Goodbyes aren’t that easy......

Saying goodbye to the people you have loved for over a year is not easy. They are the ones who made you laugh, when you didn’t want to smile; the ones who cried with you, the ones who are closer than family. Leaving them is very, very difficult. Knowing the fact that you may not see them ever again is heart breaking, but life must go on.

Pathways has treated me very well. For the short period of time I was here, I have learnt a lot and have had a lot of treasured memories. The life skills that Pathways has taught me will be with me forever. There have been a lot of hurdles in my pathway to success, but I was able to cross them with the support and guidance of all the teachers here.

Thanks to all who have made my Pathways life a comfortable experience. All I want to say is, I love you all and I’ll never forget you guys. Thank you for everything you have done for me, and I will miss you a lot. I hope you have a good life ahead and we meet sometime in our lives.

Here I am, signing off with my last article, as Divya Vijayakumar.....

-Divya Vijayakumar 8B

Technology News

Apple releases iOS 6.0.2

This is just a small update for the new iPhone and the iPad mini. Apple says that it will remove the bug the affects the Wi-Fi. There are no more new features.

Zynga’s CEO Mark Pinus was 4^th on the list of the worlds worst CEOs

Mark Pinus was declared as the 4^th worst CEO, as their shares have dropped by 70% and it mostly relies on Facebook to distribute its games.

Facebook is planning to bring video advertisements

Facebook is planning to stream video ads on desktop, mobile phones and tablets.

Mark Zuckerberg donates $500 to Silicon Valley Charity

Zuckerberg donates $500 to Silicon Valley Charity. This gift is part of him being involved in The Giving Pledge, which involves the world’s billionaires to donate half of their earnings in their lifetime.

Two NASA spacecrafts crash on the moon.

Two of NASA’s spacecrafts, named Ebb and Flow, crashed on the moon on 17^th of December 2012, as planned by NASA. These probes were orbiting the moon for approximately a year and had been collecting data. These spacecrafts crashed onto the moon at 5:28 p.m, 20 seconds apart. This crash was planned by NASA to know the consumption of fuel by spacecrafts, to predict it future projects’ fuel consumption. The crash site will be named after the first women in space, Sally Ride.

- By Unknown 

Opinion

Kyoto Protocol extended till 2020: Doha Climate Conference...

I think that it is very good news because I feel that the Earth is getting polluted every minute and if this keeps going on then the earth may be seriously damaged in the coming years.

CAG Vinod Rai re-elected as chairman of UN external auditors’ panel...

Vinod Rai who is current Controller and Auditor General (CAG) has been re-elected as the chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations (UN). According to me this has increased India’s good reputation with other countries. It will also benefit the country to keep in touch with the UN members which will help maintain peace between us and our neighboring countries like Pakistan.  

 

Lionel Messi creates record for most goals in a year...

 

It is definitely amazing news that he has created a record for most goals in just a year. But it is definitely possible because he is a very good player and has the ability to give his hundred percent to every match he plays.

WHO instructs India to keep lens on tourist for SARS-like virus...

As instructed by the WHO, India is keeping a close watch on incoming tourists, fearing the transmission of a new respiratory virus that belongs to the same family as the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The deadline to begin these screening was originally till the end of 2012, which has been extended by a year. According to me trying to keep away the SARS is a very important operation because it is protecting the country’s people from a deadly disease. There are enough fatalities caused due to cancer and dengue and if one more disease joins in then it will be hard for the nation to handle it.

Shubhi Raghav

7B

Book Review The Giver -Lois Lowry

“The Giver” is about a boy called Jonas who lives in a society which has no war, no pain, and no hunger. In the perfect future world in which Jonas lives, twelve- year-old children are given their life assignments at the Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas is shocked when he is chosen to be a new “Receiver of Memories”, which is a mysterious position of honor held by only one person at a time. He is trained by the previous “Receiver”, now called the “Giver”. The “Giver” alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life.  His job is to make Jonas understand the memories which he has by transferring him to his memories of the past. Jonas eventually does understand his memories and the story goes on...

