Download PDF - Pathways World School

May 2011
Issue: 4
INDEX--------------------------------------------------------Page
Special Message from the Principal, Primary School--pg 1
Editorial-------------------------------------------------------pg 1
PYP Attitudes-------------------------------------------------pg 1
Staff Appreciation Day--------------------------------------pg1
Know About
Events---------------------------------------------------------pg 2
PYP in the classroom---------------------------------------pg 2
Summertime Activities-------------------------------------pg 3
Field Trips---------------------------------------------------pg 4
PYP Graduation--------------------------------------------pg 4
Role Models- Reflective------------------------------------pg 4
Speak Up
Your Voice----------------------------------------------------pg4
LEARNING IS FUN
Should learning be fun? Well our students certainly think so – and
the customer is usually right! The biggest challenge for a teacher
can be a group of bored uninterested students. Students think learning
should be fun. Have heard from them that when learning is fun,
they are thinking and engrossed in what they are doing. When a
lesson isn’t fun, they are thinking about when the lesson is going to
end. The truth is that when teachers scrub fun and comfort from the
classroom, students become bored, anxious and anything, but engaged. Research shows that learning
and recall improve when the learner is performing motor activities, when developing skills is set in familiar
contexts and when it interests ,engages and challenges them. We need to play, add fun and games
in our daily lives and learning will be invisible, but assured.
Ms. Rima Singh (Principal, Primary School)
EDITORIAL
Hurray, Staff Appreciation Day!!!!!
Morning of 13th of May, 2011
the Staff Appreciation Day was
organized by the Pathways
Parent Partnership (PPP) to
recognize the Primary staff.
All the students, support staff,
PE staff and teachers from
Primary were packed into the
Multi Purpose Hall in Panini.
And of course Dr Naidu’s presence was greatly appreciated.
The PPP recognized each and every staff member with a token
of their appreciation. Both the gesture and the artwork were
highly appreciated. The student’s enthusiasm and appreciation
was obvious from the shouts and cheers throughout the
programme. Thank you PPP!!!!
Ms. Shelly Singh
As we reached the final phase of this academic year , students and teachers alike were busy reflecting on the year
that sped by. As we looked back, I realised it was time for me to reflect deeply at my long personal journey in
teaching too! All the memories that came awash had one element in common, fun! Unless learning and teaching
has been fun, it is never worth a memory. As Dr. Seuss rightly writes in his book “Oh, the places you’ll go”, "If
you never have, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”
This month, we look at how the PYP adds this fun element to learning, making it precious and treasured. Across
activities and subjects, our children are surely having a lot of fun in school, and at the same time soaking in all
the learning!
Field trips and explorations galore,
Celebrations of special days and more,
Reflecting back at all the fun we had,
A pinch of salt with the good and the bad!
A meaningful year spent learning all the way,
In PYP, fun filled was every single day!
But summer is here and it’s getting hot,
Time for a break, a holiday… why not?
Here is wishing everyone a cool and refreshing break. We will see you all again in August! Happy Holidays from
the entire Editorial and Primary Team!!
Mr. Abhimanyu Das Gupta
AN APTITUDE FOR PYP ATTITUDES
I am aware that the students in PYP are encouraged
to exhibit the “PYP attitudes” like commitment,
cooperation, tolerance and empathy. But what I
witnessed some days ago, made me speechless!
It was the 30th of March, with the entire Pathways
campus community and the world outside cheering
loudly to support Mother India’s eleven warriors
on the field! The match graduated to be an outstanding
event at Pathways, as the Senior School
students organized the screening of the match on
a big screen, for our support staff, as part of their
service projects. It was a splendid evening for all
of us who live on campus and especially for our
support staff who were given chips and cold drinks
to add more flavour to the ongoing excitement.
The excitement was at its peak; we all cheered for
team India at the highest possible pitch, paying
little heed to the mess we were creating in the
amphitheatre. Then I noticed something which
made me pull out my camera immediately and start
taking lots of photographs. A few children from
Primary School had got together to clean up the
mess. They were picking up all the trash thrown
around, and dumping them in the trash bin. It was
such a delight to see them doing it so confidently and
it was quite clear that they were self-motivated and
completely believed in what they were doing. By
the time our house-keeping team reached to do the
needful, all the litter had been put in the bins and
the amphitheatre was as clean as before the match.
