Newsletter / Senior / April 2018

Delhi Public School, Srinagar

Volume : 1

NEWSLETTER - 2018 JUNIOR COLLEGE

STUDENTS EDITORIAL BOARD SHIREEN SHAWL (HEAD)

It was one of those March days

TEAM MEMBERS: SAIMA

When the sun shines hot and the wind

SHEENAM

Blows cold; when it is summer in the

SUSSANE

Light, and winter in the shade……….

ABRAR HAIDER PATRON:

Charles Dickens

SAIRA RAZA

Campus Roundup‌..

The junior college section of Delhi Public School came alive once again as February came. The school started on 19th of February, all students looking eager and ready to face the challenges the year has in store for them. With the beginning of the new session we warmly welcomed our new Principal Mr. Alistair Freese, an Alumni of La Martiniere, Lucknow. Being a sports enthusiast, he literally kick started his tenure with an exciting football match between the staff and students. We also welcomed our New Batch of class 11th on 9th April, with about seventy new admissions joining us from across the valley. Each and every student who joins this institution comes with a dream and the faculty here works with full determination to fulfil their dreams. The school conducted two Orientation Programmes in order to share the academic planner and the requirements with students and the parents. As a result of this, students have begun to settle with the academic requirements and the rules.

In order to ensure that there is a holistic development of the students, the curriculum focuses on both the Academic pursuit as well as the co-curricular activities. While the faculty strives to ensure that classes continue with all seriousness, many of the students have already started nurturing a dream of excellence in various areas. Mehak Nisar and Baber Bilal Malik made the school proud by bagging the trophy for the best team in the Burn Hall debate. A few days later, in a prestigious debate hosted by The Presentation Convent school known as "The Inter-School Nano Nagle Debate", two students of our school- Sussanne Altaf and Baber Bilal Malik participated and brought laurels to the school by winning the Runners up trophy for the same. While the students are excelling in public speaking, the school has not forgotten the significance of silence. A book hour was held in this regard in which the entire school block participated. The school believes that laying emphasis on reading will help the students to create an alternate world of peace and serenity. In these times of turmoil and conflicts. We were also pleasantly surprised by the culinary expertise of Hanshika Kohli, a student of class XI who made the school proud by winning The Big Chef baking competition in which all the schools across the valley participated.

The school also believes, that education cannot be complete without the students understanding the need to be empathetic and humane to make the world a better place. A group of students paid a visit to the Leper colony along with all their essential daily requirements packed in 80 different bags, collected from all the students who wanted to share. This is just a prelude to many such visits in future. The school was also honoured by the visit of Ms. Shrishti Bakshi, a woman who created history by walking all the way from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, educating people about the need for women empowerment. Undoubtedly, it is a great initiative and her efforts were appreciated by one and all. The grand finale of the month was a Rangoli competition in which students of all classes decorated the entire school campus in the form of Rangoli patters capturing the hues of spring. All this wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Asir sir and the entire Fine Arts faculty.

I conclude by saying that the journey has begun well, but we still have miles to go and a lot to do as said by Robert Frost:

The woods are lovely dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep

Saima Nisar - 12th D1

Nano Nagle Inter School Debate Baber & Sussanne of Class 12th Receiving the Runners-up Trophy

Junior college achievements

Hanshika Kohli with Big Chef Award

The Beauty of the Crescent Moon In this dark night there is a glimmer of hope, The beauty of the crescent moon Looking down at me The vastness of the dark sky, welcoming me aboard.

To the infinity of the universe.

That exists within me.

Infinity assuring me that I have everything I need to be happy.

I wreath out the heavy cloud of worries and sadness.

Inhale the freshness of the universe Smiled at the immenseness ubiquitous.

A spark of joy lit jubilantly. and the dark overcast slid away.

Giving way to infinitude within me.

But a question keeps muddling in my mind Can I let it all go?

The tiny spark replied within your magnificence want you to take a step forward and believe that sufferings and attachment lead to enlightenment.

With each challenge you face You become more lovely and strong Within the sparks reply resounding in my mind I allowed the spark to become larger and larger.

And I burst within the vow of being happy.

Infinitude giving me immense hope and love………

Soon I realized that my newly found friend spark had soon become me. ……

Alone

Hanshika Kohli - XI C

I feel that being alone, May help everyone reach their goal It helps everyone to be silent, rather than to be violent.

