khanyari & Aakanksha Gupta

Form 11