From the Director's Desk

One of the questions that I am often asked is how we at Pathways make sure that we have quality teachers. As every parent and student knows, the heart of a great school is great teachers. While excellent facilities are of course very important, allowing students many choices of activities, we all know of schools with wonderful facilities which do not provide a wonderful education. One of the major reasons is because they do not encourage teachers to grow or function as professionals.

At Pathways our teachers recognise that teaching is a profession, and that few things are as exciting as seeing our students progress, learn and develop as human beings. It is what makes our teachers gladly leave families and often their little children to supervise Adventure camps – because camps are important for true education. Or work long hours in the evening to mark essays or prepare thoughtful lesson plans.

Most importantly, our teachers are learners just as our students are. I have always believed that great schools have a curriculum for teachers not only for students. Growth and development is an ongoing process. Teachers get specially scheduled time – such as Thursday afternoons or department meetings - to collaborate and discuss together. In addition, we encourage teachers to attend workshops and share their learnings. Let me give you an indication of staff professional development over the recent past.

Workshops and Conferences

All senior school teachers from the Diploma programme interacted with nearly 200 colleagues from schools around the country at the South Asian IB Schools Association (SAIBSA) gathering hosted by us. You can read more about it elsewhere in the newsletter. Similarly, two teachers from the Primary school, Ms Aruna Jha and Aneesha Balwani will attend a SAIBSA workshop in Mumbai next week.

Dr Kaul from the Geography dept is currently attending an international gathering of the Association of American Geographers in Bangalore, where they will examine data processing in new and exciting ways.

The Primary School Principal Ms Lamba is at the IB Regional conference in Singapore learning about new educational developments for the primary years and interacting with teachers from across the world.

Together with the ICT Head Ms Geetanjali Dewan and Ms Sandhir, I attended a fascinating international conference in Mumbai focusing on technology in education. This will help us as we think about technology development for the school.

The Music teacher Ms Khan attended a National Council conference on a music curriculum for middle school. She interacted with renowned music experts from across the country including Professors & Head of Musicology from universities.

Mr Torrington from the Design Technology department attended a 3 Pathways Job Alike to share common understandings and plan development.

Our Administration staff is going through a training programme on efficiency and communication.

Visitors

Many of our teachers had a very productive interaction with a group of 10 teachers from the Phillips Exeter Academy in the USA. One of the most creative learning institutions in the US, their teachers talked about the Harkness Table, a student-led, discussion based approach to learning for which the school is famous.

Follow Ups

All trainings attended by some individuals are then shared with the rest of the staff. Incrementally, all teachers grow and develop even when some can attend external workshops. It enables them to focus on their role not only as teachers of a subject but as true educators, ensuring that the little ones eat their meal at lunch or that students have a friendly ear if they need help. You can see it in the enthusiasm in planning the Fair or Sports Day and in encouraging unusual challenges.

Reminder

Please remember the 23^rd for Parent-Teacher meetings for middle and senior school and primary grades student led conferences.

Shalini Advani
School Director

Senior School Principal

One of the most cardinal and in fact, celebrated approaches towards the teaching-learning process of the IB educational philosophy is ‘collaboration.’ And since in Pathways NOIDA, we firmly believe that while we all are on the same team, what we lose in compromise, we gain by collaboration, we were only too delighted to host the ‘South Asian International Baccalaureate Schools Association (SAIBSA) Job- Alike Session’ for the community of IB teachers on 25th Feb 2012. It was the coming together of 200 IB Diploma teachers from 16 IB schools with their teachers sharing their ideas, beliefs, abstractions and even interpretations in 18 varied subjects. It was one of those experiences which was intellectually gratifying and personally benefitting. In the SAIBSA meets held once a year, we discuss curricula, opine for changes, build our teacher networks and even learn new and creative teaching techniques and theories which enrich and enhance our ability to teach (and learn). There was a clear evidence to see how all IB schools work together to see the success of IB as a brand.