Being alone helps us understand ourselves in a better way, Making us perfect and our day a good day.

Its going to laugh and cry alone, By doing this we achieve an imaginary throne.

It makes us a better person day by day, It helps us lead our life in a successful way.

Being alone helps to have some rest, Making us good, better and best.

Zaara Sajad - XI D2

Social Media, Unsocial Effects How many of you use social media? I am sure a lot of you do. And how many of you can completely drop that account right now, and go on with your lives. WELL, a very few of you can, I have heard people say that deleting their social media account would be like killing their social lives. I believe in fact I strongly believe that social media does not make one unsocial, as my opponents here accuse it of. Every now and then i get dragged into my family's what's app group and am forced to socialise. WhatsApp for me ended up being like any other family gathering but virtual and quieter, thank God. But! Don't take my word for it. Do I have an evidence to prove that social media won't make you unsocial?

Well, I do, the Pew research centre in one of their researches wrote " There has been a great deal of speculation about the impact of social media on one's life, much of it has concerned over the possibility that these sites are hurting users relations and are pushing them away from participating in the world.... We, have found the complete opposite people who use social media actually have closer relations and are more likely to be involved in political and civic activities. "Social medias rapid rise is the long desperate emerging attempt by people everywhere to connect to each other, in face of all the obstacles that modernity imposes on us: suburbanization that isolates people from each other, Globalization that scatters families and last but not the least, television.... The ultimate alienation machine.

From Arab Spring dissidents who were minorities in their communities to students from the variety of background, from Gay teens in rural areas to just people who feel awkward in presence of unfamiliar people, I have heard the sentiment of expression again and again that social media is what saved their *offline* social lives. Many of you here accuse social media of dividing people yet, Asifa Bano, the name that i hope makes your souls tremble, a minor who was drugged and raped brutally for days didn't get justice at all, after months when this issue was finally raised on social media #JusticeforAsifa was trending worldwide. Social media helped that little soul.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the evolution of technology has been very beneficial for mankind, from very first tools honed by the prehistoric man to the latest cures of cancer, each invention has made our lives that bit longer, easier and a bit more comfortable. In building his railway George Stephenson would never have thought that Trains might one day be used by people to commit suicide or in his work with magnetism and electricity Michael Faraday would not have been concerned that electricity might be used for torture one day, The WORLD WIDE WEB, which is 25 years old now, yet its inventor Tim Berners Lee would not have been held back by the concern that it might one day enable would-be terrorist to find recipes for bombs or be a communication mechanism for Pedophiles, yet none of these disadvantages prove that social media in any way can make one unsocial.

Sussanne Aftab – 12th D1

PATTERNS Should i write about the million patterns that a human being has?

Or fiercely inscribe the same for LOVE AND HATE. Should I take nature as my theme?

Or begin with life and time.

But then what makes me see that they have different patterns?

It's only that my eyes makes them different to me.

It's me who discovers the allotrophes in everything.

Because it's me who is build with a "UNIVERSE OF PATTERNS".

Like an iceberg hides it's depth and projects the little of it's large.

I too show this pattern to the people whom I love and adore.

Because if they meet my depth they will perish like the titanic surprised from the hidden feelings of mine.

I carry the pattern of Ghalib, sometimes when I refer to him.

I carry the pattern of Rumi, sometimes when my him refers to him.

Sometimes I am the best of me for the rest of the world like Suv Kyi. But then I ask myself "DO you care about the Rohingayas?"

Sometimes I am the UN; necessary for peace.

But then did I care about Syria and Kashmir?

It's me who writes about culture and heritage and it's me who feels the shame in wearing Pheran.

It's me who carries the angel and devil.

The poet and the priest.

The paradise and the hell.

The pride and the disgrace.

The light and abyss.

Oh world! Reading what I say of mine.

You also carry the same pattern as that of mine.

But there is one thing that makes us different It's- what you HIDE is what I write.

Madiha - 11th D1

THE ONE PLACE, IVE KEPT YOU SAFE

My rosaries couldn’t keep my beloved; the beads shattered in the fear of being numerable The lush stars weren’t enough; and each broke when i pointed at the blinking bulb I couldn’t trap you as a wish in them.

