School LIVE September Issue

L O O H C S

E V LI Celebrating Teachers

Anniversary Issue

RNI NO DELENG/2015/63089

50

Volume 1 | Issue 12 september 2015

rIp Kalam sir Rajdeep Sardesai

soaring High Sushma Paul Berlia of Apeejay Education Society

Party Young Raghav Chadha

Meet India’s most visible 26-year-old in politics today

2 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

SCHOOL LIVE

contributors

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L I V E EDITOR in chief

JITIN CHAWLA

Educationist and career counsellor tells you how to pick the right course

NIVEDITA SINGH

Psychologist-counsellor answers your queries about relationships, family, school and life

Richa Aniruddha richa@schoollive.in richa@school-live.com EDITOR Teena Baruah teenabaruah@gmail.com Business & Content Development Prerna Jaiswal prernajaiswal@hotmail.com EDITORIAL TEAM Garima Srivastava & Kritika Negi DESIGNER Ashish Kumar Mimansa Grafix For AdvertiSING richa@school-live.com

Rakhee Gupta

Image consultant and etiquette trainer

Indu Ramchandani

For subscription editor@school-live.com

C o n ta c t 9810560472

Freelance editor and volunteer with Goonj

Rajdeep Sardesai

Well known journalist and Consulting Editor, India Today Group

S C H O O L

LIVE Anniversary Issue

RNI NO DELENG/2015/63089

50

Volume 1 | Issue 12 september 2015

rIp Kalam sir Rajdeep Sardesai

soaring High Sushma Paul Berlia of Apeejay Education Society

Party Young

Raghav Chadha

Meet India’s most visible 26-year-old in politics today

School LIVE : Printed and Published by Richa Aniruddha from House No. 52, Pocket 52, Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi-110019 Printed at Eminent Offset A 61, DDA SHED, OKHLA IND AREA PH II, NEW DELHI Owned by FUTURE READY EDUCATION SERVICES PVT LTD. EDITED BY RICHA ANIRUDDHA

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Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 3

Spicy

Chana Masala Recipe BY Kusum Shukla

Ingredients: Black gram (soaked) Onions (finely chopped) Tomatoes (chopped and pureed) Garlic and ginger paste Goldiee chana masala powder Goldiee turmeric powder Goldiee red chilli powder Goldiee coriander powder Salt to taste Oil as required Cumin seeds Lemon wedges and coriander

1 cup 2-3 2 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1/2 tsp

Please send us your recipe at editor@school-live.com.

The best entry will win a Goldiee gift hamper.

4 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

SCHOOL LIVE

Procedure: Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.

As soon as they splutter, add chopped onions. Saute them until they are golden brown. Add the pureed tomatoes and the ginger garlic paste. Add the spices, including chana masala and roast until the oil separates from the masala. Sprinkle water if the masala mixture looks dry.

Now add black gram seeds and saute for 1-2 minutes. Pressure cook the chana by adding 2-3 cups of water and give 3-4 whistles or until the gram seeds are soft. Dry the chanas completely. Sprinkle chopped coriander and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

ed-note

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L I V E

Hi all!

I am writing this note onboard a flight from Newark to Orange County. I am in the US and that too for a special purpose. Every year, the Indian Business Association of New Jersey organises the India Day Parade to celebrate India’s Independence. It is held on the second Sunday of August. The parade is held on the Oak Tree Road, between the towns of Edison and Iselin. This area is also known as Little India owing to the large Indian population here. And this year, I was invited as the Guest of Honour at the parade.

Being in the US on our Independence Day gave me a good chance to think about what independence really means to us? Is saying, “I am proud to be an Indian” enough for us to display our patriotism? Looking at the people here, the discipline, the cleanliness all around, I thought maybe it’s time that we Indians also try to look at “patriotism” or “love for our country” in a slightly different way. Why can’t loving our country mean that we keep it clean and green, follow traffic rules, pay our taxes honestly, treat everyone equally, make it safe for women, create efficient systems...

The list is endless, but we do need to START somewhere. Think what YOU can do to make India a better country to live in and a country you could feel proud of.

That’s real celebration of our Independence.

Wishing you all a life of freedom....

Lovingly yours

shelf in my: TBhoeokElection

MY ‘IT’ LIST

Richa Aniruddha Like us on Facebook/School-LIVE tweet to me @richaanirudh

2014 d India hange i That C ardesa S p e e

by Rajd

On my ipod

R Jai Ho by A Rahman

On My Plate

Gujarati food in the US

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Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 5

Serve with

love Children became teachers and prepared the school’s Ayamas for Grade 1 GESE exam

A

group of children from Kaligi Ranganathan Higher Secondary School, Chennai, Tamil Nadu participated in DFC’s ‘I Can’ School Challenge and took the initiative to teach Ayamas (the cleaning staff) who worked in their school, to read, write and draw.

As a part of the challenge and the provided framework, children were encouraged to identify one issue or situation around them that they wanted to change and then work towards changing it. These children immediately connected with this one situation that bothered them the most - they had observed that the Ayamas who worked in their school were not treated with the respect that they deserved.

This observation perturbed them and they decided to do something to change it. They started by figuring out the possible reasons behind the disconnect. One of the major reasons that they carved out was that Ayamas were not educated, had ow self esteem and severe inferiority complex.

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Kaligi Ranganathan Higher Secondary School, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Design For Change (DFC) is a global movement that enables children in 30+ countries to drive change in their communities. It asks children to identify a problem that really bothers them, imagine a solution, implement it and share their story of change to inspire others.

This simple framework of Feel, Imagine, Do and Share empowers children to be changemakers. The DFC program in India is enabled with the support of Parle G, the world’s largest selling biscuit.

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As a result of a lot of brainstorming and sharing of ideas, the students decided to address the issue by educating the Ayamas as a way to increase their self confidence and bridge the gap between them and the students. So, they began by teaching them the alphabets and some simple phrases in English. In addition to that, the students started eating with Ayamas during lunch breaks, sitting and chatting, and sometimes even playing with them during free time. Children also tried cleaning the school toilets, in order to experience what the Ayamas did every day.

“I never went to school when I was young. I’m very thankful to the children for providing me with this opportunity. Now, when I leave the house, I tell my family that I’m going to school to learn,” said one of the cleaning staff members with a beaming smile.

With the continued effort of these children, five Ayamas passed the Grade 1 GESE exam.

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contents

L I V E 5

Editor’s Note

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School in Spotlight

12 Teacher’s Day Special

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ou may call me biased, but if you ask me to pick a favourite piece from any of our issues, it will always be a write-up penned by our student reporters. Amlaan Kumar, Siddhidatri Mishra, Khushi Singh, Adhip Tanwar, Ayesha Thatte, Lavanya Singh, you guys bring in some really honest, hard hitting and refreshingly original ideas into our magazine. Thank you.

And finally, this Anniversary Issue is dedicated to the millions of teachers who try to instill some values into our systems early on. It includes my mother who taught slum children for nearly three decades. To them, I dedicate the story by Mahatria Ra, on the greatness of a coach.

Cover 14

Quick Edit

Exclusive: Interview with Raghav Chadha

18 Mentor’s Note 22 Mind Your Manners 23 Making A Difference 24 Ask Nivedita 26 Beyond Classroom

Happy reading!

28 Positively Positive

Teena Baruah

30 Shorts 31 Global Teacher Prize 32 Teen Travel 34 Watch This Space 35 Career Chat 36 Rap up 38 Worthy Opponent 40 Must Read 42 Timeline

12

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i n

Cool

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School

Beth Miller-Manchester of New Delhi’s exclusive American Embassy School offers a guided tour of the academic oasis for children of American diplomats and expatriates.

Teena Baruah reports

Paul B. Chmelik, Director, American Embassy School

T

ell us a bit about the school.

Throughout its long and distinguished history, American Embassy School has offered exceptional American education with an international perspective to children of embassy personnel, UN and World Bank agencies, non governmental organisation official and international business professionals.

When it started in 1952, we had one classroom, 12 students and one teacher. The first cohort of gradu-

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ates received their diplomas in 1962 and the school moved to its current location in Chanakyapuri in 1963.

Noted American architect Joseph Stein designed the building. The International Baccalaureate Diploma programme was introduced in 1984.

AES has maintained accreditation with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1978.

AES was one of the first schools

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in India to offer the IB curriculum in the 70s. And now other schools offer it too. How has the journey been?

IB is trying to expand its offerings and the numbers of schools. It values the complete development of the student and looks at whether he is a thinker, enquirer, or curious. It’s a big package, academically. It creatively actions service, physical activity, fine arts, and students also have to write an extended essay as independent

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Beth Miller-Manchester, HS Assistant Principal, AES research with very minimal support from adults. The third component, above and beyond the academics, is a course called Theory of Knowledge. It really jumpstarts kids to be a thinker.