In line with our appreciation and understanding of education, we took our students for an adventure camp to Rishkesh; the students and teachers alike were amazed at the absolute beauty in nature that exists at the foothills of the Himalayas. While the plan was to experience river rafting, we witnessed, through this process, remarkable skills surfacing in the children. It was simply unbelievable how these young ones found resources within themselves, to cope with their fears, adapt to the situation, take on leadership roles, solve problems and make relevant, accurate decisions- all without their knowledge and deliberation. It was most heart warming to see how they automatically transferred their learning and knowledge into practice in real scenarios- and this was the objective of our adventure camp.  This single episode of camping in the midst of nature, with a group of students suddenly allowed them to build personal relationships, negotiation skills,  shed their fears/apprehensions, become ‘risk takers’, and even assume newer, bolder roles to deal with their circumstances. Such camps are necessary to help the ‘whole’ child develop and this is the ideal way to build the ‘Naturalist intelligence’ which enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. And so, with that much fun packed into the trip, we came back from the camp with the students asking for more!

  The last three months have been busy with lots of activities and events all of which you may be well aware of since there has been much communication on those aspects from the school as well as the children. And hence I would like to shift focus to the fast approaching final exams scheduled in May! While the students are currently appearing for their mock exams, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that learning is better is stress free and calming environments and hence I would like to assure you that we at Pathways are here to assist the children in any and every aspect- be it academic, emotional or otherwise. We are here to give our best, so that they in turn will deliver their best.

Here’s wishing all my students the very best of luck.

Umar Jaffar

Senior School Principal

Camp Tikkling

Camp Tikkling was amazing. It was a loud and a crazy bus ride with grades 4 & 5 but the Camp and the staff and the views were wonderful. Hills surrounded 3 sides of it and we had a great view of the sunset. We had a great time bonding with each other and with the teachers around us. We met lots of new people. The teachers there were very nice.

We slept in these big tents. Five children, and one Teacher in each tent. Once we all heard that we all groaned but it really didn’t matter. We were having too much fun and learning all this new stuff that by the end of the day we were pooped. Everyday was filled with adventure and fun and of course there is always learning included.

We went for a trek in the mountains and climbed at the very top this was where we could see a beautiful view of the whole place which seemed like we were in a plane. Then we had two activities: we had rock climbing and rappelling so first we did rock climbing to the top and then we did rappelling to come back down. Rock climbing was quite scary and rappelling was much more scary - it was like falling off a cliff. At night we had a bonfire and we performed a dance, some jokes and sang songs. We also did Flying Fox, Zorbing, Obstacle courses,. The best part was the trip to a nearby village where we played with the buffaloes, tasted their fresh milk and also made roti with didis and churned milk to make butter sitting on charpais.

I have learnt many things. I really think that my confidence level has really gone up. I was a little scared but being there and having others comfort me helped me. I also learned that some need to be comforted and cheered on for them to feel like ‘I can do this’. I felt like there were some times where I could practice that. I really love being in the open like that. One of the great things was that we all I think felt safe and comfortable with all of the staff and instructors. One of the best trips I have gone to. I am being 100% honest. I am looking forward to many more in the future

Anjali Peterson and Anhad Viswanath

Form 5

Tirthan..A New World Discovered

From the 28^th of February to the 3^rd of March, all the Middle School students went on a trip to an adventure camp situated in Himachal Pradesh. We travelled in a Volvo bus for 16 hours before we reached the much awaited camp. When we reached we were allotted our tents and sent to collect our luggage. I was excited and adrenaline was flowing through my veins.

Over the period of five days, we learnt many skills ranging from rock climbing to river-crossing. We also played games, though weirdly named, were a lot of fun. Each of these activities was quite safe and our instructors were reliable. I was completely relaxed and ready to embrace the opportunity to spend time with my friends and learn new things. Out of all the activities, the one that excited me the most was our river-time. Our allotted time at the river was relaxing and exciting at the same time. Wading through the current is one of the things that will always make my stomach churn with thrill. All of us were very enthusiastic about swimming in the river. Unfortunately a lot of that disappeared, when we got drenched in the current as the water was ice cold. Still we continued ahead and had our fun.

Though the bus ride was long and tiring, it was worth it. The games taught us a lot about survival and each other’s weaknesses and strengths. The journey was strenuous but it was completely worth seeing the picturesque scenery surrounding the camp. The whole trip was a great experience and we wouldn’t have traded it for anything. The only drawback was the weather! We learnt quite a lot of things and I personally, would love to go on such a trip again.