The sands lay as endless sheets of burnt pearls but even the sand couldn’t keep you.

It flew from my fist and eloped with the tyrant air I couldn’t let you leave my hands to be scattered from place to place.

Each city i ever stayed in, refused to take you as a memory in the fear of collapsing; all those walls cried for my survival The rivers praised my lips and kissed my tongue. for it is the place, my beloved could stay.

~

Babra Shafiqi - Class 12th

THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS “Every child has a different learning style and pace. Each child is unique, not only capable of learning but capable of succeeding.” Robert John Meehan the term 'Special Educational Needs' has a legal definition, referring to children who have learning problems or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.

A decade ago SEN was started in two rooms with two teachers and a few students, however, with the passage of time it was expanded to a full-fledged department with different work stations for students which includes separate sections for occupational therapy, speech therapy, computer section, vocational group, integrated block, functional unit and English remedial group.

The initiative of expanding the department of S.E.N was taken in 2011 when teachers from the main school volunteered and were sent to New York to get special training for teaching the special children. The most important task was to adopt a plan to meet the needs of the differently abled children. For this purpose an individualised educational plan is followed by the teachers. The students are divided into different categories. One such category includes those students who have different disabilities like ADHD, learning disability (which includes Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia), visual impairment, sensory integration issues, Down's syndrome, Hydrocephalus, Autism, Williams’ syndrome, Joubert's syndrome and seizure disorder etc. another second category includes those who require individual attention to cater to their learning styles. These students are mainly provided support in English and Mathematics in order to help them bridge the gaps.

Students enrolled in the main school visit, volunteer and constantly interact with the specially-abled children. This not only helps them sensitize with these children but also creates a sense of inclusiveness and responsibility in them.

Today the SEN department caters to the needs of about 98 children and helps them in developing their social, emotional, and educational abilities keeping in mind their individual needs and interests. The idea behind working of SEN is that education provided should be child centred, activity based using kinaesthetic approach. The hard work of the entire team over the past years on the children with special needs has proved fruitful as their efforts have emerged as success stories.

Aafiya Shabir – 12th D2

DRUG ABUSE A REASON FOR CONCERN We have been experiencing an alarming increase of drug abuse among the youngsters in recent years. Every now and then we read in the newspapers that teenagers are being held for consuming drugs and most of them are usually aged between16-21. But the main question arises that why the Indian society is experiencing such a dilemma where more of the teenagers and youths are involved in unethical and unproductive activities like substance or drug abuse?

The youth are topping the charts for the wrong reasons this time around. The alarming rate of drug abuse has always been a problem and especially the increase of drug abuse among adolescents has had detrimental effects on the society. What leads to drug addiction? Sheer pressure of studies on students might be one of the few cases which results in substance abuse among the youngsters. The educational system nowadays is very competitive and lacks flexibility with lakhs of students appearing for few thousand seats. Again there is always a parental burden which adds to the pressure of making it big academically. Personal and family issues also leads to drug abuse among youngsters who fail to cope up with the ever-growing family and personal problems. Workplace pressure and issues with the colleagues results in workplace deviance which later results in detrimental effects on the individual.

The adolescence situation is usually the cause of such unproductive activities. The friend’s circle in which a young individual stays also influences his/her activities. A boy/girl who has a company of friends who are into drugs and alcohol tends to repeat the same; an attempt to be an active member of the peer group which often leads to the addiction of the same leading to many unproductive activities in future of the youngsters. It might begin with experimentation. A friend or your loved one must have tried it once out of curiosity because of their fellow mates or just to cope up with a problem. In the early stages, one might really find it helpful to erase some problems or make one’s life better, which leads to more and more consumption of drugs. But as addiction reaches a step further, it becomes more of a requirement rather than just a problem solver. Even for simple petty issues which can be solved will result in drug abuse because one is so used to it that without consumption of the said drug, that person just cannot think of anything. How can one stop the addiction to lead a normal peaceful life? Half the problem is resolved when one shows the desire to give up addiction. One must speak up about his/her problem to someone who would understand and try to get him/her out of the problem. It is important that these people know that, they have friends and family who care for them, and only want what is best for them. One may try to put restrictions on oneself to stop the drug abuse, rely on self-help programs, but without support, it would be really difficult to put an end to it. Support might come from family members, friends, doctors or counsellors or people who had the same problem but recovered. Support from family members is a must as they are the closest source to the individual. Family should support their child to understand what he/she is going through and what compelled them to take such a risky step.