It is an interesting, well balanced and demanding programme.

Our goal as a school is similar to why the IB was developed. We try to provide a uniform syllabus and environment to students in transition, whose parents get posted in different countries. We have to be progressive in our thinking about education and also make it possible for students in transition to move smoothly to the US again or to other IB schools. We

usually teach kids for two to three years before their parents get transferred again. We have 57 nationalities in this school.

upto the academic level they need for their age group. Many kids don’t come from an English speaking system.

So how do you help kids in transition?

We have got counsellors to help new kids. We have relatively small class sizes. The concept of external coaching that is so prevalent in India is not encouraged here. Our teachers offer after school tutorials to work with kids who have questions, in small groups. We also get a lot of non-native English speakers here. And we work extensively to get their English

As a kid I always envied AES students who wore baseball caps and tshirts to school, while we were stuck with all conforming uniforms to go to school...

Some American International schools have uniforms, or even school colours and some do not. It has nothing to do with being casual. It is about the American belief in choice. It does not matter what you wear so long you respect the environment.

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Other unique footprints of this school?

We have superb facilities, we have optimised the space to create space for arts, music, visual arts, sports, debate and service in particular. There are just a lot of opportunities here and the physical building support those.

Service to people is our mission. It works both ways. We send students out to different organisations (Naz Foundation, Blind School, Tamana School, etc.) to do service and we also bring in students to share our facilities. After school, students can choose to be in any of the 18 service clubs, including community service, sports practice, theatre production and jazz ensemble. Everyday, after school, we have a huge number of activities for students to choose from. Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to service. On weekends, they go to an orphanage or an NGO to do outreach.

How do you use technology as an aid in school?

There is a lot of technology in this school. From elementary to middle

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class there is a discussion that digs deeper into the subject. Homework is often submitted online.

school we use iPads. High school students predominantly use MacBooks because there is a lot of academics and research done in class. Teachers keep individual websites, they post extraordinary amount of work there, so that if a student misses two weeks of class, she can keep up with the lesson. It can be a presentation or a lecture, but these are for internal use. It supplements the curriculum. Some teachers post their lectures as homework so that when students come to

SCHOOL LIVE

So, teaching isn’t too teachercentric here.

We don’t consider teachers as the masters of knowledge. Students have discussions and debates amongst themselves to try and get to the truth.

The teacher facilitates the discussion and the learning comes through discussion and debate. The Mathematics teacher does not show how to do five problems and then asks students to copy from the board. There is a discussion about the investigation, then students sit down in small groups and try to solve the problem. Questions are first asked amongst peers and then to teachers. Teachers listen to all the conversation and shoot off inaccurate information. There is a dialogue in class, instead of a form of presentation in class where students sit down and take notes. There is an incredible amount of dialogue in classrooms and a high expectation regarding participation. With the wide array of cultures and English

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not always time their departures according to the school year.

With so much of shuffling happening how does the teaching faculty manage to understand the unique needs of the student and complete the syllabus?

Most of our teachers are expats. They know what it is to do the transition themselves. Their job is not just to deliver the curriculum, but to help in the transition. It is a big task. Each August, we have 25 per cent new students, at different grade (class) levels.

We have to be patient with the process, as it is hard for these kids. They don’t have a choice. Their parents often have a choice.

New students are paired with student ambassadors. They help the new one to find classes, ensure somebody sits with them at lunchtime and introduces them to clubs. Clubs help in the social transition. Everywhere you walk, there is diversity. And that is important. Most students make friends very fast.

language abilities in our school, that is difficult for some students.

Tell us about the admission process here.

Our admission policy in this school is a fairly open one. Unlike Indian private schools, we don’t have a selective admissions policy. Our mission is to

serve the expat community, if you get C or D grade then you are welcome too. So we have a wide spectrum of students entering. A typical student in this school is here only for two to three years. Most schools have an admission season. But we have students entering and exiting multiple times a year. Companies and embassies do

How do you ensure that kids make the most of their long summer break in AES? In month of June we have a summer camp which is recreational. Students from Class IX-XII travel all across India with 2-3 faculty members. It could be a service trip where, for instance, students learn to build a gobar gas plant, or work with an NGO. Then there are photography trips in unique environment systems like the mangroves of Sunderbans. School trips are graded from soft adventure, challenging, to extreme adventure. We do about 25 trips in a year. These are mixed age and mixed cultural group trips. In July, the campus is closed down and renovation work is carried out. Other schools fly the kids all over the world and their parents pay for it.

Here, we are more interested in better understanding India and its culture. We travel by trains and live in camps. This is not about luxury, its about getting to know India.

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T e a c h e r ’ s

D a y

S p e c i a l

Teacher &Taught Prerna Jaiswal asks teachers about their favourite teachers

I

remain extremely fortunate to have been led by the high standard of intellectual diligence and kindness Sister Acquilina had set for the students at St. Francis Convent High School. Dear Mother Acquilina, you continue to inspire me to think and learn as I grow with my students with each passing day!

Richa Jain Pathak Teacher, Step By Step School, Noida

S

tudying in an all girls’ school, my friend and I had dared to go to

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the boys’ college - something girls couldn’t even dream about in Lucknow. Just when we began talking to our boarder friend across the fence, my Chemistry teacher passed by in her rickshaw. The following day we dreaded her lesson. She entered the class and left the usual way without even a glance towards us, making it worse. The days that followed were the same and her normal behaviour was a torture. By the end of the week we decided to go to her ourselves.

She heard our silly reason, apology and promise of not repeating. What she said then was a lesson for life, ‘Remember that parents trust you blindly and that parents and teach-

SCHOOL LIVE

ers are the only ones who will never misguide.’

Today, I convey to my students the reason and importance of trust. I also learnt that many a times we feel that we have got away with the wrong when in fact they choose to ignore, trusting us and giving us freedom of selfrealisation.

Charmaine Crofton Home Teacher, Christ Church College, Lucknow

I

became a Science teacher because of one person, my Science teacher

T e a c h e r ’ s Kanwaljit Kaur.

She used to teach us so passionately, by making the subject interesting with examples of scientists, discoveries and their contributions to the society. I was so impressed by her way of imparting knowledge that I decided to become a teacher when I grew up.

And here I am teaching Science for the past 20 years and loving every moment of it.

Meena Jethi Teacher, Presentation Convent School, New Delhi

H

aving studied in a convent school, we had lot of Sisters as teachers who used to be very strict with us.

One of them, Sister Bertha was a tall lady, who would often reprimand those who came dressed fashionably to school. She was strict yet liked by most as her reprimands were always meaningful. Her oft repeated statement for girls, be modest and not modern, is something I can never forget. Over the years I understood this better and feel extremely thankful to her. Reprimands are important, but there should be a way to do it so that it leaves an impact.

Vira Sharma The Global Times – Amity’s Youth Newspaper

I

remember my senior school English teacher Beenu Kashyap with great fondness.

She was not only an amazing teacher, but also a humanitarian, different from the stereotypical im-

age that we all have of a teacher. I always wanted to grow up to be like her.

Pooja Mishra Teacher, Seth M.R Jaipuria School, Lucknow

I

’d like to thank my Class VIII teacher Vinita Krishnan. I had recently shifted from a small town to Shimla.

She gave me the confidence to face the new challenges and be myself. She always praised me for my innocence and honesty and told me to always remain the same. Her words resonate in my mind till today.

Anita Sharma Teacher, Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura, New Delhi

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aroj Chattree who taught me Geography in Class XI and XII was strict and sweet at the same time - strict when it came to making us work hard, and sweet and approachable whenever we had a doubt or needed her help.

She took great efforts in teaching us the basic concepts of Geography which motivated us and made us love the subject. I ended up doing my Masters in it!

Aditi Dar Teacher, Inlingua, Olten (Switzerland)

I

specialised in organic and medicinal chemistry from IT College, Lucknow and this was due to my favourite teacher, Mrs

D a y

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Kaushik, who was my role model.

She used to compliment us when we did something right, which used to motivate us a lot. Being with her I learnt that if you loved the teacher only then would you love the subject.

Renu Singh Principal, Amity International School, Noida

I

was in Class IV, when a group of us was punished

by Sister Mary June. It was no fault of mine and I happened to be there when the girls were caught. Later, I went and explained this to Sister June and she heard me calmly and said that sometimes this can happens and I should be a strong girl to handle any such situations. I often cite this example to my students and tell them to be strong when things are not in their control.

Purnima Jaiswal Teacher, Gurukul Academy, Palia Kalan

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rowing up in a girls’ boarding, our matrons were our parents.

Matron Peters was a lady we all looked up to - for the way she conducted herself and the life lessons she would pass on to us. All of us girls would gather around her in the evening before bedtime when she would tell us wonderful stories about the world beyond the four walls of our school. I am indebted to her for the way she touched our lives and making us strong, independent women.

