From the Director's Desk

The biggest mistake that a school and its teachers can make is to think that we are the most significant sources of education in the life of a growing mind.  Schools and teachers are of course crucial but an equally important role they play is to bring in and channelize other sources of learning, other experiences to widen the horizons of students. In this newsletter therefore, I would like to focus on the some of the external experiences which we bring to our students at Pathways Noida, which extend the walls of our classrooms.

 

IAYP & INTERACT

The International Award for Young People was first introduced in the UK as The Duke of Edinburgh Award and is open to people between 14 – 25.. The Award is an exciting self-development programme available to all young people worldwide, equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. Anyone aged between 14 and 25 can experience challenge and adventure, acquire new skills and make new friends. The Award has a presence in over 130 countries and currently has over 785,000 participants. The basic structure of the Award consists of 4 mandatory sections Service, Adventurous Journey, Skills and Physical Recreation. There are 3 levels of the Award – Bronze, Silver & Gold. It is open to senior school students and we look forward to many students meeting its requirements and gaining a medal.         



Interact is the Rotary Club’s leadership and responsibility programme for young people.

 

Apoorva Bihani,
President, INTERACT
 

 

 

 

It encourages community work, social responsibility and leadership. A number of senior school students have already signed up for it and we will be formally launching the club at  a ceremony later this month.

 

Model United Nations

The Model UN gives young people a unique opportunity to take on the role of delegates from different countries and present their nation’s perspective at the United Nations. In the process they write position papers and learn the conventions of this body. Students from Form 7 up will get experience of this in an in-school MUN early in September. This will be followed by participation in various inter-school MUNs later in the year.

IPads in School

As part of our programme to use technology in learning, we have introduced a pilot programme using IPads this year. In the first semester this is targeted at the Primary school and we are initially focusing on the Early Years group from KG up. The programme teaches careful handling of equipment and focuses on problem solving in Maths and language. In this way even our youngest children become comfortable with the use of this tool which has become commonplace in the world today.

Founders Day

We will soon be beginning rehearsals for our Founders Day which is on 20th October.  All students except Form 12 will be involved in some way. We are structuring practices so that teaching and learning continues alongside. Accordingly we will be scheduling rehearsals on Thursday afternoons which is normally an early release day for students.  Please note that starting Thursday 6th September, school on Thursdays will continue till 3.40. I will be writing to you separately with other details as we proceed. Meanwhile please do earmark Founders Day 20th October in your calendar.

Shalini Advani

School Director

From the Senior School Principal

“Change. It is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender to it.” I had heard this often times when I was growing up, but in fact, now, more than ever before in an unprecedented manner we are witnessing, experiencing and dealing with multitudinous changes which have a monumental bearing on our lives. The manner in which our societies are transforming, the way technologies have in a sense fashioned our lives and our constant scientific quest and therefore our evolving and amplifying knowledge are compelling us to accommodate, adjust, adapt and eventually change.

How then can we at Pathways be far behind in cultivating in our children the skills required to cope with these contingencies? Hence in our third academic year, not only have we introduced new courses for detailed study, namely Drama and Environmental management in IGCSE programme; new hobbies and clubs have also been added to expose and discover newer areas of interest with and for the children such as Film making, Pottery, Literary Club, Chess Club, Jewellery making, Design and Technology in addition to Visual Art, Drama, Dance and Music. Since the Senior School size has grown from a mere 15 students from our first year to more than a 100 now in our third year, we also got to open a new floor in Secondary block- The Cultural Center, which will be exclusively meant for our students’ artistic pursuits and showcasing, be it dance, drama, painting, pottery and much more. We hope that with the introduction of all these new realms of study and exploration, an atmosphere of true pursuit of knowledge and intelligence is created which will aid them to yield to the beckoning and imperative shifting times, because as Andre Gide, the Nobel Prize Winner once said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Akanksha - IB Learner Profile Award

Partha - Ideal Pathwazian Award

Awards and recognition have always encouraged and motivated everyone alike- be it the experienced or the amateur, the conventional or the creative or even the consistent and the dynamic. Not only do awards appreciate an individual’s achievement, it favours his confidence- an attribute that is essential in today’s fast growing yet greatly shrinking competitive, enterprising and sometimes compelling world. When these vicissitudes are so successive, altering and even transformational, we at Pathways believe that rewarding academic excellence alone cannot result in students’ holistic development. Therefore, in consonance with the IB and Pathways’ vision and therefore our mission, we have created awards for special categories that are not restricted to academic merit alone, such as Global Citizenship award, Social responsibility award, Ideal Pathwasian award and IB Learner Profile award. We’d like our children to know that these awards not just congratulatory but also represent our personal appreciation and recognition of their brilliance and talent; they usher in hope- of bringing in a brighter tomorrow, in world that one day will truly be barrier free. Details of award winners for the last academic year are presented elsewhere.