After reading the book, I was rather confused by the ending and would have been happier if the ending was different. I felt it was interesting in the beginning but became boring in the middle. However, it doesn’t really seem to matter too much if the storyline has weaknesses because the strength of the book lies in the ideas which the writer has presented. I am sure that different people will have different opinions, so please read the book and decide for yourself

-Soohyeon Na 7B

MUN TRAINING

On the 30^th of November, Pathways School Noida hosted an MUN Training event in which students from many different schools participated. There were children from Amity, Lotus Valley, Lancers and many others. Trainers from an information company called Brainwiz came and taught us how the United Nations operates and how we have to behave and act in the Model United Nations sessions. We were taught about countries’ foreign policies and their importance. Students were divided into delegates, secretariat staff members and officials, each field requiring different methods of training. We then learnt about how to operate in our respective fields and how to research. This session was very informative and will help us budding MUN-ers have a good future in MUNs.

-Ketan Gupta

Fun Fair- A Day of Sharing.

 Pathways World School Noida had its first Fun Fair on 19^th December. It was organized by the Interact Club, to raise funds for the Hazipur Village. There were many games in the fair, including The Straw Game, The Sand and Coin Game, face painting, The Hoop Game and so on. As it was also the “Day of Sharing”, all the bus drivers, teachers, support staff, students, principals, director and even our founder, Mr.Jain came together as just one community-the “Pathways Family”, played games together, danced and had a lot of fun. Some of the middle and senior school students were in charge of the stalls and were looking after them; though most of them were there for games and some of them even had food. There was even a ‘Pizza Hut’ stall, which became very popular.
After the fair was over we had a “Langar” in which again everyone sat together and shared a meal. We sat on green carpets and had food in plates made from leaves. The Langar was a really nice experience as I have never been to one. I loved this experience and will never forget it in my life.
-Anoushka Nalwa 7B

Geography Course Work

On the 14^th December, the students of Grade 8 studying about “Urbanization” in Geography, went for a Geography Field Study Trip: to promote inquiry based learning and taking studies beyond the boundaries of classroom, students set out for a practical study experience and to discover the urban change going around them.

To study urbanization change in Noida we visited spots ranging from Noida sector-100 to GIP and took notes on how Noida is undergoing urban change. Before the field trip we collected data, conducted a survey, asking at least 5 people living in our neighborhood to build a few hypotheses and then started further investigation on them.

At the start of the day, we were divided into groups of 2 or 3 to undertake the study. We boarded the bus in groups and began our coursework. We collected data by taking photographs, drawing transects, preparing questionnaires, making observations, surveying people, and conducting a traffic count at a metro traffic junction. Finally, after the day’s hard work, we had lunch at GIP.

After the trip, we were given time to build up our individual field reports following the Geography “Route of Inquiry”. It was a really nice study trip as it included lot of research, data, statistics, hypothesis collection and then framing conclusions and opinions. This trip taught many aspects of research. I would like to thank the Geography teacher, Dr. R.K Kaul, for this trip.

-Divya Tyagi  8-B

AIMUN

Between the 29^th of October and the 1^st of November, 7 students from our school went to Amity International University to participate in the 3^rd ever Amity International Model United Nations. These students were Maulini Sikri, Vivek Verma, Saumya Joshi, Rashi Seth, Malak Khan, Divya Vijayakumar, and Nikhil Datta. There were various committees, including the HNATO, SC, GA, UNESCO, ECOSOC, HSC, HRC, and the EU. We were all representing the nation of Turkey. The agendas for the committees included Anti- Money Laundering, Human Rights Issues and War Crimes in the Yugoslavia 1990’s, DDR in Africa, The Iranian Nuclear Program, The USSR invasion of Afghanistan, and the Safety and Security of UN Personnel. I was a part of the HNATO along with Rashi, and our agenda was Human Rights Issues and War Crimes in Yugoslavia 1990’s.