Ann Marie Cooke Teacher, La Martiniere Boys College, Lucknow

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Party Young

Raghav Chadha Meet India’s most visible 26-year-old in politics today, Raghav Chadha of AAP, as he meets Antara Rao (Modern School Barakhamba), Rhitik Jassar (Genesis Global School), Shambhav Tewari (Step By Step School). Report by Khushi Singh (Sanskriti School). Photographs by Kaustubh Aggarwal (Amity International Noida)

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aghav Chadha was one of the youngest to get a licence to practice as a chartered accountant at the age of 22. He studied at Delhi’s Modern School, became a Chartered Accountant, went to LSE and then set up what he describes as a ‘small wealth management boutique’. Then, the Anna movement happened and Chadha met Kejriwal, who asked him to help out in drafting the Delhi Lokpal Bill.

Antara: From Accountancy to politics, that’s quite a jump...

Raghav: Actually we never thought we will end up here. When I started working with Kejriwal, it was a movement.

At that point, I was drafting the Delhi Lokpal Bill and we never thought that at the end of it we will have a political party, contest elections, win elections and form the government.

Khushi: Is it a happy change?

Raghav: It’s good to be in a position

where you can implement your vision for the city, for the state or for the country, but it’s full of challenges.

Khushi: Is it a nice feeling to be the youngest spokesperson amongst all the parties around?

Raghav: Aesthetically, if not intellectually, it looks very pleasing. But there are many challenges as well.

For instance, a political opponent may say, “Aap toh 1984 mein paida bhi nahi hue the jab humare riots hue the, toh aapko kya pata?” So, political adversaries try to pin you down saying that you’re too young to debate with us. Also, there are other young people who are more talented and hardworking and doing a phenomenal job. For example, Durgesh Pathak, who ran the Delhi Campaign, is also 26. Then there is Ankit Lal, who runs the AAP social media campaign.

Antara: When you joined politics, did you have a vision in your mind?

Raghav: Initially, it was more like a

part-time thing, I always felt that I

(L-R) Antara Rao (Modern School Barakhamba), Khushi Singh (Sanskriti School) , Raghav Chadha, Rhitik Jassar (Genesis Global School), Shambhav Tewari (Step By Step School) & Kaustubh Aggarwal (Amity International Noida) need to work and give some amount of time to it because it was a big movement and it’s patriotic. If I am not able to become a pair of helping hands to those who are driving the change then I won’t be able to justify this to my own self. Now, things have evolved and it’s almost a full-time commitment. My practice is suffering very badly but that’s the price you have to pay.

Shambhav: Why didn’t you join the BJP or the Congress?

Raghav: If I had even thought of joining the BJP or the Congress and had mentioned it to my family then my mom and dad would have chucked me out of the house. We come from societies and families where ‘politics’ is a bad word. Entering politics is meant for those who are either unemployed or are unemployable and is a career choice of goons with money or muscle power. My family have been following AAP very closely, they know it is a good organisation with well meaning people and the only driving force they have is to make India a better place to live.

Khushi: Do you live the life of a 26-year-old, going out with friends, having occasional parties?

Raghav: To be very honest, since 2013, it’s been a roller coaster ride. The last 3-4 movies I have seen have been with party colleagues, and that too at 11pm at night.

Khushi: Are you interested in a sport or a hobby?

Raghav: I used to play badminton and represented my school in tournaments, and even played at State level once. Now, I rarely play. There is a badminton court downstairs (in the secretariat) but I haven’t visited it once in the past four months.

Antara: What about debating?

Raghav: I participated in 3-4 debates

in my life, one was in Hindi. I was in the Patel House at Modern School Barakhamba. I won the best speaker, but I was not a member of the debating society.

Khushi: Were you a laid back student in school?

Raghav: Not laid back. I would say one of the naughtiest people in class, almost on the verge of suspension.

Khushi: Any school life memory you’d like to share?

Raghav: So in Class XII , one of my friends topped the boards, he got some obnoxious 96%, so he said, “School chalte hai, let’s meet the principal.” So at 1pm we reached School. Lata ma’am, our principal, looked at me and asked, “Tum paas ho gaye ho?” and I said yes.

I scored 92%. She said, “Arre waah, Go buy lunch for all the students.” There were around 50 people, so I went and

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Rapid Fire With Raghav Khushi: Did you bunk school?

Raghav: Once or twice. Bunked classes

for sure.

Khushi: Your favorite hangout in school?

Raghav: Under the banyan tree on the

periphery of the school where all those naughty people who never wanted to go to class hung out.

Khushi: Who was your favorite teacher in school?

Raghav: Richa Bhatia. She taught Biology and was also my house warden.

Khushi: One thing that you like the most about Modern?

Raghav: What I like the most is that a lot

of freedom is given to a child to choose what he wants do, in studies, sports or extracurricular activities. A lot of space and bandwidth is given to the child to think on his own. Nobody scolds you if you are paying more attention to a sport than academics, that’s the beauty. That’s why the finest people who have excelled in extracurriculars come from Modern.

Khushi: Anything you don’t like about it?

Raghav: (Laughs) Boys have to wear Deloitte. shorts till Class XI. We can’t wear full pants. Khushi: Are you active on social media?

Khushi: Any favorite restaurant you loved Raghav: I don’t use Facebook. I only use going to in Delhi during school days?

Raghav: All of us used to go to M Block, Greater Kailash I. The market has also lost its charm now.

Khushi: Was college fun for you?

Raghav: Not really, I think school was

much better. In Sri Venkateswara College, I started doing my CA practice as well as my articleship. I used to give more weightage to my CA curriculum. To be very honest, as far as college education is concerned, we need to augment the curriculum because college years now mean relaxation time. In my last year, I was intensely working with

Twitter. On Whatsapp, my communication is restricted to a certain set of people.

Khushi: What are your thoughts on teen-

agers spending so much time on social media?

Raghav: As long as they are doing something constructive, then it is good. As long as you are learning, but not learning by stalking someone. It really depends on how you use social media, it’s such a big tool, gives you knowledge, ideas etc. But don’t spend a lot of time on electronic gadgets.

Khushi: Tell us about Arvind Kejriwal.

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Raghav: He is honest to the core. He

always has India’s best interest at heart. As a colleague, as my mentor, not as a boss, he gives me a lot of space. He completely trusts you. He has a lot zeal and enthusiasm.

He trusts you blindly, which is something that gives you a lot of motivation to deliver.

He never thinks about the organisation. He thinks about the country. If he thinks it is good for the country then we need to do it.

Khushi: Anything you do not like about

him?

Raghav: During the elections he was not

spending a lot of time with his family or taking care of his health. I used to feel that he should. But I can’t be the preacher for this, as I am doing the same thing with my family and personal life.

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got lunch from Bengali market for everyone. Next day, someone from her office called me and said that there was a NDTV debate in the school, near the cricket field, and they wanted me to come. So, that was my first debate. I spoke one sentence but it was good.

Rhitik: Talking about debates, does Arnab (Goswami, news anchor) give you nightmares?

Raghav: To be very honest, he is a very nice person. He is one of the most genuine people around. He feels for the country. What he does on screen is his job.

Khushi: What are your thoughts on being called the ‘cute quotient of AAP’?

Raghav: Yaar, I don’t know who coined this, but we are not here for that. We are here for much bigger things. These things are immaterial, they bother me in fact.

Rhitik: Do people tease you about be-

up and tell you to come out?

Raghav: They have given up on me.

Antara: Do you feel disappointed with the system sometime?

Raghav: Sometimes even I get pes-

simistic. You feel let down, angry and cornered. But Arvind (Kejriwal) is such a charismatic leader, he gives us a lot of positive energy and reinforcement.

We are too young for this. They have seen it all through their life, in journalism, administration at some point or the other.

Khushi: How do you de-stress?

Raghav: I watch TV at night or spend

time with my mom and dad.

ing the most eligible bachelor in town?

Antara: So when you are not on TV,

teases me about it.

Raghav: (Laughs) News only.

Khushi: When I told my friends about

Richa: Would you call yourself a bor-

Raghav: Sometimes, Kejriwal also

this interview all of them were gushing about your good looks!

Raghav: School mein toh koi nahi sochte tha, ab TV pe aata hu toh sab sochte hai...

you watch TV?

ing person?

Raghav: Since 2013, I have become

one.

Khushi: Don’t your friends ring you

I still have a few very close friends, but they understand my schedule.

For example, my closest friend came from Australia recently. I went to see him, but got a call and had to rush out.

I haven’t met him since and he is flying out tomorrow! He was in school with me. He is the one who topped the boards.

Antara: But you don’t look very stressed on TV, everytime we see you on Arnab’s show, you are smiling!