While we are into only our fourth week of the new academic session, the teachers and students seem to be all busy and buzzing with excitement already, with all the co-curricular activities such as Inter House debates, Inter House Board competition, University visits, Geography and Biology field trips, MUN training, etc.

 

Guest Lecture by Dr. Simeon

I would also like to welcome on board our new DP Coordinator Ms Geeta Verma and the new teachers for the senior section. Here’s wishing them the very best and a long, meaningful innings at Pathways, Noida.

Warm Regards,

Umar Jaffar

Sen. School Principal

My Reflections as a Primary School President

From the day I joined Pathways I always dreamt that someday I would become something & help my school to grow and become a better place.  When I got to know about student council I already had made my decision “I am gonna stand for the elections”

When grade 4 was about to end, me and my friends went to Miss Megha’s room for Transition. There she told us to prepare ourselves and our minds for positions we seek and even to plan the speech for the elections during vacation. Every night in Switzerland I used to take out my journal, think about the speech & write important points.

Then came grade 5! I started campaigning I made bright posters. The campaigning went on for a few days and then it was time to prove ourselves, followed by speeches before the Primary School.

The day of the DECISION where it was announced that I became the president of primary school- What a proud moment for me and my parents!!!

That was the best day of my life. I know I am going to face many problems  but I am confident and will fulfill my duties. I have set many goals for myself as a President, identified some problem areas in the school and am preparing myself to extend out to other students.

Neel Barun

Grade 5

Primary School President

Joining Pathways, an experience

I recently joined Pathways and so far it has been a great experience for me. Though I have only been here for a few weeks, I have already settled in. I got to know quite a few people who helped me feel comfortable and helped me get over the stress of shifting schools. I am aiming at making the most of the different styles of learning to which I am being exposed here. In my view, the school has been very successful in creating a holistic learning environment for students of all levels as well as making learning interesting and enjoyable. This reflects the ideals enshrined in the school logo very well: Learn, Work, Play, Think, LIVE. There are a lot of interesting activities going on in the school and though I am already participating in a few of them, I am looking forward to being a part of the others too in the near future.  The best thing about these activities is that they are usually driven by students. This encourages us to shoulder responsibility. Though I like many things about this school, the one thing I probably like the most is the amount of opportunities the school provides you to grow in various fields, such as the upcoming Intra-School MUN, contributing to the blogs, the newsletters or the school magazine, etc. A student can really reach the zenith of his or her potential in a student-friendly school like Pathways. I am sure that the rest of the year shall go as well as the past few weeks.

 

Malak Khan

Grade 8

First Few Days at Pathways

Pathways is a lot of fun! I am learning a lot here. On my first day of school I was very nervous but now I know that this is a very good school. The classrooms are colourful and bright. I like the soft carpet in my classroom where we read books. Here there are many people to help me and I have made a lot of friends. My teachers are really nice and sweet. I am now comfortably settled in Pathways as it is a very welcoming school. The activities, sports and games are really fun and interesting. In only a few weeks we have already done many reflections, fun projects and exciting group discussions. I liked the “wacky hair day” too. I am enjoying my swimming lessons and will choose horse riding next year. It is going to be fun!

 

Sania Khan

Form 4

Pathways, Noida… Much more than just a ‘School’!

‘Pathways’ is a fun place to be as you can study, learn, work and play here. I try and listen to everything my teachers and friends say in order to have a better understanding. We get to use different equipment like measuring tape, number cards, straws, and lots more for better understanding. We do so many activities to learn about different concepts instead of only reading about them.

We always used to read and write at my previous school but here we focus more on understanding than just writing. I never researched before; just studied from school books. But I enjoy doing research here! I get to read as much as I can. I am learning to write on my own without copying from any book or the whiteboard.  My work is absolutely, 100% my work; planned, drafted, edited and finally published by ME!!!! I knew ‘how’ to write, but now I am learning ‘what’ to write. I feel extremely proud of my published biography, as it’s my first piece of writing.