Ayona Sengupta

Gr 7

The trip to the camp was a very new experience for me.  I had wished to go to a camp but I never thought I would really go! The bus-ride was tiring but it was worth it. We did so many fun things like, rock climbing, river crossing and various other activities that I had never experienced.  And sleeping in the tent and washing our own utensils taught me to work independently.  Crossing the river and making our own food, tent and fire was the highlights of the whole trip. And of course in the end a talent show which I enjoyed and others did too. This trip has taught me that working together would make things a lot  more easier than working alone. I hope that next year I go to a trip just like this and enjoy it with my mates

Swagatalaxmi

Gr 8 

When Adventure Meets Spirituality

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the brutal words, ‘school camps’?  Probably, an adventurous trip to one of the undiscovered places, or a typical scout’s camp where you have to wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning and follow a strict regime and routine.                Let’s just say in our case it was this paradoxical paradise situated in Byasi, Rishikesh. Rishikesh, the place that often reminds us of the sport ‘rafting’, opened an entirely new dimension of thought to many of us on the trip. As I now close my eyes and go back to those four transcendent days, all I can think of is the turquoise water of the Ganga, whose beauty can’t be put down into words but can only be felt by the heart. Once at campsite, you could hear all ethereal melodies, voices of the wildlife in the nearby forest, rolling waves hitting the huge boulders and rocks, low chit-chattering from the kitchen and of course, the swooshing of the wind. The place resembled a typical Bollywood movie’s beach set, as I’ve told and retold all my friends and relatives how perfectly the silhouettes of the mountains, the Ganges, the sand shining due to the rare presence of mica flakes, and our army green colored tents made the whole view just so picturesque and spell bounding. The best thing about this place was that at any point in time, you could just walk and run barefoot on the sand and then when you were all dirty, just go stand on the shore and wait for the cold water to wash all the dirt away – literally and symbolically. I had never seen a place ‘so calm so serene’ as the cliché goes, a place that had a vague way of tampering all our negative emotions and all our worries into peace, and tranquility.

Coming to the adventure part, I took back my first rafting experience, my first rendezvous with the rapids, my first rafting waali maggi, and of course a lot of stories. During the trip I realized two things – first, how amazing and worthwhile it is to trek for four kilometers about dawn time to land up into a beautiful village, a village characterized by remoteness yet beauty. And second, how ‘the’ river will gladly welcome us and rejoice in our happiness and enjoyment, at all times. So apart from the ghost story sessions, where I sat with my brain and ears closed, I enjoyed each and every second of the trip – the food, the water, the pit-hole bathrooms, the bus rides, our raft jingles and most importantly, I am going to cherish the time I spent swimming and shouting through most of the rapids with weird names I can now hardly recall.

Sameera Khurana

Gr 9

Into the wild

We clambered into the buses at 5:30 am and despite the cribbing, waking up early seemed effortless on 29^th February and it was fascinating to see everybody dressed so well and with a general bright and bushy-tailed demeanor. We were all five times more excited than we actually had been when we were first told that we were going to be travelling to Rishikesh with our classmates, excited enough (much to the amusement of our principal, Mr. Jaffar) to start playing loud music and singing at the top of our voices before our journey even commenced. We stopped on our way to have breakfast, albeit not at the usual 5-star type restaurant that we’d go to. But eating with friends on a sunny winter morning in a garden had its own charm.

After a riveting seven hour long journey (with a few pit stops), we reached our destination and not only was our camp on a beach, but the best thing about this beach was that it had beautiful mountains as a backdrop. Like the gluttonous kids we are, we jumped at the sight of lunch after our long journey and couldn’t wait to get hold of the best tents with our best friends.

 

We were then introduced to the camp instructor, Mr. Partho, who later in our lives will be remembered as a great orator and one of the most adventurous people we have ever met. Sir first told us about the basic rules that we were to abide by during the camp and then we headed off to try out some kayaking.  Every morning, we got accustomed to his cheery “Rise and shine, children!” followed by coffee/tea and cookies. The first time (for most of us) we were introduced to river rafting, which turned out to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of our teenage lives.

Some of the best moments during rafting (despite being utterly scared) were stopping to have Maggi near the waterfalls and jumping into the ice-cold water without giving that crazy idea a second thought. Although, this was something we reconsidered when a certain 11^th grader (we all know who) fell into a ‘grade 4’ rapid, but was pulled back immediately into the raft by his raft-mates. While swimming in the freezing water, ‘going with the flow’ was given the most literal meaning!