Raghav: When you are doing something you actually like, you don’t get stressed out.

Richa: A message for School LIVE readers?

Raghav: Do devote some amount

of time, years, days or months to do something for your country. Do your bit. If you think politics is something through which you can contribute, clean politics. If you think you have to do some community service, do that. If you think you will be better equipped to handle an office in the administration, you should choose that line. Be honest, make sure your heart is at the right place. Whatever you do, have the best interest of India at heart.

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 17

M e n t o r ’ s

N o t e

Soaring

High

A leading entrepreneur and industrialist, Sushma Paul Berlia who heads Apeejay Education Society talks about her passion for education and childhood. Teena Baruah reports

T

ell us about yourself?

I am a very private person.

Earlier, I hardly ever spoke to the media, but then I realised that perhaps it was useful for me to share my experiences. That’s the reason we are having this conversation today. It is important for me to share what my process has been so we can learn from each other.

What are your beliefs?

I feel, at the end of the day, if you get the people and processes in place, everything else flows. If you are to look at the potential of a company in terms of its future growth, the right way to look at it would be the people who work in it.

Tell us about your journey?

I had done several internships in our

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company, but the real plunge in the business world and my greater involvement with education was post 1989. I was involved with the Apeejay Education Society in terms of visiting schools with my father. The first school I set up was in Nerul, Mumbai in 1986. I was 26 year old. Setting a new institution requires different kind of skills and you are never very sure whether you’ll be able to do it till you have actually done it.

Tell us about your father’s educational philosophy?

When my father first set up the Apeejay school in Jalandhar there were hardly any schools in this country, particularly in the North. There were a string of schools run by the Arya Samaj and missionaries, and one or two government schools. That’s what

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motivated him to set up a good education institution. The first one was carved out of our house in Jalandhar, where we kept our cows. Then he gave it to local Arya Shiksha Mandal people to run it. He realised soon that if he really wished to implement his thoughts and visions then he’d need to run it himself. That was when the first Apeejay School and Apeejay College of Fine Arts was set up in Jalandhar. At that time there was no place for women to learn Fine Arts in the North.

Right from the beginning the idea was not to have just another school. The idea was to have some new thoughts and ideas in global education that could be distilled, acclimatised to the Indian environment, with a strong focus on human values. Human values are not moral

M e n t o r ’ s

values. Morals are a matter of individual perception, but human values are universal. He wanted an environment where the entirety of the child’s potential in terms of physical, mental, spiritual, emotional could be potentiated in the best possible way. That goal has not changed till now. Truly speaking, I believe, that is education. When I meet our alumni, it is such a joy to look into their eyes and see the human beings they have become, leave aside the success that they may have achieved.

Your father was progressive enough to groom you to take the lead in business? Tell us about it.

I grew up in the environment of the father who intrinsically believed in the importance of education for the growth and development of the person. And I am not talking of literacy.

There is something called imbibing of information and something called education, they are not mutually exclusive, but they are not the same things either.

Father wanted to teach. The family came from a very humble background. He was in the small business of making buckets. But he did

Masters in Mathematics and was a gold medallist in combined Punjab.

He was passionate about education.

He wanted to teach in a college, but he had polio since childhood that made him walk on crutches. Later, when he could afford, he was operated in Boston that enabled him to walk with a walking stick and calipers. Because he was refused a teaching job, he went back to the business and was able to lead it to become one of the known industrial houses in the country.

In his interactions with me, his focus on education was always very clear. I remember when he’d bombard me with books the way you’d bombard your children with toys these days. He’d daily read to me

N o t e

from Ramayan and Gita. I don’t know how much he thought I’d understand. It was fun in a way and when I look back it was education taking place, along with great bonding.

Education was how he gave back to the society. My father truly believed that if you want to help somebody, don’t just give handouts. You have to enable him to do things in his life. Even today, 10 percent of whatever we earn we plough back into society.

While Apeejay is a known brand, most people don’t know about its primary enterprises, Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals, Real Estate and Trading. Is it a

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 19

M e n t o r ’ s

N o t e

conscious branding decision?

I think branding is quite unnecessary. I would wish you to remember the brand if it is a business opportunity. On the other hand, if we’ve met, I’d want you to remember Sushma and not just what Sushma does. You are able to operate well then. Everything doesn’t need to be done under the glare of publicity. Things get done better if you do them quietly, determinedly and dedicatedly. Those who need to know, get to know. Your bankers know and your consumers would know.

What are your thoughts about commercialisation of education?

If you ask me about education in terms of turnovers, profitability, or contributing to who we are, I’d say it is a small part of it. But if you talk about education as a mind space, closeness to my heart, then it has a very large space. For me, even business is not about earning money. At the end of the day how much can you actually spend or how happy can you

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be to see your name on the Forbes list. You can’t do too much with it.

For me the joy is really not in the successes but in the process of getting there: the fun and joy of creating new ideas, products, and be in a position to, through employment and educa-

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tion, make a difference in the world.

Do you think school education needs to be ‘fixed’?

School education certainly needs fixes. But we need to do it with creativity and innovativeness. We have

M e n t o r ’ s

N o t e

Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, we are trying to get our teachers and through them our students to have a solution solving mindset.

started tinkering with the school education in so many ways. We have tried to bring in norms and make prescriptions. But regrettably, schools are not factories. In schools, you have to customise curriculum according to the needs of the community around. You need to see the kind of students coming to you, understand their needs, learning levels and then figure out a way to bring them up to the level of your expectation.

In our Design Think programme, in collaboration with Willem De

Ultimately the internal journey and the external knowledge meet at some point. Therefore the education that we impart to our students need to also focus on the internal journey

What books do you go to for inspiration?

I am reading books on Quantum Physics and The Tao of Physics. Ultimately the internal journey and the external knowledge meet at some point. Therefore, the education that we impart to our students needs to also focus on the internal journey.

And one of the things that I am trying is how to get a system in place in schools where we encourage the student to go within, for better understanding of themselves - through reflection. Meditation and a holistic understanding of the world around them will give them the balance and ability to face the world with clarity and the right kind of determination to achieve the goals.

What is a typical day in your life like?

No matter where I am I definitely have my hour of yoga, stretches, pranayam and meditation. That I don’t compromise on, no matter what happens. I also go on a retreat by myself for 2-3 day where I can meditate, for me time. It is absolutely essential. I am doing this more now because I used to think once my children grow up my responsibilities will come down. I will hand over the reigns to them and happily move into zen, but what has actually happened is my work has increased. Partly, because I am guiding them. A lot of time, I feel the temptation of doing things myself instead of guiding them, as it takes lesser time and it’s so much more troublesome to train somebody to do it. But ultimately that’s the only way to do it. Once you put responsibility on people and empower them to do it, they are going to do it.

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M i n d

Y o u r

M a n n e r s

Socially Acceptable Etiquette consultant Rakhee Gupta on rules of social media

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illions of people use different forms of social media: Facebook, Snapchat, BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, to name a few. It is a convenient way to stay connected with friends and family worldwide. If we follow some basic rules while using social media, we can enjoy its benefits to the fullest.

because it is easy to send a message, does not mean that the message should be sent. � Technology makes a nearly instant response possible; it doesn’t mandate it. � Before pushing the send button it is important to ask yourself, “Could this comment hurt someone?

Would I say this to someone if we were face to face?” Are you showing � Cyber civility is just as important the proper restraint? as face-to-face civility. We do not � Don’t post minute-by-minute upstop using good manners because dates about your life. Some inforwe are hidden behind a computer mation is too personal to flash on screen or a smartphone. your status, so don’t. � In the real world, we do not ap- � Use discretion when posting picproach random people and befriend tures of yourself and others. Somethem. Similarly, we do not send or thing what you find amusing, may accept friend requests from strangcause trouble for someone else. Do ers. It is not a competition to see not post anything that brings unhow many friends we can get. wanted attention. � Everybody on your contact list or � Always, adjust your privacy settings friend list is not your friend. to control who can view your profile.

22 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

� Just

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� Do not disclose too much informa-

tion about yourself, your family, your school or home, to anyone. � People should be able to exchange thoughts and ideas without being the targets of abuse and lies. � People do not have the right to be malicious, mean or nasty just because they are online. � People who have been the targets of abuse must speak out and report it.

It is not the victim’s job to develop a thick skin. Do not allow abusers to continue their terrible behaviour. � Distinguish between ethical and unethical sites and don’t visit the latter. � Don’t pester your Facebook friends to join a group, forum, petition, fan page. Asking once is enough. � Remember to use good manners, discretion, good judgment, safety measures and civility online. Write to her at guptarakhee@live.com

Clean Sweep

M a k i n g

A

D i f f e r e n c e

Cleanliness Drive by Vidyarthi Sena of Fortune World School, Noida

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leanliness is next to godliness.