The PE programme is run by many teachers .  We play team matches with concentration. There are a lot of sport activities like badminton, swimming table tennis, basketball, golf and cricket. So many things under one roof… it’s actually hard to believe, but it’s true!

Pathways is like family of friends because everyone has been kind and helpful towards me and everyone else. Teachers at the school are very friendly as they explain and listen to us patiently. I miss my old friends a lot but I am sure I will make better friends here. I am here to LEARN and LIVE my life to the fullest!

Pink coloured balls

at my new school

to be here is fun for me

hindi, maths, english, uoi are subjects that I study

with new friends to make

a really good school this would be

years to look forward to

sing along with me!!!

Tanvi Amrit

Form 4

Secondary School Academic Awards

We will soon run out of our firsts, yet Pathways School Noida celebrated its ‘first’ Annual Awards ceremony on 29th of August 2012. The chief guest for the occasion was Mr. Dinesh Kothari one of the members of our Board of Governors.

The ceremony started with the lighting of the lamp, followed by a brilliant performance by the Grade six Choir.

The Director, Dr. Advani in her speech introduced the policy of awarding students at Pathways Noida. She specified that the awards reflect not just one examination, but the entire year’s performance by the students. Other than that we also celebrate areas other than academics in the special award categories, which align with the culture of holistic development in a child practiced in the school. At a later extension she also introduced Mr. Dinesh Kothari as a person with various accolades, ranging from being a leading financial analyst to notable contributions in school education.

Mr. Kothari in his speech compared his own experience of schooling to the students of Pathways and was envious of their quality of education. He further went on to comment that academic brilliance can be achieved easily, what sets the Pathways school apart is the value instilled in the students over and above academic excellence.

The speeches were followed by presentation to the middle school awardees. Punctuated by a captivating performance by the PSN Percussion Band, the senior school students received their awards. Keeping in sync with the Pathways culture, the Principals conferred the awards of Global Citizenship, Techno Proficiency, Social Responsibility, Ideal Pathwayzian and IB Learner Profile to middle and senior school students.

The best was set aside for the last. Pathways School Noida has four Houses named after the four elements – Air, Water, Fire and Earth. Amidst loud cheers, Water House was declared the first ever House of the Year.

The first ever Award Ceremony of Pathways School Noida will never be repeated, but the first ever joys and cheers of this ceremony will forever resound in the annals of the history of the school.

    

Sudripta Tagore

Head of English Department

From the Director's Desk

Welcome to the first whole-school newsletter of the year. I am delighted to see how the school is buzzing with activity, classrooms and playing fields overflowing with the creative energy which our students bring with them. Student numbers have grown dramatically and almost every grade now has two sections.

New Staff

Twenty five new teachers across the school join us in this academic year. They began with workshops in June and continued with these in July. They come with experience in teaching in international schools in the UK, US, Manila, China, Syria, international and national system schools in India and we are very happy to see how quickly they are settling in. We are especially happy to welcome our new Diploma Programme coordinator Ms Geeta Verma who comes with many years of experience at Pathways Aravali, our PYP Coordinator Dr Swati Sawant who brings years of experience from Ecole Mondiale school in Mumbai and Ms Sandhya Kumar our Advanced Learner Coordinator who joins us from a school in London. 

New Spaces

Students are enjoying the purpose built specialist rooms for Art, Drama, Dance and Music. These are located on the second floor of the secondary school and provide generous space for activities. Our Design and Technology labs have expanded considerably to make space for a metal work area and theory teaching spaces.

Meanwhile we are struggling with the civil works happening just outside our school walls. We are following up with Noida authority which assures us that they will move quickly and that they will not dig up the road outside Gate 2 and 3 at the same time. Meanwhile we ask you to cooperate with the requirements for drop off which may change from time to time.

Examination Results

Our Diploma programme results came in July and the Form 10 IGCSE results were released this week. It was heartening to see the results for the first year. I am very pleased to announce that Saurabh Mittal got an outstanding 43 points at the IB Diploma and has now gone off to his undergraduate studies at Cornell .At IGCSE, Sagnik Aich achieved 5 A* and 1 A grade. They have made us very proud.

      Saignik Aich                                                               Saurabh Mittal


           

We Congratulate

Three students – Pulkit Kapoor, Advitya Narang  (Form 9)and Aditya Kapoor (Form 7) -  who were chosen for the cricket tour of South Africa by the Yuvraj Singh Cricket Academy.

