‘Tech for Change’by Mehr Chawla Gr 8

Some people prefer to spend lives doing the same things and avoiding change.

Others, however, think that change is always a good thing. I relish the latter. Each individual gets a chance to bring a change in their own, or someone else’s life. Some, embrace it with a smile while some refute it and stick to their stereotype routines. And then there are those who want to make change. I believe I am one of them, the ones who want to bring about a change in the society and make the society a better place to live in. But, unfortunately the problem was “How do I bring out that change?” The solution to the problem came in the form of an e-mail.

Following my same old routine of a weekday, an e-mail popped up in my inbox from Ms. Aprajita stating that me and an acquaintance of mine had been given an

“opportunity to be a part of the Core Team and engage with students from other schools to brainstorm the programme, agenda, workshop themes, the 'Tech for Change’ Project.” To say the least, I was ecstatic.

The ‘Tech for Change’ Project is a project led by an organization called Learn Today which is an Education Technology Summit.

The theme for this subject is “I am the Change” which evolves around the belief that when we, the students, take it upon ourselves for our own learning we will be able to capture and concentrate on a given idea or concept that interests us. This allows us to have more depth on our understanding. Furthermore, it encourages us to be active learners, while have different perspectives on a particular concept and having access to an open-mind towards new ways of active learning. Moreover, the aim of this forum is when school heads, teachers, and students collaboratively recognise the potential in innovation and leadership and come out with effective and efficient technology solutions for a social change.

The Summit is being held at Vasant Valley School, Vasant Kunj. On 7th May – Thursday – My friend  Dhruv ,And I accompanied by Ms. Aprajita headed towards the school for the workshop that explained about the whole Summit and its process. When the session started, we were given a quick simulation of what would happen on the final day of the Summit.

We were informed that the Summit was being held on the 9th and 10th of October, when from each school two student representatives will showcase a problem and an efficient solution on the same. Moreover, it will involve schools all around India and will have around 100 schools. Then, after a quick break we were divided into four teams: “The Concept Note”, “The Programme”, “The Rubric” and “The Case Study”. Each group having its own set of functions that will contribute at the final day of The Summit. After the workshop we expressed our gratitude to the organizers and went back to our school (blooming with ideas).

I would like to conclude by saying the ‘Tech for Change’ Project is a great opportunity for schools all over India as it lets us identify a real-life problem and provide a solution for it, using sustainable and cost-effective technology. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Advani, Ms. Sunanda and Ms Aprajita for giving us an opportunity to be on such a great platform that gives us an opportunity to bring about a change in the society

CAS Interact Club Initiatives by Mehak Singhal, Director, Interact club

Relief materials collected for Nepal 

 We have all been avidly watching the news and reading the newspapers about the earthquake that has struck Nepal. Nature's fury has led to a great loss of lives of loved ones, homes, livelihoods and so much more. The locals have been suffering from starvation and a dire need for tents, potable water, food, medication, warm clothes and woolens etc has arisen. At such an occasion, all that matters is that our fellow humans need our help and we at Pathways believe that it is our responsibility to rise to such occasions and work together to help those in need.

The Pathways School Interact Club organized a collection drive for Nepal to help the victims. Through an assembly presentation and by sending out mails to the entire Pathways community, an awareness drive was carried out to sensitize the community to the needs of Nepal. Carton boxes were placed out at the entrance to secondary building and the entire Pathways community was asked to make liberal contributions both in cash and kind.

We received a truly overwhelming response from both the Primary and Secondary school students, teachers as well as parents and large cartons of warm clothes, blankets, medicines, packed food items, clothes, dry ration, sanitary and hygiene products were collected. Additionally monetary contributions were also received for an amount of Rs. 1.30 lacs aprox. The collected items are being dispatched to the relief organisation named ‘Helping Hands’ who will be distributing these materials effectively to Nepal.

It was heartwarming to see how the Pathways community contributed to the cause wholeheartedly. The Interact club students would like to sincerely thank all the parents, teachers and students for all their contributions.

Bringing  Smiles ..

It has been very rightly said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. Keeping this in mind, the Interact Club decided to adopt, “Sai Bal Sansar”,

a school for less privileged in Noida. The students of this school have been associated with our CAS programme for over a year. The students from this school visit our school every Friday and our DP students have been tutoring them in English , IT skills and varied sports. We students, as a part of the CAS programme also had the opportunity to visit this school and were very concerned to see the dilapidated condition of the school building.