Predecessor of cleanliness should be truthfulness. One should be clean at heart to clean his/ her surroundings. Gandhiji rightly said service is not possible unless it is rooted in love or ahimsa. Hospitality has always been a beacon of light when it comes to cleanliness, service and etiquettes. Cleanliness is a great prevention for diseases. It is seen that if the environment and surroundings are clean then it leads to a healthy mind as well as body.

Inspired by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, students of Fortune World School, Noida, have formed a team named Vidyarthi Sena. This team started the drive by educating the masses with a street play at Village Hazipur, Sector-104, Noida. The enthusiastic audience present there cheered the Vidyarthi Sena of Fortune World School and started the cleanliness drive. The aim of the Fortunites, was to spread the message of “If we can, why not you?”

With this aim Vidyarthi Sena stepped out on the roads to sweep the areas of the village. Through the Nukkad Natak they related the impact of cleanliness with the health of a person and how keeping the

area clean can lead to reduction of diseases. They spread the message in every nook and corner of the village and nearby areas. On important intersections and streets, Fortunites also performed a Nukkad Natak on ‘Clean India’ to highlight the importance of hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness. The students carried placards highlighting slogans saying, “Keep your city clean and green,” “Think Green and Live

Green,” “Plant More and More Trees” and “Save Environment Save Earth”. The initiative was appreciated by the locals and they pledged to keep their surroundings clean.

The whole village took active participation in achieving a clean and hygienic environment in the village.

The campaign rightly propagated the message that ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. The target of Vidyarthi Sena is to cover as many villages as possible to make the city neat and clean. The teachers and staff members of Fortune World School also participated enthusiastically in this campaign in spreading the awareness of pollution free environment.

Applauding the efforts of the children, Papri Chakraborty, the Principal of Fortune World School, extended her best wishes to the Vidyarthi Sena for this initiative and said, “Through this campaign, an effort has been made to inculcate the importance of a clean environment.” She also added that this cleanliness drive is our humble initiative towards contributing to the Swachh Bharat mission and it is our endeavor to make Noida, a clean city.

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 23

a s k

N i v e d i t a

No worries Counsellor Nivedita Singh answers your queries about relationships, family, school and life

Rescue Act Q: A friend of mine confided in me regarding the problems between her parents. About their fights and how she is being neglected due to this. She asked for my advice and I had none. Can you help me?

To have your friend open up and share her problems with you, goes to show that you are obviously a good listener and have the qualities of a potential helper. One can empathise with your feelings of helplessness and inadequa-

Why Fight?

Q: Why is it that parents and teenagers have so many disagreements over petty issues?

One important reason behind the disagreements is that the teenager’s definition of what makes “petty issues” is different from that of their parents. While the paradigm gap is an age old one and also globally present what is more relevant is to tide over this phase of life with as much ease and dignity as possible and without compromising on the core tenets of the parent child relationship.

Accept the fact that differences are normal. What is important is that it’s in each person’s hands to ensure that they do not turn ugly. Recognise your own and the other person’s triggers and don’t let go of respect and sensitivity if you don’t have your way. You cannot have your way all the time. Also, it’s important to be emotionally intelligent and choose the right time and place to put across your point of view. If faced with a ‘no,’ learn to negotiate and be willing to meet each other halfway.

Also, choose your ‘battles’ wisely. There is no joy in locking horns just to prove you can.

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SCHOOL LIVE

cy vis a vis your friend’s situation. When people we are close to have problems that seem unsolvable or neverending, there’s an intense desire to reach out and fix it.

Oftentimes, even though one doesn’t feel qualified to give advice – yet, because of the emotional connect, one is compelled to say something/anything in an attempt to make the other feel better. We’ve all been there before.

However, jumping into a rescue act is best left to lifeguards. Effective helping requires a high level of objectivity, empathy, non judgmentalism on which the interventions can ride. Any advice you give will come from ‘your’ experience, ‘your’ strengths and ‘your’ limitations. Your friend’s environments, her abilities, her strength to cope are different from yours. Your advice might work sometimes, in some areas, but there is an equal likelihood of it getting her into a bigger mess than she currently is in.

Be there as a support and sounding board and stay with her feelings as she ventilates. The best way you can help her is to convince her to see a therapist.

Write to her at niveditasingh2005@gmail.com

Make Click Share Win

DIY Challenge

Hi Kids,

Here’s an exciting chance for you to show your creative side by participating in KICS DIY Challenge.

Your designs should be based

on any of the following character themes: Doraemon Q- What you have to do?

Ben10 A- It’s I pretty simple, just follow the below guidelines Sn Snow White #Take any old pair of shoes (like canvas, Rapunzel flipflops, sandals, bellies, or even your own Cinderella school shoes) of any size (be it yours or any of your family menber’s, doesn’t matter) Garfield #Beautify it with your own ideas and creativity (just do anything which makes it look outstanding, but don’t forget to follow the themes). #Once you are done, email 3 images to us, “1. before image, 2. after image, and 3. your selfie with the final master piece(make a small PPT) #5 Best designs will win exciting merchandise and their selfies will be published in School LIVE’s next edition.

KICS-DIY Challenge

Last Date for sending your entries is 30th Sep, 2015.

Email your images at ravleen@wpiny.com Do mention your name, age, phone no, and school name in the email.

In case of any query or clarification, please e-mail us at ravleen@wpiny.com

B e y o n d

C l a s s r o o m

RIP

Kalam Sir

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Rajdeep Sardesai pays tribute to the distinguished scientist and missile man, former President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Kalam

SCHOOL LIVE

S

o, what do you know about missiles?’ It was a question asked with a directness that disarmed me completely. We were travelling with President Kalam to Bihar and I was attempting to profile India’s new president. As a student of Economics and Law, I knew very little about missiles, a fact which I read-

ily confessed to the president. ‘Don’t worry, I will teach you!’ he said with typical enthusiasm. For the next half hour, I was given a basic science classroom lesson by Dr Kalam. The eyes twinkling with excitement, the voice bubbling with child-like energy, the positive spirit that typified India’s ‘People’s President’ shone through. I was hooked, as were millions of others, by the sheer simplicity of the message and the infectious charm of the man.

A few years later, he agreed to do an interview with me on the lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan. On hindsight, it was a mistake to even attempt a walk the talk format with President Kalam. He was in his seventies, I was in my forties, but if you’d watched the interview, you would have wondered who was the younger man. ‘C’mon, walk faster!’ he told me as I struggled to keep pace. When we launched CNN IBN, I met Dr Kalam with a special request. ‘Sir, we want to do a Republic Day programme with you!’ He was hesitant, perhaps realising that acceding to one request might lead to many more. ‘Sir, we will only have children in the audience asking you questions!’ I told him. It was the easiest way to his heart: he could never say no to the young. The lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan were opened up as was his soul. In the company of children, Dr Kalam was eternally youthful, not the first citizen of India, but just a friendly uncle with a kind word for all.

In 2007, at the Ramnath Goenka journalism awards, I had the privilege of receiving the award from President Kalam. When a question and answer session followed the award ceremony, Kalam refused to sit in the front row. Instead, he came and sat cross-legged on the stage, asking us why we didn’t focus more on Science and Technology in the news. It was a bizarre scene: pompous editors sitting on chairs while the easy-going president was on the

C l a s s r o o m

Photo: Surinder Nagar

B e y o n d

Why don’t we declare his birthday as National Student’s Day and offer hundreds of scholarships to poor, meritorious students, many of whom could then dream of making the long journey from Rameshwaram to Rashtrapati Bhavan stage floor asking us questions! This was quintessential Kalam: unconventional in style, be it his floppy silvery mane, or inviting an audience to send him questions to his personal email: ‘please write to abdulkalam@apj.com, shall I repeat?’

In a way, he was a 21st century feel-good guru, someone who could connect with a diverse India by the sheer magic of his persona. What was that magic? Quite simply, it was his ability to stay rooted and unaf-

fected by the trappings of power, a true aam admi in a VVIP khaas admi universe. He was till the very end the boy from a little village in Rameshwaram who had risen from a life of poverty through hard work, merit and knowledge. There may have been far greater missile scientists than him but few had been trained in the journey of life like Dr Kalam.

Which is why he represented the classic new India aspirational story: rooted in a civilisational past where he could play the Rudra veena and recite Tamil poetry and yet live comfortably in a world of satellites and missiles.

The combination of the spiritual and the scientific, of tradition and modernity, laced with eternal simplicity, was just irresistible. And when he smiled, he urged you to smile with him because in Kalam’s world the glass was always half full, a world where India 2020 co-existed with a rich cultural heritage.