The entire committee sessions were very interesting, informing, and at times very entertaining as well. Even though none of us were able to bag any of the awards, I must say that the whole MUN was a great learning experience and that we all enjoyed it very much. I can definitely say that it was a fruitful experience, and that it was very different from other MUNs I have attended so far. I would definitely like to attend the next AIMUN as well.

-Malak Khan 8B

Life of Pi

Unbelievable cinematography, fantastic pyrotechnics, a simple yet fascinating plot and amazing acting; these put together, served as a perfect recipe for the latest film, “The Life of Pi”. This movie is an epitome of one person’s understanding of the harshness of the seas and the importance of being hopeful at all times. For the entire two and a half hours, I sat, gaping in awe and amazement. No movie before, not even “3 Idiots”, had kept me so riveted to my seat.

Piscine Molitor Patel, a teenage boy from Pondicherry learns that his family is going to shift from Pondicherry to USA, to start a zoo there. On the way there, the ship they travel in crashes, killing everybody but Piscine and his tiger, Richard Parker. Together, they battle the seas and the storms and the whole movie is about the hurdles they face and overcome together as man and beast. The movie’s ending is not predictable; I will let you find out for yourself.

-By Karan Pandanda 8A

STUDENT LED CONFERENCE-FIRST TIME EVER!

The Student led conference (S.L.C) happened on the 14^th of December, 2012. We had to make three portfolios of the subjects Maths, English and either Science or Social Science. In our portfolios we had to include three pieces of work that we had done during the first semester. We had different advisory teachers to guide us. We had to do a lot of reflection on the work that we had done. Our advisory teachers and subject teachers kept telling us not to be nervous because they were just our parents but we still got a little nervous. During the conference, I heard from my classmates that a lot of questions were asked by parents! I was nervous at the start of the conference while greeting my parents but as I got into it all the nervousness went away. I was so relieved when the conference was over, knowing that the same thing would not happen for at least another year, but at the same time I had to admit that overall it was a very enriching experience!   

The Midway’s Voice: A ‘Voice’ that wants to be heard

“Blogging’, as we know the word now, has begun to have different connotations from the time it all started in the '90s. But what remains the same is that it is a popular medium to express our opinions and share knowledge with people around the world.  Similarly, our students from Middle School have been bringing their voice to you in the past few months through ‘Midway’s voice’. It is an enriching experience for all involved as they not only express their views from the ‘personal to the political’ but also acquire other life skills along the way. They learn to work in groups, take on responsibility, meet deadlines, practice effective communication skills, think creatively, listen to and respect each other’s opinion and many more. In this blog, you will hear some new voices from Middle School who have expressed their thoughts on various topics. It is the voice of today’s young teenagers; please do spare the time to read and in the process get an insight into their perspective about events happening around them.

-Ms Divya Pandanda

Gati- Dance Appreciation

On the 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th of November, people from an organization called Gati came in for a workshop. We were put through an orientation session before the actual workshop. This session gave us a brief introduction to the whole idea of dance appreciation. The women who came for this short session were Shomita and Durba.

The workshop lasted for three days. The activities ranged from actual dance to watching movies. We learnt a variety of skills such as movement qualities, breaking time and awareness of space. Each of these skills was taught with the help of an activity. We were taught movement qualities through a series of videos, breaking time by clapping our hands and stomping our feet to a certain rhythm and awareness of space using a rope. These activities helped us understand these concepts better.

On the third day we watched a movie called ‘Billy Elliot’. This movie was about a young boy of about 11 who originally took up boxing but later found his passion in ballet. The movie was set in a time period in which dancing was considered an activity for only girls. The boy’s father takes time to understand but gives up after seeing his son’s dance routine. The movie was quite a sweet and somber take on the stereotypes placed on male dancers, particularly male ballet dancers.