Students like Sahil, Akash and Maan are certainly
those who have incorporated their learning into
a real-life situation with great pride. In an amphi
theatre full of spectators, only they had the right
aptitude to
display their
‘attitudes’.
The world is
certainly
going to be a
better place
to live in with
such young
minds around. I must also congratulate the entire PYP
team, for inspiring these young minds to this extent.
This is an eye opener for all of us that we
can make a big difference in small ways.
Mr. Santanu Bhowmik
(IB-IGCSE Mathematics Teacher
& Co CAS Coordinator)
1

KNOW ABOUT
LEARNING THROUGH DRAMA
Drama is a fabulous way for anyone to communicate, connect with one
another and build their confidence and social skills. The students of Grade
3 were inquiring into non-verbal and verbal communication through their
unit Let’s Talk. Thus, a workshop combining the two was conducted by Ms.
Cathy, the Drama Teacher in the Senior School for these students to help them
understand the different perspectives of verbal and non - verbal communication.
The workshop created a safe environment for the students to explore and
express themselves. The activities were ‘Self- Introductory Game’ and ‘Bang
Bang’, where the students had to respond to a particular situation. They also
ART SPEAKS
Grade 2 has been
inquiring about different
forms of art as
a part of their unit
‘Art Speaks’ under
the TD theme "How
we express ourselves".
Their learning reached
a new dimension with
the inputs from our
guest speakers: Mr. Paul Hume – international artist, Ms.
Cathy - theatre artist and Ms. Charuvi – animator. Paul
Hume is a famous visual artist. He shared a few of his art
pieces (paintings and videos) from his campaign on malnutrition
and upcoming exhibition in Singapore. He explained to
students that Art can also be used to convey meaningful and
thoughtful messages besides abstract ideas. Ms. Cathy, theatre
artist taught the students non-verbal forms of Art through an
activity to demonstrate how different people can have a diverse
perspective about the same thing. Ms. Chaurvi, an animator,
unveiled the mystery of animation to the students. The sessions
were immensely enjoyed by the students and they understood
how these art forms can be used to express ideas, feelings,
spread messages and awareness globally.
Ms. Rekha Saluja
MATH IS FUN... THE INQUIRY WAY
It’s always a question
as to how an inquiry
happens in Numeracy!
Yes, Numeracy!
Inquiry is the root
of the PYP curriculum
and the teachers
strive their best to
deliver a lesson
in Literacy,
Numeracy, Units
of Inquiry, Hindi or
for that matter P.E., through inquiry.
Let us take the example of a Grade
3 inquiry into Measurements. For
the tuning in activity, the teacher divided
the class into groups. The students
were given some tools and
were asked to measure the class
cupboard, white board, desk, etc.
using any one tool they felt appropriate.
The students used their thinking skills
and social skills while working in the
group and justified why they used a foot
ruler or an inch tape to measure. Once
students got an idea that they would be
working with measurements they
embarked on the finding out stage. The
students were then given some cut outs
of whales (and other animals) with
different sizes and were asked to sort
them out according to the sizes from
ascending to descending order. This
was then the sorting out stage. Having
arranged it according to their sizes,
the students then made a bar graph to
did a ‘3 Photo Frame’ activity where they had to depict
a situation of their choice using non - verbal cues.
Through this workshop, children gained a sense of
achievement in creating their own work, both individually
and as a team, while having fun at the same time. It
also focused on each individual’s perspective of different
situations. Learning through drama was truly FUN!!
