Wednesday, 19 December 2012

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

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!

Sunday, 2 December 2012

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

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

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

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

Midway's Voice