The new academic year got off to a wonderful start with the
inauguration of the new Primary School building Cassia and we became the proud
occupants of a spanking new, state of the 
art, four story building with
spacious learning spaces. The staff worked hard to make it warm and welcoming
for our students when we opened the doors to them on the 9th of August. The
various teams involved in making this possible have been stellar, the Projects
Team for handing over the building to us in record time, the Admin Team for
listening to our ceaseless demands and helping us to meet deadlines and the
entire staff of Primary School for their cheerfulness and positivity as they
worked to provide a stimulating learning environment to the students. A special
assembly to mark the inauguration of Cassia during the first week and graced by
the members of the Management spread cheer and joy through the Primary School
community.
The week after saw fervent action and excitement as the upper
primary classes prepared to elect their new Student Council. There were nervous
candidates waiting anxiously outside the School Director’s office for an
interview with the School Director, the Primary School Principal and the Deputy
Principal of Primary School. This was followed with interesting speeches,
rigorous campaigning and finally the elections! On the 25th of
August, the new Primary School Student Council took the oath of office in a
solemn Investiture Ceremony.
On the same day, students of Grades 2 to 5 were
acknowledged for their efforts, for the previous year, and received their
Awards. The venue was packed to capacity with delighted parents who had come to
witness these ceremonies. Ms Anita Anand, a renowned author, was the Chief
Guest for the occasion.
Through all the excitement, the focus on academics did not waver as on the 25th, students of KG went on a
field trip to the supermarket to understand the implications of their first Line
of Inquiry – Different systems around us, At the supermarket they observed that
every item was kept in a clearly demarcated space. The students talked about
how mixing chips and pens together would be a bad idea or mixing oil and
shampoo would be disastrous. They joked about what would happen if someone who
is in a hurry drank shampoo instead of oil! The idea of having things
“Organized” was clearly understood by them. This was followed by discussions
about the ‘need' to organize things.
On the 24th, students of Grade 5 had an engaging skype session
with an archaeologist,
Danika Parikh, who is based in Cambridge
and is working on a project connected with the Indus Valley civilisation. This skype session was
arranged to help the students enrich their understanding about their ongoing
inquiry on ancient civilizations and their connection to the modern day
society. The students were completely engrossed in
the conversation with Ms. Danika as she
gave them an insight about an
archaeologist's life, the tools they use, her rarest find (a 6000 year old
piece of pottery), as well as a search which went on for days and then turned
out to be a mistake! She also showed artefacts and shared information about
them. It was interesting for the students to learn how archaeologists study the
various objects they find - their age, their importance, where they belong, and
what they tell us about the civilization. The students loved to learn about
things so old that had a connection with modern day society. Towards the end of
the session, many of the students felt inspired to become archaeologists!
The Grade 5 students reinforced their learning with a visit to the
National Museum on Tuesday the 29th . The visit helped
them appreciate the role of evidence in learning about the past. They viewed
artefacts from the Harappan period and moved through the arms and ammunition
hall, numismatic hall, textile, sculptures and painting sections to name a few.
The objects on display were of utilitarian, ritualistic, secular and decorative
significance. The learners observed the artefacts and made connections to the
modern times. The entire visit was led by the Yuva Saathi volunteers to engage
the students’ young minds in a dialogue with the objects of National Museum.
We started with a series of Form Mornings for different classes
through the week of 28th August - 4th of
September. It was a great opportunity for parents to connect with the Form
Tutors of their children and understand systems, more importantly learn about
and get an overview of the curriculum for the year. The Early
Learners were thrilled to receive their Awards during their Form Mornings. The
parents of Pre-Nursery and Nursery attended the Parent and Me sessions that
gave them an understanding of the specialist areas of Music, Dance, ICT, Art
and Drama.
Our Primary Years Program Coordinator Ms Vandana Sharma conducted
Orientation sessions about the PYP program for parents new to the School. As
partners in their child’s learning journey, the parents displayed a keen
interest to understand the nuances of the program.
On the 30th
and 31st of August we had our Grade 4 students visit the Kiran Nadar Museum of
Art.
They were
very happy to identify the Installation “Bomb blast” by Subodh Gupta. The
purpose of the visit was to identify the ways artists use different mediums to
convey a message. They studied Ms. Pushpalata N’s work and were deeply
intrigued by it. After careful observation, they identified that the subject of
all the photos was the artist herself.
They also identified that the background
was based on famous paintings. Ms. Rajshree, their guide, discussed the work at
length and it was wonderful to see students identify the symbolism in the art
work. Ms. Rajshree informed the children about the real life situations that
had inspired the artist. The trip to
Kiran Nadar museum reinforced the importance of colors and symbols in
interpreting the message the artist was trying to convey. Drawing inspiration
from the observations, the students created their own art work.
We have
just about started the academic year and seem to have set ourselves on a roller
coaster journey of discovering new vistas of learning. Here’s to a joyful ride
together!