Ms. Dura Shawar
MIRROR MURAL
Arts engage students in creative processes
through which they explore and experiment
in a continual cycle of action and
reflection. Such creative processes are
seen by the PYP as the driving force in
learning through inquiry incorporating a
lot of fun! In a quest to help students get
a better understanding of the Visual Art
in society, the students of Grades 4 and 5
were involved in creating an outdoor mural
in cement and glass. The mural has
been inspired by a two dimensional linear
clay-relief element adorned with bits and
pieces of glittering mirrors. This creates
an aura of mystic revelation in the clay
murals, synonymous to the cultural
identity of Kutch in Gujarat. During the
process the students learnt about creating
and appreciating art. The experience
was fun filled and gratifying for us and
will continue to encourage students to
explore such creative ventures throughout
their lives.
represent the data.
This was again a
task to strengthen
their understand
ing of Bar Graphs
through an
activity done in
Measurements. The
students made connections
of their
undestanding
about measurements
by cutting pictures of grocery
items and writing down how much
each item would weigh by giving
valid reasons to their answers. The
students by this time were so very
keen in knowing about how much
each item actually weighed or
measured, that they observed
the shopkeepers’ weighing
machines carefully in order to check,
if the weight written on the product,
matched with that on the machine. Wow,
now that is what we call ‘taking action’!
Thus, by using inquiry in
Numeracy,
learning
is a whole
lot of fun!
Ms. Sabeena Menon
Ms. Aditi Singh
FUN WITH
TOYS
A workshop based on toy design
and development was conducted
by Prof. Sudarshan Khanna and Ms. Aarti Srivastav on the 28th April
2011 at Vasant Valley School, New Delhi and was attended by two teachers
from the Early Years, Ms. Sona and Ms. Neetu. The workshop commenced
with a brief talk on how learning can be fun and understood as a process
by experiencing the relationship between design, science and technology.
The teachers were introduced to a couple of concepts in toy
design after which they proceeded to designing and developing two or
three toys by using the simple materials and tools provided to them.
Ms. Sandeep Kamboj
LITERACY DAY
saaxarta vaar
p`aqaimak ivaValaya ko p`aMgaNa maoM,
saaxarta idvasa ko ]plaxya maoM
caaraoM trf baccaaoM ko cahknao
kI AavaajaoM gaU^Mja rhI qaI.saBaI
kxaaAaoM maoM ivaiBanna p`kar kIo
rcanaa%mak gaitivaiQayaa^M cala rhI
qaI .ijasamaoM rivand` naaqa TOgaaor kI
khainayaa^M, kivatae^M^M, phoilayaa^M^M,naaTk
,SabdaoM ka jaadU, , ek imanaT maoM, khanaI
rcanaa Aaid gaitivaiQayaaoM maoM
saBaI iSaxaaqaI- vyast qao.saBaI bahut
]%saaiht AaOr KuSa qao.
rMjanaa vaaYNao-ya
To reinforce our love for the Languages
the Primary School marked
Literacy Day on the 6th May. The
students were introduced to the life
of Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath
Tagore whose birthday falls on the 7th
May. The activities that were planned
included Treasure Hunt, Buddy
Reading, riddles, creating superheroes,
picture dictation, word splash and many
more to remind the students about the
magic that can be woven with words.
The students of Grade 4 and 5 had also
m e t i c u l o u s l y
prepared for Buddy Reading by reading
the stories and making props and puppets
to make the story sharing experience,
with their juniors, an enriching one.
The Literacy Day helped the students
connect with English and Hindi through
activities that were fun and helped
them to enjoy the magic of languages.
Ms. Renu Kaushal
2

PLAY, THINK, LEARN
Hide and seek, Dark Room,
Hopscotch, Name Place
Animals Things, Knots and
Crosses… Oh god it was such fun!
We all took such delight in playing
these games. Picture this: the kittens
pouncing on the mother cat’s tail
and the mother running away from
them. Visualise the game again. Wait
a second! Think again! The mother
cat is actually trying to teach her
kittens the skill of hunting. This
proves that playing games is
nature’s way of learning. Why do
we like to play games? We find
games challenging, it gives us a
thrill, we feel an adrenalin rush as
the dice spins, or as the mystery of
the card we pick unfolds. We also
see that our opponents have not
seen through our strategy … and we
can win the game! What are more
important when children learn
through games is however, the
objectives that are subtly met.