After the rafting, we also visited a village and came across hard lives that we had never seen before. Singing old Hindi songs whilst trekking on the hills made us feel like we were characters in a movie. The end of our days were usually marked by the concluding bonfire on the glittering sand under the silver moon, during which we shared stories, had mimicry sessions and our personal reflections.

Before we left for home, we had 15 emotional minutes to connect even more with the nature and to reminisce about our time there. To let our thoughts flow, Mr. Partho asked us to collect two pebbles each, one for ourselves and one for a friend and later, as we were assembled in the breakfast area, asked us to tell everyone why we had chosen those specific pebbles and companions. We sat there, in silence and tears of euphoria as we saw different sides of ourselves and our school-mates. Some turned out to be brave, some funny, some strong and some more tender hearted than we had ever imagined.

A hats off is in order: not only to our friends, but to our fantastic and exceedingly patient teachers who went on this unforgettable trip with us: Mr. Jaffar, Mrs. Aarti, Mr. Anil and Mrs. Indira, with whom we developed a sense of friendship.

We not only departed with memories, but came back home feeling like different people altogether. Whether over rapids that splashed into our faces or during long strenuous walks, the bonds that were created and strengthened are something that will be cherished forever.

Aakanksha Gupta & Ammarah Khalid
Form 11

Jharokha: A Peep into Creativity

It is that time of the year when the whole community of Pathways School Noida is gearing up to showcase their immense potential. It is preparation time for the ‘Annual Science and Art Fair,’ to be held on Friday, the 16^th of March 2012.

As a visitor it is the best of times and the worst of times to come to school. If you want to catch someone’s attention, please wait for the next week; if you want to be a part of the soul of the school – intense constructive activities, a lot of enthusiasm, research, art, productive chaos, you are most welcome. You are most welcome any other day, but we demand your presence on the 16^th.

Take a walk with me. Let me give you a preview of what to expect:

Let’s start from the first floor. Every inch of the science labs has become a workspace. They are giving the finishing touches to projects on metals, water and the wonders of the world around us. They will showcase this world of flux under the heading ‘Transformation’. Of course our techies will have their own corner of ‘Techno Science’.

Let us move a bit further along the corridor. The art department is bursting at the seams with two and three dimensional constructs. From the traditional water colour, acrylic, to mixed media, installations and scrap material all have found equal importance in the displays. One can’t miss the influence of Picasso’s Cubism, abstraction of William Kandinsky, colour schemes of David Hockney or the Pop Art on our budding prodigies.

Just let’s move to the other side of the corridor. There is nested our Mathemagicians and they will bring to the table what they do best. Be prepared to be flummoxed by puzzles like the ‘Probability Bingo’ or the ‘Brain Teasers’. If you missed out on the concept of the triangle or statistics, this is your time to catch up as the students explain the projects they have undertaken.

Come down to the ground floor; turn left into our Design and Technology lab which is bustling with activities. The students will share their experience about the processes of designing that they have undertaken during the school year. They have also designed a portable stool to reach out to the children of the neighbourhood school, as a part of their ongoing Community Action and Service projects. I am sure we will find benevolent sponsors amongst you to support the cause.

Time to sign off. There is nothing as exciting as wandering through a forest of creativity!  

Sudripta Tagore

HOD English

From the Director's Desk

The Pathways Early Years opened with a flourish at Noida. A group of toddlers from one year upward delight everyone’s’ hearts with their curiosity and liveliness. The bright well-equipped rooms, the carefully constructed curriculum all create the special environment required for this age group.

Irish Puppet Performance

The school hosted a delightful puppetry performance in a packed amphitheatre as part of our relationship with the Ishara International puppet festival at the Habitat. A skilled puppeteer from Ireland, Tommy Baker had the audience in splits as he took on various characters and pulled students from the audience onto stage, even  using masks and clever string movement to convert two students into an old couple.

