Waste Management - Putting our daily waste to good use!

How many of us have seen the unsightly piles of garbage laying by the road and sniffed the decomposing wet waste? This was the topic of a field trip undertaken by Middle to Senior level students of Jyotirmay International School at an exhibition organized by the PMC at the Maulana Abdul Kalam Hall in Koregaon Park.

This field trip was in continuation of the topic Waste Management which these students had been learning in their subject EVM with their teacher Somishala.

Waste disposal is to be taken seriously for the protection of our environment and our teachers have in the past discussed proper recycling even as we’ve wondered about the various processes and cost factors.

At the PMC exhibition our students learned about segregating waste according to wet or dry and how wet garbage can be converted into organic manure by using simple techniques. They also discovered how chemical and sanitary disposal from hospitals gets incinerated for our safety.

Learning about an incinerator

There were stalls at this exhibition displaying various eco-friendly methods of waste disposal such as earthenware and mechanized composters for speedy manure production, biogas production and sanitary waste incineration. An important learning experience from this visit was that the biogas produced from wet waste can be used safely for cooking food.

Dr. Dhende, a Health Inspector of the PMC who is also one of our parents, spoke to the students about the dangers of mounting piles of garbage causing health issues, which was one of the reasons for such an exhibition. He also informed the children about two kinds of biodegradable waste such as wet or kitchen waste and dry waste like grass clippings, leaves and coconut shells or coir from the garden waste.

The awareness gleaned from this field trip was to compost all wet garbage, proper waste disposal and not to burn garbage which generates fumes, gases and pollution.

Students and teachers listening to talks about waste management

The students learned that these simple and easy techniques can be followed in individual homes, housing societies and localities. They took away brochures from various stalls which they could show to their parents, neighbours and society authorities.

Learning Experiences From Outside the Classroom - Part 3

More field trips taken by students of Jyotirmay International School during the months of August and September of this year gave them varied learning experiences at places like the a plant nursery, zoological park and snake park and fall in with our current blog theme.

Learning to identify plants by names and foliage

 On Tuesday 4^th August, our pre-primary students got an introduction to gardening at the Jagtap Nursery with a tour down the aisles to view different plants and learn their names.

These plants can be seen in the school's courtyard

Following a potting demonstration they even got to pot a few plants themselves. Moreover, they brought their plants back to school to water them regularly!

Eager to enter the zoo!

Then on 4^th September, students from the groups Clover, Iris, Coral, Saffron and Aster went to visit the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and the Katraj Snake Park. 

This field trip was a part of two themes covered in their EVS class: the Web of Life and Wildlife Protection. The aim was to make the children aware of these animals’ habitat and their characteristic features.

Besides spotting mammals like Porcupines and Sloth Bears; big cats like the White Tiger, Bengal Tiger and an elusive Leopard; birds like peacocks, the Great Horned Owl, a barn owl and a long beaked vulture our students also got to see different species of deer such as Chinkara, Black Buck, Nilgai, Chital and Sambhar.

The Royal Bengal Tiger spied by one of the teachers

According to our teacher Somishala Ma'am, the younger children questioned about the existence of so many species of deer when any one type would be enough to feed a tiger. Then an answer coming from another child was equally wondrous: maybe the tiger liked a variety of diet from time to time, just like humans!

Listening keenly to a talk by Ms. Ashwini, Head of the Educational Department, our students learned about various new enclosures planned and how the Zoo acquires new animals. 

She specified that these are not captured animals but injured or strayed and also through an exchange program between other zoos.

Moving on to Katraj Snake Park in the post-lunch session, the children got to peek at various reptiles in their pits. Besides tortoises and terrapins which plodded along unhurriedly, there were non-venomous snakes of different species plus the Spectacled Cobras and the fast striking Russell Vipers which were contained in separate pits.

Students as well as teachers thrilled with the field trip

The takeaways from the exciting and informative zoo trips were at multiple levels: the students recollected their classroom learning by making vital connections of endangered species and symbiotic relationships. 

Meanwhile, the teachers too relived their childhood memories of visiting the zoo! 

Learning Experiences From Outside the Classroom – Part 2

Following up on our previous post which was themed on ancient mankind and beginnings of Civilizations comes an experiential learning about food production which forms an important and necessary part of living... On Friday 7^th August, 2015, the middle to senior school students of Jyotirmay International School got to see a real field while on a rice plantation field trip. 