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P o s i t i v e l y

P o s i t i v e

Call For

Action

Goonj volunteer Indu Ramchandani sketches an intimate portrait of the Movement and its founder Anshu Gupta, who won this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award

I

n 1998, when a young professional couple, Anshu and Meenakshi Gupta, saw people sleeping on the pavement of Delhi, in the middle of a bitterly cold night of winter, their life changed.

They brought blankets from home, and from friends to give to these shivering people.

In 1999, he established Goonj, in what was his home at the time, and the focus was to collect wearable clothes from people who could and would give and distribute them to those who had not even a stitch on their backs. That was the simple humane beginning of this movement.

Goonj - a clarion call. That is what the word means, a resounding, reverberating clarion call; an echo that bounces back to our ears, again and again.

Many of us come forward to donate for sure. The giving part is easy. It means pulling out of our over-stacked cupboards, some clothes, that we were willing to part with. The reaching out is much more difficult. Also, it is not just about distributing hand-me-downs. We cannot forget people’s self-esteem and dignity. It is important to give them clean wearable clothes and usable utility items.

To support, log on to goonj.org

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P o s i t i v e l y

P o s i t i v e

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 29

S h o r t s

Dog

Tales I

wake up in the middle of the night, hearing a dog panting. It stands in the same corner, every night since a week. Watching every single move of mine, as if to plan a sudden kill. And suddenly, it’s not there.

John, 33, was sweating and shaking, the worry clearly visible in his feeble voice and dark circles under his young eyes. Dr Mathew, eyeing him closely, said, “A mild case of hallucination.” He stood up, got some pills and handed them to John. “Here, these will help reduce the stress. Get some sleep, you really need it,” he said.

John came back to the dusty, old little apartment he resided in. He felt too weak to make himself something to eat, so he just gulped down the pills as prescribed and fell asleep the moment he lay down on the bed.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open.

There it was, again. The white dog in the small, eerie corner of his room.

When Dr Mathew heard about this from John the next day, he decided to examine the unusual happenings himself. At 10pm, he was at John’s place sitting on the couch in the living room. John was to call him out when he saw the dog that night, according to the plan. No one except the two was present in the house.

A sharp, shrill scream from John’s room. Dr Mathew burst into the room, seeing John completely still

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The dog returns to John’s room every night, ready to kill. A short story by Ayesha Thatte on his bed. All windows and doors were shut, except from the one Dr Mathew had just entered from.

He didn’t see anyone except John in there.

On coming closer, he saw John’s eyes open, lifeless, and blood gushing out from a deep wound in his

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neck. Dr Mathew felt John’s pulse but got nothing. The 33-year old was dead due to this wound.

It was clearly the mark of a dog’s claws. But there was no dog.

By Ayesha Thatte Class X, Step By Step School, Noida

G l o b a l

T e a c h e r

P r i z e

Teachers on Top Do you know a teacher who is worthy of the ultimate honour of winning Global Teacher Prize?

A

s a child who discovered a love of books while bedridden with rheumatic fever, Nancie Atwell could never have dreamt up this storybook ending. That one day she would be on stage with a President, a Sheikh and prominent philanthropist to pick up a $1 million prize and declared the greatest teacher in the world.

But that is what happened to American teacher Nancie Atwell earlier this year in Dubai where she was announced the winner of the first Global Teacher Prize.

She set up Center for Teaching and Learning, in the rural town of Edgecomb, Maine, 25 years ago, where she teaches English as a writing-reading workshop. What is so different about her method is that her students choose the subjects they write about and the books they read. It is an extraordinary success story, because her students experience a real freedom and their imaginations and appetite for knowledge are stimulated in this environment. So they produce an average of 20 pieces of publishable writing and read 40 books each year, much more than children in other schools. Her goal, she said, is to make the classroom a place for “wisdom and happiness”, rather than one of stress and frustration.

And Atwell was not alone in impressing the judging panel. From 5,000 nominations all over the world there were 1,300 final applications from 127 countries, including the US, UK, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, India,

(L-R): President Bill Clinton, Nancie Atwell, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Global Teacher Prize

Kiran Bir Sethi Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina Mexico and Jordan, amongst others. Included in the final 10 of inspirational global teaching talent was India’s own Kiran Bir Sethi, who runs The Riverside School, Ahmedabad. She summed up the sheer joy of teaching when she said: “I teach because I love learning. And no two days are ever the same - so, everyday I can become an explorer, or an artist, a magician or a storyteller. What fun.”

The secret of her success is Design Thinking, that puts academic thought and learning into

a real-world context. So, Class IX students learning about the water filtration process visit low-income communities to find out about the quality of drinking water available there. They then use the knowledge gained in the classroom to build prototypes of water filtration machines that can be used in the community.

Richard Spencer from the UK, gets his children to sing so they can learn complex science molecules, while Stephen Ritz who teaches in one of the poorest parts of the US in Bronx, encourages his students to grow food, plant gardens in New York City, and contribute to a food production business that helps achieve food security and urban renewal whilst teaching students great skills at the same time.

So many stories, so many great teachers, and now it is time to nominate for the 2016 Global Teacher Prize. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a teacher from India won next time round? If you know a teacher who you think is worthy of this ultimate honour, you can nominate them at globalteacherprize.org

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 31

Happy

Camper

Adventure camps are not just about thrills and chills, says Adhip Tanwar

T

his summer, I went to an adventure camp, organised by a travel company called INME. It was a challenging expedition including rafting, kayaking and an activity called ropes-course. As a package, they called it ‘The Triple Trouble!’ Children from many places like Lucknow, Mumbai, Bangalore and

32 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

Ahmedabad had come. The excitement could be felt at the railway station itself. However, there was not much talking, as nobody knew each other. The journey was interesting.

We had a pleasant view as we moved towards Rishikesh from the Haridwar Railway Station. We reached our base camp called the Silver Sands Beach Camp by around 7am.

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As the name clearly suggests, our camp was on a beach right next to the beautiful river Ganges. Soon after breakfast, we were briefed about the campsite and the sequence of our activities by our campus chief Manjul. Our campsite consisted of 22 tents, around 10-12 toilets, a kitchen, a common area, a volleyball court and lots of open area.

T e e n

T r a v e l

cheered the ones who were playing.

We all enjoyed the team building activities in the evening. We had so much fun together that it felt like I had known them for ages.

On our last day of kayaking, we had to go for a night out. We kayaked from Devprayag to Beas Ghat. While kayaking, in an attempt to overtake somebody, our kayak flipped.

Though I know how to swim, I have always had a fear of drowning in water. However, in that moment I did not think about anything else and did exactly what we had practiced in the training sessions. Our instructor told us that we rescued ourselves really fast and so I felt proud of myself.

The night out was really fun. Our kitchen team made delicious food for us (sarcasm!). In the evening, we entertained ourselves with ghost stories. Some of them were really scary. On the next day we had the ropes course planned for us. The other group had told us that it was very difficult. When we started, we realised that they were true. Only ten people including me could finish the entire course. All of us learnt a very significant lesson that day, the importance of balance.

Towards the end of the trip, I had Our adventure started with a long across water fast) the next mornrafting session. We rafted from our ing. We first learnt the basics like discovered new things about mybase camp situated near Byasi till how to go forward, change direc- self, made new friends, broadened Shivpuri, which was about 20-25km. tion and rescue in case of a flip on the horizon of my knowledge and The rapids (a fast flowing part of a rapid. We were then divided into gained self-confidence. My camp exthe course of the river) were not of pairs as each inflatable kayak could perience made me realise why Mark a very high grade on the first day. carry only two people. My partner Twain once famously said, “Travel I was introduced to ‘body-surfing’ was from Ahmedabad. Her name is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and when we were told to jump in the was Yashvi. We both struggled a lot narrow-mindedness, and many of water and hold on to the rope tied initially while practicing but soon our people need it sorely on these to the raft. Our raft guide asked me we got a hang of it. After lunch, we accounts. Broad, wholesome, charihow I felt and I had only one word kayaked from our base camp till Gu- table views of men and things canthen, ‘COLD!’ As soon as we came lar Bridge. Kayaking required great not be acquired by vegetating in one back to our base camp we were all strength and coordination. I guess little corner of the earth all one’s rehydrated by water and Tang and that is the reason our instructors lifetime.” then divided into two groups. These had muscular bodies. Both, Yashvi groups had to remain the same for and I wanted to come first. However, the rest of the trip. We named our we soon realised that the best apgroup ‘Baba ji ki Booty.’ I still don’t proach is to just go with the flow.

By Soon I made a lot more friends. know why?

Adhip Tanwar Our group started with kayak- We sang, danced, played volleyClass X, ing (a kayak is like a canoe to move ball together and those who didn’t, Step By Step School, Noida

While kayaking, in an attempt to overtake somebody, our kayak flipped!

