From the Director's Desk

As we put the joys and successes of Founders Day behind us, we continue to feel pride in the talent and hard work of our entire school community which made the event into what it was. Our students are still basking in the thrill of their spectacular performances, of the enormous talent which made us all so very proud. But already that seems long ago as new events overtake us,  plunging students and teachers into so much else.

Events Post Founders

The past two weeks have seen a cross country and the Children’s Day picnic in the park. There have been teams going to an inter school music competition, an inter-school Spanish event, a soccer match.Primary school students went to the Red Fort and hosted                 
                                                                Grandparents Day.

Early Learner teachers have gone to a Regio Emilia workshop in Mumbai and on Saturday, our teachers are facilitating  a collaborative training for 16 PYP schools across north India. The school also organized a free health camp for our support staff.

Celebrating Our Parents

All of these activities are part of the rich experience of Pathways. However I would also like to focus this newsletter on the multiple ways in which so many of our parents are contributing to the school community, bringing in education, resources and support.

A number of parents provided invaluable help during Founders. From training singers to helping students to dress, to providing sponsorship there were multiple types of help which were forthcoming.

A large group of parents have plunged into preparing for the upcoming Christmas carnival, and have begun meeting regularly to plan this. True to style, I am sure that numbers will grow as the menu is finalized.

Meanwhile an advisory committee is finalizing their review of the school menu and is

making suggestions, giving recipes and focusing on developing  healthy and tasty snacks for students. This follows consultation with teachers and students and visits to the well-equipped school kitchens – which I am happy to hear that they were impressed with. 
On Thursday a group of Primary school parents contributed brilliantly to the

learning of the Form 2 unit by setting up a culture gali of stalls from different regions and countries. Bringing artefacts, films, food and practices, they sportingly dressed up in the region’s traditional style bringing new worlds into the lives of students. We had stalls from many areas in India - Benaras, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bengal, Tamil Nadu  and also shared the culture of Korea, Persia, Bulgaria & China. It was both fun and packed with information as the best education should be.

ASSESSMENTS

As we come up to the end of the semester, learning is culminating in many different types of summative assessments. All senior school students sit their mid-year exams.  PYP & MYP students from  Grade 3- 7 will evaluate their own learning for their parents at Student Led Conferences. And there are parent-teacher meetings at different levels.  With the new assessment systems being introduced at the MYP, teachers are moving to finalise multiple assessment.  Detailed reports will go out to all parents in the third week of December.

Dr. Shalini Advani

School Director

From the Senior School Principal Mr Alexander Abraham

In the famous Broadway musical “SEUSSICAL” that debuted in the year 2000, there is a line that says,

“Oh the things you can think; think and wonder and dream- far and wide as you dare!” These words in a nutshell I believe encompass the wonderful journey that all of us at Pathways Noida experienced as Founder’s Day 2014 came to a close. For surely as a school we all were able to experience the joy and wonder of daring and dreaming and in a very special way achieving what we had set out to do in August of this year. It has been so rewarding as a school family to see our young students act, sing, dance, play with great accomplishment many instruments and do absolute brilliant production work such as design and help in sets movement, creating visually spellbinding LED backdrops and handle with great aplomb the AV tech for the production. As a school we feel very proud of our student community.

What I believe is one of the best features of being at a school like Pathways Noida is the fact that every experience/event is meant not an end in itself but a journey with learning. What has been heart-warming is the fact that so many of our students have shared that an experience like the one at this Founders has made them value not just being a performer on stage but the fact that all of us are a team and the ones who worked in the Production crew are as important to make the whole thing tick. This for us is the most satisfying blessing of the whole exercise.

If one is to carry the quote from the musical “Seussical” further one can say that this is one of the fulcrums with which Pathways as a community has worked. It is a cliché in today’s world that “dare to dream” but few educational communities have exercised and given that space to its community members to truly dare to dream and venture to fulfil them. We feel privileged that our students and teachers have responded magnificently in what we have achieved in these last four years and a little more.

The senior school is focussed towards the semester ending exams and students and teachers are in exam mode with lessons, and practice papers and sample exam papers being worked out in classes. The essence of today’s student who steps out into a challenging world is one who is expected to strike a balance between the various facets of the human personality- the cognitive as well as the sports and cultural spheres of gifts that we are endowed with.

