From the Middle School Principal Mrs Sunanda Sandhir

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Anonymous

This the philosophy at Pathways where we believe each child is unique and has strengths which need to be developed. Middle Schooling happens at an age when students need to discover their own passions and strengths. They are therefore exposed to multiple subjects and thereby different experiences.

Parent and School partnerships are also essential at this age as adolescents want both independence as well as reassurance that what they are doing is right. Both approvals as well as guidance is needed all the time.

Keeping this philosophy as a background, I am sharing some of the Middle School happenings during the past seven weeks.

Coffee morning with the parents

All parents were invited to be a part of the two hour form morning where tutors shared a brief on how the MYP curriculum is delivered. Parents were also apprised of the rules and policies in Middle School. This forum also provided  an opportunity for the parents to interact with the tutors of their child and build new partnerships.

Workshops and Resource People

Poetry Workshop:

Form 6 students attended a Poetry workshop which was conducted

by Ms. Sanjula Sharma, a journalist, noted poet and a short story writer. The students from Salaam Balak Trust, a NGO providing education to homeless children, were also a part of this workshop .As the students learnt together they got some insight into how environments play an important role in the way they think and feel. 

Reading Workshop: Form 7 attended a reading workshop by Rubina Majid – an education consultant with Scholastic publishers.

Anti-Bullying workshop  : As a part of anti-bullying awareness program, form 7 students attended an ‘anti-bullying workshop’ by the School of Life.  The students discussed different issues through various role plays

‘Assessment in MYP’workshop: was held for Grade 6 and new

student’s parents . Ms Anshu MYP coordinator and some students of Form 7 & 8 sharedwith the parents assessment criteria in MYP. It is essential to understand that in MYP it is not only content but skills like investigation, communication, reflection etc  which are also  assessed .The process and pace of development of skills in each child can be different .

Workshop on Health and Sexuality :  The School counselor held the first  workshop on Health and sexuality education for form 7 students .The workshop for boys and girls was held separately .The sessions focused on anatomical and physiological facts followed by identifying many different types of relationships ,child sexual abuse, self image ,personal spaces and boundaries. These workshop aims to  help students to develop a greater awareness of their changing bodies and also help them to understand and respect the opposite gender.

Communication

Communication is an essential 21st century skills.

Different opportunities are provided in Middle school to enable its development. In many subject areas, the students are required to make presentations in the classes as a part of their summative assessment. Last Monday, on 31st, August, 2015, Middle School witnessed the clash of four houses on the occasion of the revival of an old debate on Capital Punishment. The students were divided ‘for ‘and ‘against’ the motion and each side produced powerful arguments with great confidence. This was an Inter-house debate.

Leadership in Middle School

Students need to develop the skills of leadership and therefor multiple opportunities are provided to develop the skills. As Class Representatives, the Blog and Newsletter teams, being Teen ambassadors and technology leaders, students learn the ways to take responsibility and also lead. We also have an organization Eureka conducting Leadership workshops for all classes. This will help students to grow as individual, appreciate and accept  differences and thereby become more independent and responsible. It is a process.

 Our efforts for the all-round development of our students are continuing and will continue. The strong base, thus built, will enable them take on the challenges they will face as they move up the ladder.

Sunanda Sandhir

Middle School