Overall, the whole workshop taught us quite a bit and also kept us interested till the very end. It was a good way to get some more people interested in dance. Although the process was long, I think a lot of people enjoyed the experience.

- Ayona Sengupta

8B

Children’s Day

Children’s Day, also known as ‘Bal Divas’, is celebrated on the 14^th of November. 14^th November was the birthday of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also called Chacha Nehru by children. This was because he was quite fond of them and treated them well. Nehru always emphasized that children should be given love and affection because he saw them as the future of India. Many functions are organized in schools, offices and other organizations to celebrate this occasion. In most schools, functions are held where children perform on stage. They often sing songs, enact plays or dance.

 This year, in our school Pathways, since there was a holiday on the 14^th, we only had a chance to celebrate the event on the 16^th. The day was like any other day, except for when our teachers brought us together for a special assembly and put on a great show for all of us. The Middle School teachers had composed a ‘rap’ song which they performed on stage, the Primary School teachers had put on a play and the Senior School teachers mimicked the 12^th grade students. It was a lot of fun and I think we are very lucky to have teachers who care so much about us. Children’s Day or ‘Bal Divas’ is special for every child in the country and it is one of those school days which prove to be even more fun than weekends. 

-Ketan Gupta

8A

The Kahaani Festival

On the 17^th and 18^th of November, our school was host to the Kahaani Festival. Even before it started we knew it would be a grand affair and that a lot of people would attend because of the scale at which it had been planned and organized, and especially the full- page color advertisements in the newspaper. It was a very interesting event, with the art of storytelling being presented in so many forms. I personally think that the play, ‘The Midsummer Night’s Dream’, presented by Wide Aisle Productions, was the best event but I also enjoyed a lot of the other events, especially ‘SALTBUSH’ by Insite Arts and Compagnia TPO from Australia, and the puppet show ‘Little Blue Planet’ by Katkatha. I also watched ‘Swaagat’ by Aakaar, ‘The Shum and Vi Show’ by Ishara Puppet Theatre, and ‘Ab Kahin Koi Ghum Na Ho’ by Rene Singh and her group of underprivileged children. Though I did not attend any of the workshops, I have heard a lot of people saying that they were very interesting and enjoyable.  They included a ‘Doodle Wall’ by Atanu Roy, ‘Introduction To Nagada- Indian Drums’ by Nathoo Lal Solanki, ‘Make Your Own Comic Strip’ by Subhadra Sengupta and Atanu Roy, ‘The Making of a Sock Puppet’ by Ishara Puppet Theatre, ‘Kirigami and Pop- Up Art’ by Sachin George Sebastian, ‘Story Painting’ by Bulbul Sharma, and ‘Catch the Creative Writing Bug’ by Manisha Chaudhary. Other performances were ‘Kathasuniasceal: A Feast of Fabulous Stories’ by Vayu Naidu, ‘ITIHAAS Ke Kisse’ by Smita Vats, ‘Nani Kahe Kahaani’ by Varsha Das, ‘The Role of Newspapers In the World We Live In’ by Anita Mani, and ‘Are you Icky, Yucky, or Mucky?’ by Anita Roy.

-Malak Khan

8A

Author’s visit

Frané Lessac was born in the US, lived in Montserrat: a small Caribbean island that is part of the British overseas territory and the UK before moving to Australia. Having a monkey, dogs, and snakes amongst her pets, she toyed with becoming a vet but opted for film school instead and is an artist, author and illustrator of more than 35 books. When Frané Lessac came to Pathways School Noida, she spoke about her life and about some of the books she had illustrated and wrote. Some of the books included, “The Legend of Moondyne Joe” and “The Greatest Liar on Earth”. Frané spoke to us about all the preparations that went into a book. Frané taught us that things can come unexpectedly and they can really impact your life greatly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Aryaan Jhingon- 7B

Read-a-thon

          “Reading for a cause, Reading for Goonj” 

Middle school is presently in the midst of their second Read-a-thon. Reading for Goonj started on 27^th November 2012 and will end on 7^th December 2012. We took pledges before we started with the Read-a-thon. On 29^th November we had a guest speaker from Goonj with us. She talked about the organization for which we were raising funds. I like the process of Read-a-thon in which we get to read books with our friends and donate the money to the NGO called Goonj. It’s fun reading with everyone in middle school, we sit anywhere we want to and read books peacefully.    