Parents should try to motivate their children and understand what they really want in life. Every child is different from the other and parents should really try to understand their children’s expectation to avoid any cases related to alcohol or drug abuse.(If you or someone you know, is struggling with these issues, reach out, talk, ask for help. There is always someone who would love to listen. Please.)

Mehek – Class 12th D

A VISIT TO A LEPER COLONY Leper colony is situated on the banks of Nigeen and it has a view of Hariparbat on one side and Nigeen lake on the other. The location is scenic. The students from class 12th went to Leper colony on 16th April by 11:30 am. When we reached there it was raining, so the fresh smell of earth made it more appealing to the senses. But as soon as we left the colony the sky became clear of the clouds.

Maybe it was a sign that after receiving the aid ,the people there were happy and a few of their problems had wiped away and their blessings were so powerful that it had a miraculous effect and caused the rain to stop. I might sound irrational but I firmly believe that a small gesture to make someone happy has an immense power.

We had been collecting the aid since a month for the leper colony patients. The stuff included dry items like powdered milk, tea, biscuits etc. Many donated clothes, medicines etc. When we packed the stuff and reached there, we were told that 81 patients were presently living there. We distributed all the stuff and went from one house to another to distribute toffees for the children and sanitary pads for the women. Even after providing this much of help we felt all that we provided was too little. I was appalled to see the miseries of the people there.

In the moment I felt that how unthankful we are, we fret and moan about the trivial things which are in our jurisdiction and then there are people with problems about which nothing can be done pale skin, skin sores, disfiguration of the face, hand and toes shortened and deformed by leprosy.

Despite all these problems all of them greeted us with smiling faces. Many of the people are from remotest areas of J&K. It’s saddening to see how these people had to leave their homes because of the social stigma attached with this disease and dwell here. But they seem to have found solace here.

We believe that there is a need to educate these people about personal hygiene, teach the ladies about personal hygiene. This will break the stigma about this disease and make them feel more loved and cared about.

We can improve their lifestyle and help them with their problems by contributing money on monthly basis. We should give them warm clothes and all the basic facilities before the winter season. The children in the leper colony should get government schooling so that they don’t get left behind.

After all the work and the interaction with the patients we went to the cherry park just behind the colony.

Dania Sheikh - XII D1

TO MY SON AND WHEN I AM STANDING AT THE RIVERBANK AT THE SUNSHINE, WITH BLOODIED HANDS AND TEARS STREAKED FACE; AND WHEN YOU'RE READY TO GO ON AND FIND WHERE YOU BELONG, LOOK BACK ONE LAST TIME, AND MEMORISE MY GAIT. YOU'LL SEE A DECADE IN MY RUTHLESS EYE, YOU'LL SEE HOW I TOO ONCE SAW THE GOLDEN SUN RISE; IF ONLY YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME AS I WHISPER, THE SECRET OF GETTING FOUND INSTEAD OF SEARCHING FOR, BUT I WILL ONLY LOVE YOU AS YOU GO ON TO LIVE A LIFE I ONCE DREAMED OF; I'LL LOVE YOU WHEN YOU FORGET MY FACE, AND REMEMBER JUST A NAME ATTACKED TO YOURS. MY SHIP HAS ALREADY SUNK, MY HEART ONLY SCREAMS-OF A BROKEN MIRAGE AND MY DRIED UP DREAMS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TAKE IT IN, THE SEA, THE SALT-IT NEVER SEEMS TO END THIS DEEP DOWN AWARENESS OF WHAT I WAS, AND WHAT I CAME TO BE, BUT SURPRISINGLY, I REMEMBER JUST A PROMISE; A SELF MADE PROMISE TO ALWAYS HOLD YOU CLOSE-BUT LEARNING TO LET YOU GO NONE OF IT MATTERS TO ME NOW, EVER SINCE I REALISED LOVE WAS NOT A FEELING; IT WAS NEVER AN EMOTION, LOVE WAS JUST A SOUL-OPENING HIS EYES AND CALLING ME "PAPA".

Sadia Shameem - Class 12th D1