First and foremost, the child
learns about strategies. In a game
using flash cards, a child learns and
practises how to place the flash
cards, read them and move their
hands with lightning reflex before the
other team members can. It also
requires a lot of thinking
by gauging the other team
member’s moves and body
language, and reading aural and
visual signals. Through a
simple game of hide and seek,
a child can even learn how to
plan and strategise. Games
enable us to multitask in a
stress free manner. In our thirst
to win the rat race, we often
ignore the spirit and
understanding of playing games to
learn. We tend to concentrate more
on very structured, text oriented
learning based on paper and
pencil tasks, within the four
walls of the classroom. But, as at
Pathways, we are a thinking
community of parents, teachers
and students who are conscious
of this reality we are continuously
trying to include a lot of games for
learning how to read, learn time
tables, develop vocabulary , develop
concentration, understand fractions,
thereby making learning a lot of fun!
Ms. Mrinalini Sinha
COMIC TIMING
The students of Grade 5 learnt
Comic Writing in Hindi and
had amusing discussions
about humour in their daily
life. While working on their
summative task, one group of
students went on a nature walk
to interact with the P.E. staff
and Middle and Senior School
students about special incidents
in their lives, while the other
group went to the Admin Block to select any two members of
staff working in the Admin Block as characters for creating a
caricature of them through comic strips. The students closely
observed and interacted with these people to find out more
about their lives and based their comic strips on that.
The resulting creations reflected the students’ interpretation
of the conversations and their observations from their own
points of view. The outcome was humorous and lively!
Ms. Komal Dua
COOL IN
THE POOL
The most awaited
Primary School
Swimming Gala was
a fun filled event
where students of
Grades 2 to 5 showcased
their Swimming
skills in the
form of events and
fun games & Early
Year kids splashed
around with games
like ‘Ping Pong
Ruckus’ and ‘Beach
Ball Race’. To bring
the event to an end
they were rewarded
with chocolates and
a promise to have
m o r e o f s u c h e v e n t s !
SUMMERTIME
ACTIVITIES
Ms. Rajeshree Singh
A Cactus that Never Needs Watering
2 pieces of green paper (card stock), Scissors, Balck Marker.
1. Take one piece of paper and trace
your hand. Do the same thing with the
other piece of paper.
2. Cut out both of the hand shapes.
3. In the center of one of the hands cut
a line half way up from the bottom.
On the other hand cut a line half way
down from the top.
4. Use your marker to make small
lines on both sides of each piece of
paper.
5. Lower the piece of paper with the line cut on the bottom over
the other piece, and slide them together. They should join at the
two cut lines in a + shape.
6. And now you have a cactus that never needs watering.
Enjoy!
Banana Blizzard
Bananas, Cinnamon, Sugar, Ice,
Vanilla, Blender, Milk.
SUMMER
HUMOUR
Q: What do you call a dog on the beach
in the Summer?
A: A hot dog!
Q: Why do bananas use sunscreen?
A: Because they peel.
1. First you pour the milk in the blender.
2. Then you cut the banana into slices and place inside the blender.
3. Add sugar, ice, and vanilla, then blend it for 15 seconds.
4. Pour it in a cup and top with a dash of cinnamon.
Enjoy!
Source: www.funology.com
When It's Hot, Hot, Hot
Yikes — it's hot outside, everyone is sweaty, and your
legs are stuck to the seat of the car. What do you do?
Swim, of course! But don't forget the safety rules. Make
sure there's an adult around to
watch you and no dunking! On
land, you can have a water fight
with friends.
When you're playing in the
heat, it is very important to remember to drink lots of
water, even if you don't feel thirsty. Hot temperatures
make you sweat more when you're out in the sun, so
you must replace the water you lose to prevent heat
exhaustion.
More things to do when it's hot:
• Take a nature walk on a shady trail.
• Wash your dog outside.
• Wash your parents' or neighbours' car.
• Turn on the sprinkler and cool off!