Our form 12 students have a few months left in school and many of them have already applied for colleges across the globe and we are confident that they will receive very good offers for their future prospects.  I would like to specially thank the outgoing student council who have just conclude organizing their last event—the Inter house Music Assembly which was as expected a display of the plethora of talent that we have here at PSN. The council over the last year has done a marvellous job and organized many innovative events such as the Radio show, the Prom with the theme on the Oscars, the Senior school Gender Fest- “Resonance” and so many more.

As we come to the end of another calendar year, myriads of thoughts and memories flood us but none more appealing than the many simple acts of warmth and affection of our students, staff and of course our parent community that make the days more, indeed much more endearing. As we walk away from the year- sure the school has had students who have done well academically or in the sporting arena or in a cultural event but I believe what will far outlive all these finally, is that they have learned what life is all about and what is most momentous is to support others, build lives and make a difference in their own inimitable way.

Children's Day

Children’s day celebration at Pathways focused on the students and their enjoyment. It was a day for marking childhood celebrations. It was a community event with participation from early learners and educators. The teachers demonstrated enthusiasm and love for their little ones by actively participating in all the various games and getting them goodies. Children were served delectable snacks and drinks during the day.

Tonga ride and the magic show, were the highlights of the day. The magician mesmerized our young ones by involving them in his magic. They were spellbound seeing coins coming out from stomach, ears and nose. The exhilaration did not end here. To add to it we had Tonga ride which geared up our little ones’ excitement. Early learners were thrilled to ride on a luxury of the bygone era. Celebrating little moments of joy at school helped us cherish and appreciate our young ones’ presence. With all these activities the kids and the teachers went home feeling content and inspired.

Sandeep Kaur, Form Tutor KG

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday is celebrated in India as Children’s day on the 14th of November, because Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, loved children very much. In our school, we celebrated Children’s Day with some special events. We started the day with a marathon for children and parents.

The main event of the day was the picnic in Swarnajayanti park. When we left for the park, we were all very excited because this would be a fun field trip and not educational, for a change. In the park, we all had lots of fun playing, reading, climbing trees, catching butterflies and exploring some ant-hills. After a while, our teachers also played some games with us.

After a lot of running and jumping around, we settled down for lunch which had been packed from school. After another hour of playing, we left for school. When we came to school, we all received a special surprise from our form tutors to remember this day – a mug in our favorite color.

Aditi Amritesh Grade  5

Children’s day was a very good day. In the morning we had a marathon and since everybody participated had run till end of the marathon and it was great fun.

Many of us fell on the rocky part but still got up and ran. After the marathon we went for breakfast and after that we set off for a picnic to the Swarnjayanti park. The experience was amazing. At the picnic we played with our classmates and teachers, had snacks, and ate lunch on the grass. It was a very good experience and I had a lot of fun. We had gone for many educational trips but this was the first fun trip.

Saksham Ranjan, Gr 6

A very special day dedicated to each and every child; Children’s day, was held on 14th November 2014. Our school didn’t hold back in the exciting events that were organized. Students and teachers, gathered at the field for the annual Cross-Country! With butterflies in our stomach and our hearts racing, we started our respective races with our assigned classes. Running such long distances was quite challenging but we all gave it our best and finished the races with pride! The rest of the day was jam packed with enjoyment as we went on a picnic to Swarna Jayanti Park. What stood out to me the most was the fact that we were able to interact with children from other grades and the new friendships gained. Collaborating with our peers during games and eating lunch in our beautiful natural surroundings was definitely the highlight. The entire experience was nothing short of an exceptional Children’s day!

Katyani Mehra, Gr 9

Reathon

There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.

–Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

As the quote says, we need to develop a love for books in our students and Read-a-thon was one such initiative. Read-a-thon made a lovely beginning on 7th November. Students of Forms 2 to 5 were engaged in reading, in and outside the class! Splashes of enjoyment were seen in the students – reading to each other, quiet reading, reading to sponsor teacher and reading with parent.

To push reading is our main aim as it is an essential skill which helps the students to flourish academically, socially and emotionally.   The whole process has helped our students to read for pleasure and purpose as it aimed to raise the funds for the underprivileged.

Knowing that they are raising money for a cause motivated children to read more, and it added to their sense of achievement. Parents and teachers whole heartedly supported the programme by sponsoring the students. We hope that the reading as a result is not ended with the cause or the week but will carry the same zeal for years.

Upasna Khera Form Tutor Gr 2

Readathon is annual event which helps us do two things, encourage us to read and aid a cause .