-     

      Muskaan Srivastava

- 7B

Academic Honesty

 “Academic Honesty”, all by itself, these two words hold utmost importance in the life of any truthful person. However, “Academic Honesty” is even more instrumental in the lives of students taking higher level exams or doing extended projects. In our case, Grade 8 is doing an extended project, our Personal Project. But what is “Academic Honesty”?  “Academic Honesty” is the way that students can prove that the work submitted is their own through methods like referencing, linking, using quotation marks, citing resources and having a bibliography. Ms Geeta Verma, the IB coordinator of our school, gave us, 8^th Graders, an introduction to the guidelines, with a talk on this subject and how we need  to cite our resources in our Personal Project. Nowadays, people who plagiarise are severely penalised.

-Karan Pandanda

 8A

History

History is not a subject for me; it is a reflection of who I am.  Since I was a kid, history and knowing about what happened before I came into existence on Earth always interested me.  If history didn’t exist, then none of us would have known who we are and how we are what we are.  In my opinion, before knowing about other nations or people, it is important to know about one’s own nation and so, after being taught about India and why it is the way it is, we continued with World History. Studying about The World War 1 helped me understand myself and those around me, better. Debates, Videos and Reference people coming in got us much more interested in the topic than we had ever expected ourselves to be. I wait for the History class to start and hope for it to never end but eventually it does, leaving me with the curiosity of learning more. “History is not old and torn, it is as precious as Silver and Gold”.

-Taapsi Kohli

8A

The World Watches..

These days, most kids spend their time watching television till their eyes ache. All day long, all they do is watch T.V. Television has a major influence on children, because before the television was invented, children used to go and play outside, read books, or participate in many other activities. Now all they do is sit, watch TV and eat. Often parents think it keeps their children busy and entertained, so they don’t disturb them. However, these parents have to realize that watching so much of television affects the children’s eyes. It also affects other aspects of their health since they don’t go outside to play anymore, but instead they just sit and watch or play on the T.V. People also get obese due to long hours of watching television, and it makes them lazy and clumsy. People have to wake up to this fact and stop watching too much television.

-Rhea Agarwal

 7A

Poetry and Debating

To think more deeply about this topic, we students read the poem, “Television” by Roald Dahl during our English lesson. The poem was basically about the negative influence of television on children. One of my favorite lines was that which said,“television makes our brain as soft as cheese”. We followed it up with a debate on this topic about the influence of television. I was in the group which was in favour of the topic which means I talked about the positive influence of television. There were four teams, two teams against the topic and two teams for the topic. We all had our own points and tried to rebut each other’s point too. At the end of the debate, we didn’t care about whose side we were on, we just started to debate on the issue as a whole. It was a new experience I had got a chance to go more deep into the topic while debating. It helped me to speak more confidently. Still, I think I need to practice to speak more in front of everyone because I was feeling so nervous when I was speaking. Even if I speak in front of my classmates I feel nervous. But debating really helped me to speak out my thoughts and I think I spoke three times more than I did before!

-Soohyeon Na

7 B

Physical Education in Middle School

Soccer!