SUMMERTIME CROSSWORD
when You're Stuck at
Home
Maybe you can't go out because the weather is rainy or
too hot. But that doesn't mean you can't have some fun
while you're inside. Turn on your favorite music and
dance. Invite your dog or cat to join in the fun. Or grab a
hula hoop and make up some hula-hoop dances. If there
is enough room, you can jump rope and count how
many times you jump without missing.
More things to do when
you're stuck at home:
• Do some tumbling if you
have enough room to do it.
• Set up a treasure hunt.
• Toss a balloon back and
forth and try not to let it hit
the floor.
Use the given clues to rack your brains and solve this Summertime
Crossword Puzzle.
And here's one thing not to do: Try not to say, "I'm
bored. There's nothing to do." As you just found out,
there’s always something to do!
ACROSS
DOWN
Source: www.kidshealth.org
4. wear these on your feet to be cool
6. use this to fish for crabs in the
pools
8. place with lots of sands
10. a body of water with a beach
11. a game people like to play at the
beach
13. little creatures used to live in
them
14. you can find lots of creatures
hiding here
15. what you wear to go to sea
1. you need to blow air into
this to play
2. build using lots of sand and shells
3. it moves sideways along the beach
5. season after spring
7. green, brown, slimy
9. use this to put sand in bucket
12. put sand in
Answers in the next issue
3

KNOW ABOUT
Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the planet
Unit: Plants
To further enhance the Kindergarteners’ understanding about ‘Plants’ and
their importance in our lives they were taken for a field trip on 10th May,
2011. The students visited a farm on Tikli Road and a factory ‘Signature
Industries’ which makes cornflakes and muesli. This trip gave them an insight
into where food comes from and how it is processed. The students got
an understanding of how a food source can be converted into its processed
form such as cornflakes.
Ms. Neetu Ruia
Transdisciplinary Theme: How we
organise ourselves
Unit: Going Places
Nursery went for a field trip to the airport, which
gave an opportunity to the students to explore the aircraft
from inside. It was a delight to observe their reactions
on seeing the cockpit. The students used their
mathematical skills to estimate the seating capacity of
the plane and learnt related vocabulary. They met the
airline officials and the crew and inundated them with
a lot of questions. The trip was a wonderful experience
for all of us and we are very thankful to Arunanshu’s
parents, Mrs. and Mr. Ghosh for organizing this trip
for us and for all the warm hospitality at INDIGO!
Ms. Alka Rawat
Transdisciplinary Theme : How we organise
ourselves
Unit: Right or not
On 16th May 2011, students of Grade
5 braved the heat and sun to visit the
Salaam Baalak Trust, New Delhi, to
know about the lives of street children
and how their rights are protected by
the NGO. The students are currently
inquiring into human rights, specially
the child rights under the transdisciplinary
theme – ‘How we organise
ourselves’ with the central idea – ‘Basic
human rights and responsibilities are
universal’.
The class was divided into two groups.
Each group, accompanied by three
teachers, 1 parent volunteer and 3
Salaam Baalak Trust guides, was taken
for a City Walk, wherein, they saw how
the street children live, how they earn
their livelihood to survive and how they
In Grade 3 we have had so much This year Grade 4 has been very exciting.
There were a lot of exciting events
fun this year! In the Numeracy
classes we have played many interesting
games. We had activities like Led Conference. Our parents had
such as a debating session and Student
come
“Inch Worm’ and ‘Pizza Fractions’ for both. The debates were written by
to introduce us to new concepts. In us and we enjoyed presenting them.
the Literacy class we put on our As the year progressed, new things
thinking caps to create poetry and were introduced to us and our teachers
twist fairy tales. In the Unit of did not let us forget the things we had
Inquiry classes we have inquired learnt in the past by reminding us.
about histories of our family, flora They made sure that we understood
and fauna, habitats, inventions and
inventors, civilizations around the
world, saving water and
how we express ourselves
and feelings. Malini
ma’am and Shawar
ma’am have made the
learning in Grade 3 so
special: a time that we
shall always remember!