This year our school teamed up with Salaam Baalak Trust, an organization that helps children who are in need of a good home. Some people ask that how does Readathon work? This event has a very simple format, each student finds sponsors who are agreeable to donate money per page you read, there is a limit of 3 rs per page. After you have read the set amount of pages you go to your sponsor and provide them evidence for the pages you have read and get the money. Readathon is a fun event which all of us enjoy  and participate in with great enthusiasm and being a 8th grader this would be my last Readathon. I can say that I am going to miss it. A lot.

Orkojeet Banerji Gr 8

Field trip to Red Fort by Ms. Aruna Jha Form Tutor Grade 3

To understand the past of their local area, New Delhi, students of Form - 3 went out on a field trip to Red Fort with members of Itihaas. A discussion about why they should visit Red Fort helped them activate their thinking and research skills. Red Fort is a local structure, easily accessible than other prominent structures and informs about culture, place and time at the time of construction were some reasoning’s provided to visit Red Fort.  

On reaching Red Fort students were excited.

They were received by Mr. Sarthak and Mr. Pawan, members of Itihaas. Students were eager to find answers to bits of scattered information, they possessed about Quila – I – Mubarak, the Red Fort. They communicated politely and recorded details in pocket diaries. Easily students picked up terms like Diwan-I-am, Hamam, Chhata chowk and Quila –I – Mubarak. As they were guided around the place they were tolerantly listening to stories connected to the place.  Walking tirelessly they interacted with Mr. Sarthak clarifying between a fort and a castle, reasons for its construction, the Red color and  specific features of the place. Many stories related to it were interestingly informed to our enthusiastic Pathways tourists. Story of the Peacock throne, reasons for building moats and how people shopped at Chhatta chowk. Organized habits of past rulers and their luxurious lifestyle kept students gripped all through the field trip.

They were happy to recap all that they gathered through an interesting activity organized by Itihaas. The famous silent Itihaas clap, was also a new way learnt to applaud. The trip was a fruitful learning experience. Students were polite, respected surroundings by not littering the place. They made an effort to remain with the group and handle their belongings, an effort to build self-management skills. Learning in new environments specially outside school is an opportunity enjoyed by students and teachers.

News from Career Counselling Section by Ms, Deblina, Career Counsellor

The College Guidance Office at Pathways school Noida has seen a lot of activity in the past one month. While Early Decision and Early Action applications have been sent out to various universities, there have been a number of visitors on campus who have interacted with the students and offered various learning opportunities to them. It is an even more encouraging experience to see universities within India taking on the challenge of introducing world-class standards in undergraduate education. This week, our students interacted with Admissions Officers and Faculty from two such institutions –

Ashoka University – a private

autonomous university which offers a liberal education at par with the best in the world. It takes inspiration from a variety of sources: from Emperor Ashoka’s commitment to knowledge and peace to the Ivy League’s emphasis on rigour and breadth.

For more information on Ashoka University, please refer to www.ashoka.edu.in

Azim Premji University –

a not-for-profit, private autonomous University established in Karnataka by the Azim Premji Foundation, as a part of its philanthropic initiatives to contribute to Education and Development in India.

For more information on Azim Premji University, please refer to www.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/ug

Interview with Ms. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor by Tanvi Amrit Gr 6

On the 13th of November we had a telephonic interview with Mrs. Naylor, the author of Shiloh the novel we are studying . We found out about the book to help us with our interview. As a class we wrote and shortlisted a few questions we would ask her. And then on the morning of the 13th we all went to the room 101 where we waited as the speakers were tested. As I stood in the line of the people asking the question a shiver of excitement went down my spine, I could not believe that I was going to interview the author of the book that I am reading. As I introduced the class I felt extremely excited and I was grateful to get the opportunity to talk to an author. She told us a lot of things about how if we feel anything we can make it into a story. She told us about how a simple incident can make a story about how we can write a story ourselves. She told us that reading, and writing was the key to becoming a good author.

Free Health Camp for subordinate staff - Ms. Santosh Sharma, School Nurse

A free medical Check-up Camp for support staff was organized on 15th Nov 2014 at Health Centre Pathways school Noida. The camp was organized in association with Mahavir International Charitable Hospitals Delhi.

A team of  5 Doctors including 2 Eye specialist, 1 Physician, 1 ENT, 1 Ayurvedic Doctor, 3 Technicians, 2 Optometrist,2 Pharmacist had come to the school. Free Physical examination along with thorough Eye check-up and ENT consultation were provided by the hospital. The purpose behind organizing this Health Camp was to spread awareness about prevailing illnesses and the ways of preventing them which people generally neglects.

A total of 121 support staff from all the department underwent the Health Check-up. Doctors advised and distributed various free medicines during the camp.