The 7^th grade recently started soccer practices during PE lessons, and it's a lot of fun! We get to learn more about dribbling, shooting and other aspects of soccer. The class starts off with a very, very tiring round of the field which is then followed by exercises and sprints. This is the more athletic part of the lesson, but it is very easy. What we do next tests one’s body as well as one’s mind, because we are put in a one on one situation with a partner. We have to take the ball past him/ her and stop the ball on the line. After that, we generally have a match for the rest of the lesson, and it is often very difficult to determine our teams. The classes are very tiring. It is amazing though, how we can have fun and learn so many things at the same time. 

-Akshit Singh

7B

Frisbee Workshop

On Fridays, the first two lessons are PE classes and I love those two lessons because I get to play basketball. But on the 2nd of November, there was a workshop on a sport that is newly introduced in India known as Ultimate Frisbee. It was held by a group who worked for USHA fans. I got to know about this workshop just the day before it. I became quite upset that I wouldn't get to play basketball that Friday and didn't feel like participating in the workshop. On Friday, though, when we were split into our houses and made to practice Frisbee catching and throwing for the first time, it turned out to be quite fun! Often, people would throw Frisbees in the wrong direction and almost hit people. This made the whole workshop thrilling and everyone enjoyed it a lot. We were playing with the Frisbees the whole time. I don't think anyone even took a water break. Well, the whole experience was amazing and I really would have regretted not participating in it!

-Sanya Chawla

8B

Our Planet Earth

The world is changing. Day by day. Minute by minute. Second by second. Our planet Earth is going through a huge phase of global warming. It is a grave problem in today's world. We are technologically advanced and very populous, but with great power comes greater responsibility.

Since the invention of the automobile, the world has been facing immense challenges due to green house gas emissions and oil resources. Fossil fuel reserves are depleting and wildlife is disappearing: fast. The many things our world is now going through are mostly to be blamed on us.

We are the ones, in the name of technology, who use automobiles. We are the ones who own the factories that pollute the world so much. We are the ones that are responsible for the destruction of the ozone layer. There is so much that we are responsible for, yet so less we are doing.

Today's science is still a baby compared to the problems it needs to solve. We are the ones who started it, and we need to be the ones to end it as well. Every citizen of the world needs to do their part. It may be just as small as walking to work, or as big as finding more renewable resources.

We need to stop wasting our precious resources, and learn to sustain them for longer. We need to learn how to save our planet, save mankind. This is not something we need to take lightly. It is the solution to a better future. We need to do something, and we can. We just need to put in a little more effort. Where there's a will, there's a way.

It's still not too late to do something. We still have time, and we need to use it wisely. Focus on sustaining ourselves and our planet for eons to come.

-Divya Vijayakumar

8B

Book Review “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks

A man with a worn out notebook open in his lap, a man who believes in magic, and a man who believes love is strong enough to make miracles happen. This is Noah who, fourteen years ago, one summer, met Allie. They began to fall in love. Allie’s family though, did not approve of this relationship and forced them apart. Despite that, they promised to keep in touch. Noah wrote 365 letters to Allie every day, each going unanswered. Noah now tries to move on but is haunted by the ghost of the girl he loves. He eventually tries to keep his mind off her and ends up going to war. Meanwhile, Allie waits for Noah’s letters everyday but her mother is hiding them all. She tries to move on too and finds a man. They get engaged, but Noah is unaware. One day, Allie realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time and she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. Still, the divide between their worlds is too vast to ignore, especially with Allie’s marriage only a few weeks away. The epic tale of Allie and Noah has just begun. ‘The Notebook’ is a romantic book and the story stays with you forever.

-Mehak Diwan

 7A

Samsung Galaxy S3

We all know the cell phone is getting old and is not going to stay in the market for long, as Apple’s much awaited iPhone 5 has arrived. Earlier in the year, in May 2012, the Galaxy S3 was released and is one of the biggest upgrades expected to be made to the Galaxy series after the Note 1. Now let’s talk about the phone:

Samsung Galaxy S3:

The S3 has a 4.8 inch display and it is certainly big. But since it is a slim phone, it easy to use. Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. A matte finish would have felt good though.