Though I know how to swim, I have always had a fear of drowning in water. However, in that moment I did exactly what we had practiced in the training sessions

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 33

W a t c h

T h i s

S p a c e

DPS: Plans Ahead The Delhi Public School Society met on August 5 at DPS RK Puram, New Delhi, for an interactive meeting with all the owners of DPS Schools all over India. The meeting was chaired by former Comptroller & Auditor General of India VK Shunglu, who is the chairman of DPS Society, and the agenda was to discuss the need to create more efficient and productive schools. The Society is planning to open 40 schools and is also setting up an HRD Centre in Greater Noida for research & analysis, seminars, workshops, conferences and an accommodation facility so that interschool activities can be undertaken at a larger level.

“To deal with competition, we need far more academic facility will help to retrain the teachers so that they are support and excellence,” said Shunglu, adding, “And this up-to-date with the global teaching standards.”

Amity: School Journalism

Shri Ram School: Morning Raga Celebrating India’s heritage, the Shri Ram School recently organised a magical recital on August 6 under the Spic Macay banner.

Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt mesmerised the children on the Mohan Veena. He was accompanied

by Pranshu Chaturlal on the tabla.

The music found its true audience in the joyful and engaged children as they lost themselves in the beautiful music played by the maestro. Clapping along with the music, their fingers moved with the rhythm and their heads bobbed with the tempo.

The children enjoyed the recital immensely.

34 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

The Global Times, youth newspaper for the Amity celebrated its sixth Annual GT Awards 2014-15 to felicitate budding journalists from Amity International Schools and Amity University at AUUP (Amity University Uttar Pradesh) on August 6. The eminent jury members of the highly competitive Inter Amity Making-A-Newspaper contest 2014-15, included Anita Singh, Consultant, Newspaper Design and Print Media, and Soumya Mukerji, Senior Assistant Editor, the Hindustan Times. The chief guest for the day was Anjana Kashyap, Editor, Aaj Tak. The participants were felicitated with trophies and certificates in 14 categories, including Best Photograph, Best Illustration, Best Ground Reporting, among others. The coveted Best Newspaper trophy was lifted

by Amity International School, Gurgaon 46, while AIS Saket clinched the second spot. At the third place, there was a tie between AIS Gurgaon 43 and AIS Vasundhara 6. The jury members applauded the hard work and creativity of the students.

Speaking on the occasion, Vira Sharma, Managing Editor, The Global Times, said, “The Global Times is not just a newspaper. It is a complete educational programme that encourages young school kids into nuances of journalism within the school framework.”

SCHOOL LIVE

C a r e e r

C h a t

Want to Teach?

Career Counsellor Jitin Chawla provides an overview of a career in teaching

L

ots of change is happening in the teaching sector. The change enabling factors are (a) Corporatisation of Education - entry of companies and big industrial houses in school sector (b) IT/Computers in Education (c) Teaching abroad gaining popularity (d) Privatisation of Education and entry of foreign institutions after implementation of GATT (General Agreement in Trade & Tariffs). Due to these, salary levels have changed dramatically - Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per month at good schools/private universities on the higher side and around Rs 30,000 to 40,000 on the median.

For getting in the school sector; Bachelor’s and B.Ed is needed or Master’s and B.Ed. For colleges, one has to clear UGC’s NET (National Eligibility Test) examination & then apply to colleges. A doctorate (PhD) qualification would help. For professional institutes, one needs to do post graduation, M.Tech (for Engineering institutes), MBA (for Management institutes) and a Ph.D would again help.

A positive side of teaching career is that one can plan time better.

Typical school hours are from 7am to 2pm and colleges 8am to 3pm.

Though the work can be tiring and trying. It can also become monotonous if one is not innovating. NTT, JBT, ETE are qualifications to be taken if one is interested in teaching primary classes. These can be done after Class XII (any stream).

Beyond teaching, teachers, after gaining subject experience, can look at the following: Content Development with IT companies, like Jaypee who are developing software

A positive side of teaching career is that one can plan time better. Typical school hours are from 7am to 2pm & colleges 8am to 3pm. though the work can be tiring & trying for schools, curriculum packages.

Online tutoring: Organisations like Liqvid, Career Launcher are providing online tuitions to kids in US, UK & other countries. Trainers: Wipro, Microsoft, Planetvidya organise a number of teacher training programmes where they need subject experts also. Publishing: Writing books, articles for newspapers, magazines etc. Developing Course Material for Competitive Exams like

BBA/BBS, BBE, LAW, Hotel Management, Engineering, Medical, NTSE etc. Parallel Education: Running coaching institutions.

The US needs thousands of teachers. China and Malaysia also want our teachers. Why Indians? We speak the most clear English in the world. We are a very competitive race. Hence, one would find a scenario after three-four years wherein somebody would be going to Britain for a 3 years’ assignment or fly off to Malaysia for a two year stint.

Employment is available with School - Pre-primary, Primary Teaching, Secondary & Senior Secondary Teachers; Specialised Teachers - Art, Craft, Music, Drama; Principal/ Education Officers; and Universities – Lecturer, Reader, Professor, ViceChancellor.

Write to him at jumpindia@gmail.com

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 35

R A P

U P

Mi: Rogue Nation

DRISHYAM

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Director: Nishikant Kamat

T

here is no limit for how far Tom Cruise can stretch himself physically, from mounting the Grand Canyon in Mission Impossible 2 to scaling the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol. Even in this film, he shows no signs of ageing as he attempts to get hold of a cargo jet taking off. This time, Cruise and his Impossible Task Force colleagues Benji (Simon Pegg), William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) try to uncover the presence of a mysterious organisation known as the “Syndicate” who are responsible for committing various acts of terror across the globe. So with the a complicated, yet sufficient plot in place, it is off to one place from another, as Cruise and Co. play a game of cat and mouse with the Syndicate as they rollick from one action scene to another, and boy, is it a joy to behold. Mission Impossible 5 is by far the best of the bunch. It has everything a fan of spy thrillers could ask for - glitz, glamour, cars, bikes, planes, foggy nights, you name it. Even the supporting characters are given their time to shine, especially Benji, who is promoted to full supporting character in this film. Christopher McQuarrie, who previously directed Jack Reacher, another underrated Cruise flick, expertly weaves one action set-piece into another while keeping in check a coherent story.

36 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

SCHOOL LIVE

I

t’s really hard to be a cinephile in an era of information overload. Whenever a thriller comes along, its trailers are quick to spoil its various twists and turns for the sake of more moolah. Drishyam is a prime example of this case. If by any chance you have not been privy to the plot of this film, then it would be pretty great if you kept it that way. Drishyam might be labelled as a family drama-thriller, but at its core it’s a morality play. It has much to say about our society, how far would one go to protect their family members and is there really a thin red line which separates the right from the wrong?

Nishikant Kamat’s direction greatly benefits the film as it wants us not to judge its characters for their actions, but to understand where they are coming from. Even with all the great performances, especially from Ajay Devgn, it’s really hard to watch from an emotional viewpoint. From the first scene, you know that there is some kind of impending doom which is going to befall upon this happy family. This is not to say that it is not By a great film, you Amlaan Kumar just need to know Class XII what you are getAmity International School ting into.

Noida

R A P

Pretentious

Movie Reviews

B

ill Hicks, a comedian, once said, “The best kind of comedy to me is when you make people laugh at things they’ve never laughed at.” This seems to be the ideology of comedic duo Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath. View-

ers of their YouTube show Pretentious Movie Reviews will find themselves cracking up and hitting rewind shamelessly. It is a satirical take on reviewing Bollywood movies with lamentable storylines. The reviews are done monthly, but they

P

aper Towns is a sleeper hit, gaining recognition this year due to its movie release. The protagonist, Quentin Jacobsen (Q), believes that he only got one miracle in his life, which was growing up next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Although they were best friends as children, but as grownups they belonged to different strata in high school and thus lost contact. Quentin continues to admire Margo from afar. Until one night, before graduation, Margo enters his life again through his cracked window. Offering him a chance to experience a night of his lifetime, she lays out a detailed plot about her revenge campaign against all those who have wronged both of them.

U P

are worth the wait. Not only are they original, fresh and creative, but also incredibly humorous. The hosts give us a blow by blow account of parts of the movie which were especially mind boggling and the viewer wonders what the directors were thinking while directing. The 10 minutes spent watching the videos are well spent and will leave the viewer in stitches for a long time.

The best part is that the videos can be watched repetitively, but the jokes never get old.

By Siddhidatri Mishra Class XI, Sanskriti School

insists that she wants to be found.

Margo has left behind clues, or breadcrumbs, pinpointing her exact location. All Q and his friends need to do is to follow them. This simple task of joining the dots culminates into an adventure which none of the friends are going to forget soon. But the closer Q gets to finding Margo, he realises that he never knew the girl. She was an enigma. Green’s style of writing draws the reader into the plot. The book is a gripping read and thought provoking. He also makes us fall in love with the characters and gives them such believable storylines that one cannot be blamed for thinking of the fictitious characters as real.