The walls had cracks and there were lose wires all over, which posed a serious threat. The rooms were not well lit and not well equipped with furniture and fittings.  The Sai Bal Sansar students were very keen learners and the tough conditions in which they studied moved us. The interact club then decided to take up a project to renovate this school.
An initial survey was conducted by our school maintenance team to understand the requirements and a budget was drawn out. The Interact club with the support of student community and parents conducted a series of fund raisers at school and managed to raise a significant amount of Rs. 2.50 lacs which was donated to the school authorities for renovation. With the sum collected, the painting of walls was carried out, electrical work completed and basic furniture installed.

Further to this, the students of Interact club also decided to paint the interior walls of the school based on educational themes to improve the ambience of the school and improve the learning environment for the students. The design of walls was carefully planned out by the students. A group of 9 students took up this as a CAS project. We were divided into groups of 3 and each group took responsibility to paint a room. The team was formed in collaboration with students of Sai Bal Sansar who also participated in all stages of planning, layout design and finally the painting of the interior wall. The entire task from planning to completion of painting work took us nearly 4 months.

This was an exhilarating and altruistic activity. At the same time interaction with the students of Sai Bal Sansar School helped develop a deep sense of bonding with them. Working with enamel and spray paints and exploring our skills at art was true fun. When we finally saw the walls take shape, it was a fulfilling experience.  Our efforts at adding colour to the walls, had indeed borne fruit. On May 8th, 2015, the school was formally handed over to the Principal of Sai Bal Sansaar school by Dr. Advani and Mr. Abraham in the presence of our students and students of Sai Bal Sansar.

We hope this small effort on our pat will help the students of Sai Bal Sansar avail a better learning environment.

The Match with Salaam Baalak Trust by Samarth Khanna Gr 6 B

We had a friendly football match with the football team of Salaam

Baalak trust against our school the 6th graders.

The match was organized by the community service club of the middle school. I was really excited and looking forward to that glorious match. This was my first football match in Pathways, so it was a pretty precious match for me. I could see my studs shining because of the bright sun.

We had a lot of substitutions in case anybody got hurt or was not playing well. As soon as the match started I was biting my nails and had Goosebumps. No sooner the match started I was substituted. I could hear my heartbeat and could feel the crowd and my fellow friends cheering me that really boosted my confidence. As soon as the first goal was struck the team was very nervous that what was going to happen. The guests from Salaam Baalak Trust was playing extremely well with all skills in place and accurate passes. Unfortunately we lost 3-0 but we learnt a lot of new things.

Although, I felt that it was a one sided game because the people were older than us, but then I thought they do not have the facilities we do. So, it was nice sharing what we have and learning the skills from them .The surprising thing was that all of them were in 6th grade because in the trust children are put in to classes according to their knowledge and understanding. After that we showed sportsmanship by congratulating them. We also clicked pictures afterwards. It was a great experience; I am looking forward to another match

Career Counsellor's visit to US Universities by Ms. Deblina Chakraborty, Careers and Guidance Counsellor

I was happy to be given an opportunity to participate in a Counselor Tour to the US for two weeks in the Spring of 2015 We travelled from the University of California system on the west coast to some public and private universities in the Mid-west and finally moved to the State University of New York system on the east coast. We visited Public  Private and Jesuit Colleges of small, medium and large sizes. Our experience of campus culture, interaction with Admissions staff and faculty, campus tours with the international student community and formal dinners with the President and Provost of some universities and all of this culminating in a mad discussion within the group after we got back to our hotel has enriched us with meaningful insights on career and college guidance.

Undoubtedly, it is a land of ample opportunity, a melting pot of diverse cultures and it presents an education system that breathes. Every university is committed to supporting students and is open for students to walk in and be advised on how to plan the structure of the courses that they opt for, the credits that they can get for each of the courses they take up, the exemptions that they are entitled to, on how to optimize their credits and derive maximum value from the courses that they select. They also assist and empower students to prepare LinkedIn profiles and arrange coop and internship opportunities for students. The Admissions Office also keeps track of attendance and performance and works with the students to identify areas of concern. The key piece in this is that, while support services are available, it is the responsibility of the student to avail of them.

The favorite major that students apply for at the Undergraduate level in the US is ‘undeclared’. This fact in itself shows the flexibility of the US system. Quite realistically, 17 year olds are allowed to explore their areas of interest and may also change the major in the third or fourth semester of UG studies. The students are assisted to strategize their program with information and advice from the Admissions office.