Some more about the Galaxy S3:

·        - It has a quad core processor

·        - The motion feature added in the galaxy s3 is one of the best features I would say

         -It has a super HD Amo-LED display with ‘gorilla screen’ (This protects it from scratches on the screen.)

·        - It has the S Voice feature.

·        - It also has new features like ‘smart stay’ and ‘smart call’.

-Shreyas sadh

 8B

Editor’s Note

                

This month, primary, middle, and senior school alike all concentrated their time and energies towards preparations for what is perhaps the most important occasion in the history of Pathways Noida: Founder’s Day. This year, the theme for our program is “Internationalism” and we hope to put the internationalism in our hearts on display by performing a variety of dance, drama, and music pieces from all across the world. Off the stage as well, there shall be exhibits that aim at further educating our visitors about the various performances on stage, and the diverse cultures they are linked to. In this blog update, we have articles not only on the work we put in for Founder’s Day and the learning experience that it was, but also on certain other recent events that took place both in the school and outside of it. These range from The Robotics Fest in Pathways Baliawas (Gurgaon), to Arvind Kerjriwal forming a party. Also, we have a variety of articles on other subjects that include “groovy” gadgets, book reviews, and more. Enjoy!

Malak Khan - 8B

Exhibition For Founders

For Founder’s Day, Grade 7 had to research on the Russian dance called the Kalinka for our English project. We had to research on different sub-topics. For example, when the dance originated, why is it performed, where did it originate from, the theory, and the history behind it. We did our work on A3 sheets and presented it on lanterns. All the work we did was handwritten and are precious pieces of work!. Grade 7 showed a lot of their creativity and worked hard on their projects.

We also had to do a History research project. We were divided into three groups for three different topics. The topics were:

1. Egyptian Music
2. Arabic Costumes

3. Hieroglyphics

For the History project, we presented our work on display boards. For the hieroglyphics  we used burnt paper, prepared carefully by the students. For Arabic costumes we used cloth to give the board a 3D effect. We wrote about the instruments used in the Egyptian music.

Anoushka Nalwa 7B

Experience of a Lifetime

What event holds more importance in Pathway’s history than its very own Founder’s Day? Truth be told, in all the schools that I have ever been to, no event has held such importance and has required such determination and perseverance. When I look back at the past few weeks of preparation towards Founder’s, all I can recall is the amount of hard work that everyone has put in, just to make this dream a reality.

In the Drama department, we are doing a play set in New Zealand which has two main characters, Maui and Tangaroa. Abhimanyu Bhalla from Grade 11 plays Maui, Dhruv Sahni from Grade 6 plays Tangaroa and Tanmay Diwan from Grade 9 plays the Sun. The support cast consists of the Village Men, Village Women and World Citizens. The play is described and voiced by two groups of people called the Narrators and the Chorus.

A handful of the Village Men were selected to perform a special piece. This ‘special piece’ is none other than an excerpt of skills from the mother of all martial arts, Kalari Payattu. The village men were trained by a professional in the art of Kalari and one of the only Kalari teachers in all of the NCR. This piece consists of moves that represent many different animal forms. The villagers also perform a Maori war dance called Hakka.

All in all, this training has been spectacular. The diverse ways in which we have learned to focus and hone our skills have been truly magnificent. I would like to conclude this article with a vote of thanks to our guru, Mrs. Kriti Sharma. She pushed herself to the furthest extremes with preparation for Founder’s. It is no easy task trying to tame 58 Middle and Senior School students. I truly admire and respect her focus and her amazing dramatic skills.

By Karan Pandanda Grade 8A

Practising for Founders - An Enriching Experience

On the 20^th of October, 2012, Pathways School Noida will be celebrating Founder’s Day. The theme for this year is Internationalism. This topic is an ongoing theme at our school. A phrase that was coined throughout the rehearsals, ‘multi-cultured’, seems to fit us quite well. In the past few weeks we have also had external sources come in and help us learn about different cultures.