Students discovering the adventures at the Durshet field trip!

Located off the Mumbai Pune Highway in District Raigad, this field trip at Durshet packed a few surprises for everyone as it included a forest trek, adventure thrills and farming techniques.

On the Tarzan Swing!

Organized by Pugmarks Eco Tours, this outdoor learning experience gave our students a chance to walk through a forest of deciduous teak and Flame of the Forest trees before reaching a Tarzan Swing which they used to leap over a small pool.

More challenging adventure came with the thrilling Zip Line jump which helped some of the children lose their fear of heights as they came down a hillside on a rope slide in an exhilarating flight!

Finally our school students and teachers entered the paddy fields after a thorough explanation of all stages of planting, irrigation and the climatic conditions required for rice plantation. They even learned about how farmers work intensively during the planting season and then look for other work to support their families during the off-season.

Joining the farm hands in planting rice saplings

With rain pouring down during the actual planting of rice saplings, the students got a good understanding of the hard work and man power which goes into our food production. 

Singing festive songs during cultivation and harvest is part of our culture

This experience also introduced them to various festivals linked to agriculture which forms an important part of India’s culture. 

Discovering the thrills of a new sport

Yet more adventure followed this hands-on learning experience with expertly guided and much enjoyed rappelling activity at the Durshet Farm’s waterfall. 

All smiles and joyous faces!

Following a sumptuous lunch the children had even more fun splashing about in the river to 'clean up' under the waterfall and the day’s outing ended with a treasure hunt which turned out to be an exercise in organized team building. 

Searching for clues in the nature - on a treasure hunt

What was expected by all to be purely an educational field trip turned out to be just as much fun with some seriously important learning in team work, confidence building as well as the process of rice plantation packaged together which the children and teachers found thoroughly enjoyable.

Learning Experiences From Outside the Classroom – Part 1

Jyotirmay International School believes in helping students in discovering their learning experiences which come from observing life as it happens all around us. Field trips are a compulsory part of our curriculum and these give our students an exposure to various discoveries. During the first term of the academic year 2015-16, our children got to visit varied places which were in keeping with their levels of interest. 

On a field trip to the Deccan College Archaeology Museum

Copies of Harappan artifacts from Mohenjo Daro and Harappa

For our middle to senior school children visiting the Deccan College Archaeology Museum at Yerawada on Monday 27^th July, history came alive. 

Taking shapes from the past were ancient stone tools, pottery and jewelry along with other material culture displayed in eight galleries at the museum ranging from the Stone Age, Megalithic, Chalcolithic (including Harappan) to Maritime and Ethnoarchaeology.

Multi-disciplinary approach of Archaeological Studies applied for understanding Mankind's past through integrated research using various branches of Sciences and Humanities

For our primary and middle school children, their visit to the People For Animals’ Shelter at Holkarwadi on Thursday 30th July was undoubtedly a super hit - as can be seen in their excited faces filled with anticipation! 

The Shelter's Operating Theatre and ICU area

Dedicated to the rescue and recovery of injured or sick animals, the shelter comprises of an operating room and ICU besides a Reception area; our children had eager questions for the entire PFA team.

The shelter’s star attractions were gentle animals like Pegasus – a retired race and show jumping Thoroughbred horse and Sita – a black cow. 

Pegasus and the cows vying for attention!

Emma the Emu at the gate!

But there was also Emma the Emu, lovingly nicknamed ‘Chowkidar’, and other unnamed animals that became just as memorable as they thrived on all the attention.

Other friends included the shelter’s success stories, such as a cat in the ICU who lost three legs by walking through acid, a white cow recovering from complete paralysis and a couple of donkeys with broken legs. 

Witnessing the rescue of a limping cat right beside their bus while leaving the premises reminded our students of the wonderful service provided by the PFA and they promised to get in touch in case of an animal needing rescue.

The visit to the Archaeology Museum at Deccan College Post-graduate Institute gave Jyotirmay students a glimpse into the life and struggles of early humans as they evolved and settled down into civilizations. Visiting the PFA shelter on the other hand, taught them - and us - how to become humane.