The nature of academics is extremely hands-on and relevant. A Business student can trade in stocks in a simulated Stock exchange on campus and gets academic credit for this. Students from all courses, across Departments work together on real projects that are undertaken in response to social and environmental issues. We were witness to the creation of low-cost, sustainable dwelling units that students were creating and would be producing on a large scale after testing. Students need to work with real employers during Summers and they either get paid at minimum wages or above or are awarded academic credit for the experience.

As career and college guidance professionals, we need to initiate the process of career awareness among students from Grade 9 onwards. On the one hand, students need to prepare for academic performance, take standardized tests for benchmarking, explore areas of interest and work collaboratively with peer group and faculty. On the other hand, parents and students must meet experts and discuss university plans, look up reviews and testimonials about colleges and finally, get to know oneself and what makes one happy.

This combination of building personal competence and aligning that competence to admission requirements is a complicated process and the journey should begin in Grade 9 and should be bolstered with a pre-departure orientation after Grade 12. At this stage, it is imperative for students to know the importance of maintaining the visa ‘in status’ and be aware of the stringent visa regulations which can make it difficult to get Internships. However, US visa allows 1 year of OPT (Optional Professional Training) as against Canada which allows 3 years and UK which allows none.

The thoughts are overflowing but the overriding feeling is that there is a fit for every student in the vast country of 4500 universities and the difference in the infrastructure and  quality of instruction among all the colleges is little. This means that the ranking of a university can often be misleading as the criteria of evaluation may or may not be a relevant factor when deciding the best fit. It is a struggle against our mindset which is, as Mark Twain says, in order to make a man or boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

Clubs : Middle & Senior School

Middle School Clubs Perspective

Middle school is a dynamic time in lives of adolescents and pathways middle school scholars are no exception! Ore changes occur more changes occur during this period of time than in any other time in their lives with the exception of birth through age 2. Academic Social emotional and physical maturation are important, but a layer of fun and the development of lifelong relationship are the icing on this cake at Pathways.

To further enhance the icing, student club programs has been an essential part in Middle school. Middle School clubs provide opportunities to engage in activities outside the classroom.

It allow for the expression of already existing passions and the discovery of new ones, provide leadership opportunities and advance service work, both in the Pathways community and beyond its walls. Students work collaboratively with classmates and students from other grades, develop cooperative skills and engage in fun extracurricular learning.

Students are encouraged to choose a different club activity every year which enables wider experience and thereby develop their talents. The various clubs on offer are –

Robotics & Science Club, Chess Club, Community Service Club, Public Speaking Club, Mandarin Language Club, Coding Club, Drama, Dance, Indian & Western Music Clubs, Cooking Club and Graphic Designing.

Some of the student’s testimonials 

In the drama club we have adopted many skills like on the spot thinking and thinking over a stimulus and creating a play. We even learnt how to cooperate with our fellow actors.

Rishab Menon, Drama Club

I feel the Community Service club really put the world around us in perspective. There are the few, like us, who are fortunate to obtain a good education and life. Then there is the many, who have few to little opportunities for a good life. It is our duty to create these opportunities for them.

Ishaan Gupta, CS Club 

We learnt how to play different instruments such as djembe, conga, bongo and dholak. We leant new Taal (tunes) and beats, Overall we loved the percussion club as we have the passion for percussion instruments and the club helped us get better at them.  The teacher was awesome and supported us throughout.

Shivangveer Singh & Sangmin Lee, Indian Music

Senior School Clubs Perspective
In the senior school club assembly, we showcased all the learning, and performances we had learned throughout the year. It was a great sight to watch our mates performing and sharing their learning in front of the school.

We

heard some beautiful and melodies music by the Music club. The music they performed was sensational and beautiful. Then the Robotics club showed their learning experience through sharing some knowledge they had with the audience. Their sketch up skills were amazing.  The cookery club showed us some mouthwatering dishes with a knowledgeable quiz about the food ingredients and thanked Ms Maneet Singh, the parent who had run it.

We also saw some glimpse of the work and projects done by the Art group in this year. Their models were very innovative with some brilliant ideas. We saw some beautiful photographs by the Photography club. The knowledge they shared to with us was really helpful, like one when they told us about the aperture control. The Pottery club showed us some of their beautiful design and methods. They mentioned some very informative videos and pictures in their presentation.

The Drama club’s act was full of emotions and with a great moral. Their act was very sensational and the assembly would have been incomplete without it. The Vocal music group’s song had a very good melody and tone. At last the dance club’s performance was full of energy and was performed with great spirit.

Finally, I would say that clubs are something which develop our talent and gives us a stage and chance to show it to the people. It is a platform which is given to us for showing and improve our talent shaping it into something great. These talents can also turn out to be our passion or profession later in life. 