I myself am in the music department. It is a tiring task as music is an integral part of almost every culture and some of the songs are in different languages. My favourite song would have to be the Flamenco song. With the rolling ‘r’s and strange and unknown words, the song is rather intriguing. It took us about 5 classes to master the lyrics and another week to get the timing. The work seemed worthwhile when we paired it with the dance. I think we have managed to set the feel for Flamenco. I can’t wait to perform it on Founders Day!

The other items for music include Tarana, Through Heaven’s Eyes and a separate Inauguration song. Tarana is a piece of classical Indian Music while Through Heaven’s Eyes is a fusion of music from around the world. The Inauguration piece is sung by only some students and is in Sanskrit.

The final song is “We Are the World”, a very famous piece of music by Michael Jackson.  The lead singers start off the song with everyone who is part of Founders joining them on stage. I hope we manage to carry the song off well! In short, I cannot wait for Founders Day!

Ayona Sengupta

8B

Current Affairs

Arvind Kejriwal, famed anti- corruption activist, recently separated from Team Anna and formed a political party of his own. He has not declared the name as yet, and is expected to do so on November 16^th, the day the Constitution was originally adopted in India. Kejriwal’s political party has thrown allegations at various important politicians as well as their families. These charges include blaming Robert Vadra, INC chief Sonia Gandhi’s son- in- law, for corrupt land deals, blaming the Delhi CM Sheila Dixit for a power- related scandal, blaming Law minister Salman Khurshid of illegal handling of donations meant for his NGO, and many others. He also plans to reveal proof of corruption in other sectors of Indian politics within the next few months.

I do support his decision of forming a party as I believe that if Kejriwal, or anyone else, wants to really make a difference in the country, then they all have the right to form a party or compete in an election so that they can make positive changes in the nation. However, making so many allegations that people have indulged in corruption is not something I support, for I find it hard to believe that the people of the nation would always choose corrupt people to lead them.

I feel that if Kejriwal really wants to improve India, then instead of simply trying to weed out corrupt politicians, he should also look at the other problems that the nation is facing today such as poverty, discrimination, etc. Also, I don’t approve of certain actions he has taken that go against my notions of democracy and an egalitarian society by making it seem as if he is a VIP and is above the law. I feel that instead of publicly insulting the politicians and taking illegal steps against them he should simply file an FIR and take the accused to court, like any normal citizen would have.

-Malak Khan 8B

Book Review

 “The Secret Garden"

My favourite book is “Secret Garden”. It is very interesting, and I could read it again and again without getting bored. The book tells the story of a very stubborn little girl. I was quite unfamiliar with it, because it was my first novel. Sometimes it was irritating, because the details were overwhelming. What kept me going was the suspense; I wanted to know the end. The thing which had really bothered  me was Mary, the main character. It was kind of disturbing, the way she was so stubborn. It was comical too at times. Most of the time, when we don't understand a word, we look it up in the dictionary. It is funny that although I didn’t like a number of things in the beginning, for the sake of the plot, I read the whole thing. Now I have a totally different outlook on these things. I loved the parts which were explained well and which were filled with twists. I know that not everyone loves books, but still all of us have that one favourite book, that we want to read over, and over again. J

By SHUBHI RAGHAV – 7B

Book Review

“The Gatecrasher” tells the story of Fleur Daxeny, who attends the funerals of London women, hoping to trap a grieving husband. The men find Fleur charming, witty, and beautiful. They offer her money, a home, and a glamorous lifestyle that she embraces. When she becomes bored, she begins to read the newspapers again in search of a new man. At one funeral , she finds Richard Favour . Being with him made her feel happy and respected, unlike the other men she met. Once she gets to know his family, she starts finding it difficult to leave . Will her past come back to haunt her, or will she finally find what she wanted all along?

Anya Lauria- 7A