Alia Mahajan, 3X
spend the money they earn, without
giving a thought to their future. The
students were also taken to the Salaam
Baalak office and a ‘contact point’
where the rescued children are kept
and given food and informal education..
The students returned home with
overwhelming inquiring minds and
many of them pledged to contribute
meaningfully, to make a difference to
the lives of these children.
Ms. Shalini Ranjan
BEING REFLECTIVE
when they were done with explaining
something by clearing out all our
doubts. Our teachers have
taught us that we should
make rough drafts before
doing any fair work. It has
made my life much easier
by making rough drafts. I
have had a wonderful year!
Suhani Thandi, 4X
The event that I learned a lot from was when Mr. Bobby Varky, a journalist
came and spoke to us about newspapers. After we learned about
newspapers and magazines, we decided to make our own newspaper.
We were divided as editors and reporters with each group having a
specific task to carry out. We two were part of the editorial board. We
named our newspaper ‘Pathways Waves’ because it had a lot of information
about our school. We wrote about how the students and visitors
from abroad liked the school, its sports , boarding and dining facilities .
This task helped us improve our English and improved our social skills.
Aakanksha Bhatia & Kritee Mahato, 4Y
PYP GRADUATION CEREMONY 2011
The PYP Graduation Ceremony was held on
26th May 2011 in the Multi Purpose Hall, Panini.
The ceremony was graced by Justice Leila
Seth, the first woman Chief Justice of India,
who was the Guest of Honour. It began with
the ceremonial marching of the class of 2010-
2011 led by the School Director, Dr. Sarvesh
Naidu, the Primary School Principal, Ms. Rima
Singh, the PYP Coordinator and Grade 5 Coordinator,
Mr. Abhimanyu Das Gupta and all
the Grade 5 teachers. There were two memorable
song recitals by Grade 4 interspersed by
performances on the keyboard and piano by
some of the Grade 5 students. The graduating
students who had completed five years at Pathways
were felicitated by the Guest of Honour. A
parent of one of these students also took a walk
down the PYP memory lane, sharing her experience.
The Guest of Honour, Mrs. Leila Seth
also honoured a few children who displayed attributes
of the IB learner profile and were role
models for the others. All the students were also
felicitated with a souvenir and a certificate. The
School Director, the Principal and the Guest of
Speak Up!
My name is Karmistha
Bhimwal and I embarked on the
PYP journey almost 7 years ago.
Writing this article brings back
warm memories, experiences
and friendly interactions that I
have been a part of in the Primary
School. My PYP experience has helped me nurture
positive attitudes and develop skills to solve problems
independently with confidence. I take this opportunity
to thank all my teachers and the support staff for facilitating
my learning throughout my Primary years.
I will treasure these special memories all my life.
Shikhar Anand, 2Y
For any query or feedback, do write to the Chief Editor at
abhimanyug@pathways.in
Honour addressed the graduating class with
their words of wisdom and wished them all the
best. The parents who attended the ceremony
were filled with joy and pride to see their child
graduate and incessantly clicked pictures to
capture the memorable moments which they
will cherish for life. The ceremony ended with
a high tea against the backdrop of a rainstorm
which brought relief from the scorching heat
and came as a good omen for the graduates!
Ms. Shalini Ranjan
OUR JOURNEY THROUGH PYP
My name is Isha Bhatnagar
and I have been in the school
for 7 years. My journey in
Primary has been just amazing!
I feel all my teachers and
especially my form tutors have
helped me a lot. I can say that
I have tried to develop all the PYP attitudes, attributes
and transdisciplinary skills. I gained a lot
of confidence during the PYP Exhibition when
I was able to do my work independently. I will
never forget my dear teachers and will miss them
all. I have learned a lot from you , so thank you!!
EDITORIAL
TEAM
Chief Editor-
Abhimanyu Das Gupta
Editors-
Renu Kaushal & Manjula Rao
Content Coordinator-
Monica Bhimwal & Malini Ghosh
Designer-
Devika Datta Elvin
IT Support-
Jim Elvin
With the support of Ms. Rima Singh
(Principal Primary School)
4
www.google.co.in is the source for some images