Grade 5 trip to Gazipur landfill site by Ms. Kriti Nigam, Form Tutor, Form 5

The trip to Gazipur landfill site on 9th March 2015 was a reality check for the students. In the morning before we proceeded for the trip, children had were talking about the landfill and what it might look like. As soon as we approached the landfill site children wore masks to protect themselves; the first reactions were… “is it a mountain?” “It is so huge!” “is all this garbage?” “Where is it coming from?”…As we assembled, children started asking rapid fire questions… ‘if it a landfill , why is it so huge?’ ‘ Do people really live near such garbage?’ ‘Why isn’t there a recycling plant?’

We were standing right next to the board that claimed that this piece of green patch right in front of the enormous pile of garbage was in fact a Gas Capturing Pilot Project by GAIL India Ltd. Which was now closed due to some reasons. Also, in the horizon we could see a red chimney which was Waste to Energy Plant which was closed down due to the air pollution.

Children pointed out that we are looking at similar waste management solutions for our future cities. Children were shocked to hear that Delhi produces 8000 metric tonnes of garbage every day. Some children observed that the pile included all kinds of waste and wanted to know how it was segregated. Ms. Neha informed them that rag pickers segregated the waste here. The question “How could people work in this environment ? Do they wear protective clothes? Don’t they fall sick? They were surprised to know that the green patch they had stood upon was covering the earlier landfill and that the Indraprasth Gardens was also on top of a Landfill site.

The next stop was the Sweccha Office at Saket. This office was special as it is India’s first upcycled office. Children were fascinated to see their surroundings and observe Paint cans used as lampshades. There was a discussion on what could we do as children, how could we contribute towards recycling. It was heartwarming to see children realize that the garbage needed to be sorted and disposed off properly right at the source that is our houses then in colonies and further. The trip ended with children visiting the manufacturing unit. Overall, this trip made children realise that the we are the ones who generate waste, waste needs to be sorted at the source and that before we use ,buy or make something new …we need to ask ourselves… ‘Do we really need it?’ As a responsible person how we could reduce , reuse , recycle and upcycle.

Health News by School Nurse Ms Santosh Sharma

A child's health is always a cause for concern to parents. Good health is necessary for proper growth and development both physical and mental. Keeping this fact in mind we have been conducting health check-ups for students every year since beginning. The purpose behind these check-up s is to diagnose any disease at initial stage and treat it in time e.g. vision problems, anemia etc.

 The annual medical check-up for students was organized on 8th, 9th and 10th of April 2015 at Health Centre,

Pathways school , Noida. Camp was organized in association with Max Hospitals, sec-19, Noida. A team of 3 Doctors including 1 Eye specialist, 1 Physician, 1 ENT, 1Technician, 1 Optometrist, and a Nurse had come to the school.  A physical examination along with thorough Eye check-up and ENT consultation were provided by the hospital. Dental check-up was done by Dr. Priyank Jayna and Dr. Seema.

 A total of 707 students underwent the Health Check-up.  

Highlights of recent Sports Events by Mr. Deepak Thakur, Head of Physical Education Department

LITTLE MASTER JUNIOR GOLF TOUR

Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.- Arnold Palmer

Pathways School Noida Golf team played a series of 5 Golf matches at Jaypee Golf Course, Greater Noida from January 2015 to May 2015. There were schools like Step By Step Noida, British School Delhi, DPS School which participated in the competition along with various individual student participation

from Delhi NCR. Our Golf team performed very well in the tournament by securing the Overall Team Championship after winning 4 Gold, 13 Silver and 8 Bronze Medals.

Winners : Diva Gandhi, Anandita Ralli, Vansh Gupta




BASKETBALL MATCH WITH DPS NOIDA

Pathways School Noida Boys won a Basketball match with DPS Noida  with a final score of 17-10.

PRACTICE SOCCER MATCH WITH SHIV NADAR SCHOOL NOIDA

Our Primary School Soccer Boys team played a match against Shiv Nadar School Noida in our school soccer field on 6th May, 2015 and won match with a score of 2-1.  Keshav Sahani and Aarav Jain score 1 goal each. The team was very happy for their 2nd victory of the year.