Paper Towns

By John Green However, the next morning, Margo disappears. While others are convinced that she has gone off on yet another amazing adventure, Q

By Siddhidatri Mishra Class XI, Sanskriti School

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 37

W o r t h y

O p p o n e n t

Colour of Love As US Supreme Court legalises gay marriage, School LIVE readers argue its pros and cons Stop the Rainbows

Love Wins

Marriage is about creating a balance between the femininity and masculinity which is improbable in a same sex ‘marriage’. A relationship as deep rooted in human nature as marriage needs to be governed by the natural law which defines marriage as a socially acceptable sexual union between a man and a woman. The main aim of marriage is said to be perpetuation of the human race. A union between two men or two women does not allow that. Some may argue by saying that such couples could adopt children or use vitro fertilisation or surrogacy. Yes, but what about the class of children that grow without the gentle caress of a mother’s hand or the guiding hold of a father’s? Numerous studies have proven the inadequacy of parenting of homosexual couples. These studies also show that children who grow up with homosexual parents are more likely to engage in early sexual activity, delinquency, and antisocial behaviour.

More importantly, the mentality behind homosexual ‘marriage’ favours an anti-natalist mindset which fuels population decline. Homosexual ‘marriage’ thus has bleak consequences. Stop the rainbows before the future turns grey.

Let me start by saying that the idea of being against same sex marriage is completely redundant. I do not see how the state plays a role in deciding who one is ‘allowed’ to love. Marriage is an internationally recognised human right for all people, regardless of their gender. It is the coming together of two souls and keeping together through times of happiness, trouble and need. Two men and two women can also do the same. So, what is the problem with two people who love each other marrying each other? Countries who have legalised same-sex marriage happen to be more peaceful and developed. In 21st century, isn’t it time to recognise the fact that people can fall in love and feel it as strong for a person of the same sex? They say you cannot procreate in a marriage with the same sex. Yes, but does every heterosexual couple procreate anyway?

They might not due to a variety of reasons like infertility, economic status or perhaps, not wanting children. Another myth buster, same-sex marriage is not against ‘god’. Marriage came before Religion.

By Lavanya Singh Class XI, Sanskriti School

38 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

By Khushi Singh Class XI, Sanskriti School

SCHOOL LIVE

M u s t

R e a d

Valuing Teachers

The greatness of a coach is to show the player how capable he is, says Mahatria Ra

R

amakant Acharekar was not a better cricketer than Sachin Tendulkar. Yet, it was his coaching that showed Sachin to Sachin, and in turn showed him to the world. OM Nambiai was no match for PT Usha, but it was he who gave India one of the greatest athletes. The glory of Dronacharya was to have developed Arjuna to the point where Arjuna was able to win the battle with his own teacher.

We need someone outside of us to guide us. They are the mirrors that reflect us to ourselves, that show us the strengths with which we can fight our weaknesses. We need coaches to sharpen our skills. We need teachers to expand our knowledge. We need gurus to realise our spiritual self.

Your nursery school teacher may not have made it as big as you in life, but your life was built on the foundation of knowledge she gave you.

Let us not compare ourselves with our guiding light. If you remove the sun from the rays, nothing will remain. If you remove the mud from the pot, nothing will remain. If you remove the cause from the effect, nothing remains. If we remove the teachings of our teachers from us, nothing of us will remain.

The maths teacher wrote 1,000

40 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

Your nursery school teacher may not have made it as big as you in life, but your life was built on the foundation of knowledge she gave you

SCHOOL LIVE

on the board and asked the student who was constantly disturbing the class, “How much is this?”

Confident, yet embarrassed by the simplicity of the question, the boy replied, “One thousand.” Now the teacher added a zero to the right and pointing at 10,000 asked, “How much is this?” “Ten thousand,” came the prompt reply.

Now the teacher added another zero, but this time to the left of 1 and pointing at 010000 again enquired, “How much now?” “The same... ten thousand,” the boy replied. The teacher smiled, winked and then said. “When an insignificant number follows a significant number, it gains value. When the same insignificant number tries to go ahead of the significant number, then it has no value. So is the relationship between a teacher and a student. When a student follows the teacher, he gains value.

The other way round ... well, I don’t want to state the obvious.”

The greatness of a coach is to show the player how capable he is.

The greatness of a player is to live up to the capability he has been shown.

Excerpted from Unposted Letter (182 pages, Rs 350) by Mahatria Ra, with permission from Manjul India.

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T i m e l i n e

Here Comes

The Sun

Timeline of using the power of the sun

R

ight from the 7th Century BC, convex lenses were used to concentrate the sun’s rays to burn ants. Why this seemed to be a productive use of one’s time is still a mystery, but it is one of the first known examples of harnessing solar power.

Legend has it that in 212 BC, Archimedes used bronze shields to focus sunlight and to set fire to enemy ships from the Roman Empire which were besieging Syracuse.

From 20AD to 1200AD, civilisations across the world have used the power of the sun for warmth and energy - from the Chinese and the Romans to the Anasazi in North America.

In 1767, Horace de Saussure created the first solar collector – an insulated box covered with three layers of glass to absorb heat, which emerged as a prototype for the solar

42 | | Volume 1 | Issue 12 | September 2015

Tree

ovens to be used centuries later.

In 1839, there was a major breakthrough - the photovoltaic effect.

Edmond Becquerel discovered the creation of a voltage when electrodes in an electrolyte are exposed to light.

In 1873, Willoughby Smith discovered photoconductivity of selenium. This helped Charles Fritts to come up with plans for making solar cells based on selenium wafers in 1883.

In 1916 Robert Millikan evidenced the photoelectric effect experimentally which proved Einstein’s paper on the same in 1905.

In 1958 solar power was used in space exploration equipment such as satellites and space stations.

This was the first commercial use of solar energy.

In the 1970’s, Exxon Corporation designed an efficient solar panel

SCHOOL LIVE

which was cheaper to manufacture.

In 1977 the US government embraced the use of solar energy by launching the Solar Energy Research Institute. Other governments across the world soon followed.

In 1999, the most efficient solar cell was developed, with a photovoltaic efficiency of 36%.

As of 2012, one of the world’s largest solar energy plants is India’s Gujarat Solar Park with a combined installed capacity of 605 megawatts.

In 2015, the Solar Impulse, a fully solar powered airplane broke the world record for the longest solo flight from Japan to Hawaii.

By

By Garima Jain Class XI Sanskriti School

SPONSORED FEATURE

USK Foundation Health Initiatives Even as India marches towards economic prosperity, the problems related to primary health remain largely unaddressed. In fact, economic prosperity and development brings with it a more complex set of issues related to health which need to be handled with a sense of urgency.

As a step in this direction, USK Foundation has been organising Health Camps for underprivileged children who are often the most vulnerable victims of a weak healthcare system. USKF is associated with grassroot level NGOs and conducts programs for special children, malnourished children, orphans and AIDS infected children. To address health issues especially dental health issues, Dental project was completed in the year 2014-15 described under.

Dental Check-up Project

USK Foundation came to understand that the dental health issues of Pune Municipal Corporation School children are severe. These PMC schoolchildren belong to the lowest socio-economic strata of the society and have no means to diagnose their dental health issues. Based on the need assessment of these children, USK Foundation decided to organise Dental Check-up Camps. In the year 2014-15 USKF implemented a year-long project in association with PMC Shikshan Mandal and Jehangir Hospital. A team of expert doctors from the dental department of Jehangir Hospital came every day to each PMC school

for the check-up. The process of dental check-up Project involved three main steps - Registration, Check-up and Consultation.

Under this project, USK Foundation completed Dental check-up of 72,823 children from 311 Pune Municipal Corporation schools. This is a highly appreciated project, as no organisation has covered these many schools under one umbrella.

Ongoing Eye Project

USK Foundation, between the years 2015 and 2017, is conducting Eye Project in association with KK Eye Institute (Inlax Budhrani Hospital) and Shikshan Mandal.

Under this project, all 311 schools of corporation will be covered and not only eye check-up, but also further treatment like eye surgeries and providing spectacles will also take place. All these services will be provided free of cost to the underprivileged children by USK Foundation and KK Eye Institute.

Eye project implementation started from on June 22 and till August 17: Eye screening of total 4,662 children from 19 PMC schools completed. Male-Female ratio till August 17 are 2,246 boys: 2,416 girls; so in percentage ratio is 48% boys: 52% girls. Spectacles were provided to total 73 needy students. Follow-up cases eye surgeries are ongoing for needy students.

S C H O O L L I V E Volume 1| Issue 12| September 2015 | 43