Internet Safety Week

Technology and the internet may be a marvelous resource for learning but it also can be a dangerous space if unwisely used. A vast majority of our students use Facebook or go to Chatrooms, but not everyone understands that their privacy needs to be guarded or that it can be dangerous to give out information about yourself to strangers who you “meet” on the internet. To create an awareness of this, an Internet Safety Week awareness drive was planned by the primary and secondary ICT department and many activities were conducted. I strongly urge parents to reinforce this message and not treat laptops as private spaces especially in primary and middle school. Our intention is not to forbid these spaces because that is no longer an option in the 21^st century. Instead it is important to gradually give access, training young people to know how to handle them.

Student News

2 students, Sameera Khurana from Form 9 and Ammarah Khalid from Form 11 represented the school at the inter-school elocution at Pathways Aravali. You can read their account below.

13 US universities visited the school and talked to students as part of our ongoing college counseling programme.

Classes for students of Form 10 & 12 are gearing up in preparation for their Board Mock examinations which begin on March 12^th.

Adventure Camps and Summer Trips

Excitement is rising for the Adventure Camps scheduled for the end of the month. In addition to students from Form 4 - 11  going to locations like the Tirthan Valley in Himachal, River Rafting on the Ganga and camping in the Aravali hills, Form 2 & 3 will visit a farm and then spend the night in school.

Meanwhile we have begun introducing our students to the trips which will be available in summer. Since international travel requires advance planning for tickets and visas, we have begun with those.  A trip within India is also planned and information will be sent out later for that. In this year, a number of international trips will be available for students to choose from. Each of them is carefully chosen for their educational value – they are not vacation holidays but will expand our students’ knowledge and understanding. Many of these are in combination with Pathways Aravali and Gurgaon. The following trips will be available:

·         9 days trip to China including Shanghai, Dangfeng and Beijing: open to middle and senior students

·         16 day trip to Verbier near Geneva in Switzerland. Focus on outdoor activity and language classes in Spanish and French. Open to students from Form 4 up

·         11 days trip to Spain – Barcelona, Granada, Seville and Madrid. Focus on understanding Spanish culture, dance, music, architecture and food. Open to students from middle school up.

·         12 day trip to the USA – the NASA centre in Orlando. Focus on knowing about Space travel, interacting with an astronaut, visiting Universal Studio and New York. Open to students from middle school up.

·          10 day Study programme to learn Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) at Anne Arundel College University of Maryland. The programme provides students with an integral solution to develop an understanding of the world through geospatial data analysis. Open to students from Form 10 up.

More details of each programme will be sent to you separately. Obviously a trip will only be scheduled if there are sufficient numbers who go. Each student group is accompanied by a teacher.

Information to Note

Mid semester break is from 4^th March – 11^th March. School reopens on Monday 12^th March

Form 4 & 5 Adventure camp is on 27^th February. There will be no school for them on their return on 1^st and 2^nd March.

School is closed on Tuesday 28^th February due to State elections.

Please mark your calendars for  our Art, Science, Maths, IT & DT Fair  on Friday 16^th March ( 9.30 am – 1 pm). Come with friends and family to  marvel at the ingenuity, talent and creativity of our primary and secondary school students.

Shalini Advani

School Director

Primary School Principal

Pathways Noida is growing in numbers and through additions. We have added a new Early Years Program for infants (18-23 months) and toddlers (24 to 30 months). This wing was inaugurated on the 15^th Feb, without any fun fare as the objective was to ease their settling in period.

Students of Form 3, 4 and 5 visited the Red Fort with the ITIHAAS Group. It was a sure success, judging from the stories students are still relishing and sharing with us. This trip was planned to push awareness of the city they live in. Our students have lived the definition of a true communicator as seen in their oral and written presentations. IBO says,” The IB defines the ‘Communicators’ as those who receive and express ideas and information confidently and is an integral part of the Learner profile that underlies the entire Primary program.

The parental feedback after the Form evening has been very reassuring. On the request of the Pre Nursery and Nursery parents a session on The Jolly Phonic program was organized, soon after the Form evenings.

Special assemblies for the Republic Day, Remembering Gandhi,

Internet Safety has been some of the assemblies that the students participated in.

Students of Pre Nursery, Nursery and KG are getting ready to go on a trip to the zoo on the 22nd of this month.

We have the ‘London Talents’ putting up a show for us on the 24^th Feb, 2012 for Students and parents at 10:30 am. This is an interactive experience for all who care for children up to 8 years of age.

Usha Lamba

Primary Principal

Sports Day