BASEBALL WORKSHOP FOR PATHWASIANS

'Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.' - Bob Feller

An introductory Baseball workshop was conducted for students of

Form 4 & 5, Form 8 and Form 9 during their PE classes in the month of April 2015. It was a good learning for our students as all the students were involved and enjoyed the game baseball and are looking forward to set the team for Baseball league which will be starting in next academic year. The academy will help our school in setting the school baseball team. The glimpses of workshop can also be viewed at :

https://www.facebook.com/indiabaseball?fref=ts

From the Director's Desk

As everyone knows this has been a period of intense activity in our Classrooms Without Walls programme. Jharokha was followed by

the Adventure Camps, both providing lasting learning experiences in different ways. Jharokha welcomed inventiveness and problem-solving as unusual and ingenious solutions came up to envisioning cities of the future. And the adventure camps which you can read more about in this update taught children how to enjoy adventure as they went on night treks or simply shared a tent with a classmate.

End of Year Academics

As we begin to move to the end of the semester, the focus has shifted again to formal learning. However the final task in their

learning journey has a huge variety. At one end is the formal system which all parents are familiar with.  The external exams for the IGCSE and IB Diploma are looming and students from Grade 10 & 12 have proceeded on extended preparatory leave. The Graduation of Form 12 students which marks this phase is always a moment of both sadness and optimism and you can read more about it below.

In contrast to final examinations, is the Exhibition at the end of Primary school. 

The Grade 5 students had a wonderfully successful PYP Exhibition on the Central Idea of Sharing Spaces Responsibly Can Help Sustain Life on Earth. Whatever grade you are related to, I urge you to view the depth of their learning, the variety of activities and their profound understanding through the website at http://www.pypexhibition2015.weebly.com/ . It would make a senior school teacher happy.

     Meanwhile Grade 8 students are preparing for their end of year Personal Project presentations open to all Middle School parents. While they do also have an end of year exam, the Personal Project presentation is an important part of their learning, usually done in the MYP by Grade 10.  A variety of writings, technology related and performance related products will be on display.

Learning for Adults

 There is a direct correlation between the learning of students and of teachers. In a world of ever-expanding knowledge, all adults need to be learners, to keep pace with new ideas.

The senior school Principal Mr Abraham and I attended the IB annual Conference in Macau. We discussed the new developments and changes being implemented in the IB at all levels and learnt about the exciting new MYP assessment in Grade 10. Equally valuable is the setting up of connections and relationships with schools around the region. As a follow up we conducted a feedback session for all secondary staff.

   

Meanwhile both PYP and MYP teachers have been to a SAIBSA meet in Mumbai, of teachers from IB schools in India. Our teachers were invited to contribute their planning and the MYP Coordinator Anshu Sharma was the leader of a session. A total of 9 teachers attended and have come back with learning and a renewed confidence in how we are planning and teaching.

New Year Schedule

Finally I would like to share in good time the opening date for the new academic year. The first day of school is July 29th so please do make your summer plans to ensure that you are back in school on time.

Dr.  Shalini Advani

School Director

From the Middle School Principal, Mrs. Sunanda Sandhir

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”– Eric Hoffer

Today’s child has high degree of awareness levels as his world extends beyond books to array of information through media, social networks, technology etc. Therefore all adults’ teachers or parents have also become learners as they endeavor to become a part of child’s world.

We keep this in mind at Pathways as we provide various learning opportunities not only for children, but for parents too. In response to the need expressed by a number of parents we were happy to arrange one such workshop on ‘parenting’ an adolescent conducted by Parwarish. The aim was to support parents to develop positive relationship with their child through creating a warm supportive environment.

Back to School is another such event in middle school where the parents attend classes as students and experience for themselves as to how their child learns in the school.

 Five of our teachers went to Mumbai to be a part of MYP SAIBSA -South Asia International Baccalaureate Schools Association which aims to facilitate communication with authorized and implementing IB schools in the South Asia region. Ms. Anshu Sharma was one of the speakers at the Science session.

Two day Leadership workshops were organized for all Middle School students .These workshops were conducted by Youreka. The aim was to help students develop their self-confidence, take initiatives and develop empathy among other things. This was facilitated learning through group discussions, team building exercises and on-going tasks.

This semester Form 6 students attended a talk by Mr. Umang Bhattacharya who is Creative director at the New Delhi-based design firm Design Workshop.

Form 7 visited Dastkar – a craft exhibition and also worked with the Bamboo craftsmen at the school’s Design Technology Lab, to create the Bamboo products which were designed by the students.

As Form 8 students move to IGCSE in the next session, they attended a career guidance Pathfinders workshop to enable them to understand their competencies and strengths which helps them choose their subjects. A presentation was held where parents and students interacted with teachers to begin planning their subject choices for the next year.

Opportunities as mentioned above and many more are provided to our students which enables them grow in a healthy and positive environment where everyone is developing progressively and learning all along.