Partha Sharma (Form 11) who received a special commendation for his role in the Model United Nations assembly at Chandigarh.

Events

Independence Day celebrations were marked with a varied assembly and we were delighted to welcome Mr OP Kohli, grandfather of Taapsi and Parth who gave an account of the fight for freedom and the importance of a continued struggle for justice. You can read more about this event below.

 We held our first Primary Academic Awards ceremony on 17th and combined it with the investiture of our new Primary School Student Council.




Shalini Advani
School Director

Primary Student Council Members

Neel Barun - President

Esha Srivastava - Sports Captain



                                                           Neel Verma - Sports Captain

Snigdha Khurana -Air House Captain

Dev - Earth House Captain                                                                       Tamanna Fire House

                                                                                                                          Captain

Vanshika - Water House Captain

Jin Torrington - Parliament Rep.                                                Arshee Sahni - Parliament Rep.

Primary School Awards - 17 Aug. 2012

Lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest, Mrs. Lata Vaidyanathan, Principal, Modern School

Primary School Choir

                                                                                   Prize distribution by Mrs. Lata Vaidyanathan

      Prize distribution by Mr. Praveen Jain, Director, Pathways School

                                                     

                   

English Literature and ‘I’-Interactions

On Monday the 13th of Aug, the Grade 12 English A students had a lively interaction with two luminaries from the world of Eng. Lit. This interaction was informal, with the easy exchange adding that much more to a range of issues and ideas discussed. Dr Shalini Advani was also a part of this interaction and she began the session with a brief introduction.

Professor Ania Loomba researches and teaches early modern literature, histories of race and colonialism, postcolonial studies, feminist theory, and contemporary Indian literature and culture. She currently holds the Catherine Bryson Chair in the English department at University of Pennsylvania. The students also had the privilege of interacting with Professor Suvir Kaul, who teaches courses in Eighteenth-century British Literature, Contemporary South Asian Writing in English, and in Literary and Critical Theory at University of Pennsylvania.He has taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at Stanford University, and at the Jamia Milia Islamia as a Visiting Professor and held post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Canterbury at Kent and at the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University.

The exchange between students started with an easy question answer session on the length and breadth of their Eng A Curriculum and then moved on specific texts. Students came up with strong views, for and against many a text, principally; Jane Austen and Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ The discussion took an interesting turn with Prof  Loomba and Prof Kaul throwing questions on feminine ‘types’. The insights into what literature can teach us and what it can make us critically scrutinize was indeed useful and the students learnt a lot in the 45 minute interaction. What was impressive was the ease and confidence displayed by grade 12, in voicing their opinions and justifying their stance. Our guests too seemed delighted with the spirited exchange and two generations of Eng Lit learners and teachers walked with new perspectives and some deep insights.

Geeta Verma

IBDP Coordinator

Independence Day

The spirit of patriotism was evident much before the words ‘Independence Day’ flashed upon the large grey screen- almost every student of Pathways World School Noida was wearing Indian ethnic clothes. The assembly that followed was not only a wonderful celebration of our 65th year of independence, but was incredibly thought provoking.

We began by honoring the men and women that laid down their lives so that we could proudly state, ‘we are an independent nation’. An interesting speech followed- whether nationalism was a good idea after all. Did it mask our perception of right and wrong?

 

The highlight of the day was definitely the guest speaker Mr.O.P Kohli, a Sahitya Ratna, Reader, Department of Hindi, Deshbandhu College. He began by asking those above sixty-five years of age to raise their hands. And including himself, there were only two present in the hall. He wondered whether we truly were independent- what about financially? And in terms of food and resources? His speech not only provided valuable insight into Independence Day but into events such as the partition as well. He gave us an insight into the events that led to partition.

Next was a little friendly competition between houses- an inter-house quiz on the history of the National movement. Water and Earth tied for first place, Fire acquired second position and Air was third.

The Primary School students added to the fervor by rendering some beautiful compositions. Finally, the event we were waiting for- kite flying. Smiles and laughter were prominent in the school grounds as the entire school trooped out to the field to try their hand at this. Some kites soared into the sky while some forlornly remained on the ground. All in all, it was definitely one of the best celebrations of our independence I had seen in a long time.

Supriya Ganesh

Form 10