Republic Day Celebrations at the School

One of the things everybody enjoys at Jyotirmay International School is the parents’ active participation in all our events; they don’t just attend, they join in wholeheartedly. Here are a few pictures from our Republic Day celebrations today with the brief yet inspiring programme which our children presented to this audience after the flag hoisting ceremony.

Queueing up for the Flag Hoisting Ceremony

That one moment which every Indian awaits with a suspended breath

Our Pre-primary children keenly waiting to watch their Seniors perform

Groups Ivy, Basil and Amber forming a unique Map of India with each student highlighting a state

Groups Clover and Iris seen below, presented enchanting formations with colourful sarees.

A waterfall with a gentle slope

 

Waves formed as the sheaths of fabrics float float the air

Encircling to form a tent

The colourful tent

A lovely Butterfly

A Fair Lady's Dress

Peacock - the National Bird

Our seniors who were supported by Saffron, completed this programme with a breathtaking rendition of A.R. Rahman's song - Maa Tujhe Salaam. Parents joined in with claps through this wonderful song and at the end of it, many had tears shimmering in their eyes.

These marvelous performances have left parents eager for the Annual Day!

 

Our youngest audience! Anoushka's 2-month old brother on his first outing celebrating his first ever Republic Day!

Science Day and Garba Fun Before the Mid-Term Break

For students, faculty and staff at Jyotirmay International School the mid-term break had come as a sweet reward after a period of focused and planned learning. For our students this was a time for assimilating all the new knowledge that they had learned and discovered during their first term besides taking a break during the festive season.

Science Day Demonstration by Jasmine Group for their Juniors

In the final week before the holidays though, we had two fun-filled days beginning with the Science Day. Children got to demonstrate all that they had learned during the term: they explained how science works in everyday situations. They were the teachers on that day while teachers became learners!

The seniors showed us how magnets worked on iron fillings, while the juniors had their own demonstration of how magnets work even through water as a medium. 

The juniors also wowed all teachers with their demonstration of how sunlight passes through a prism to create rainbow colours. 

Another experiment carried out by the juniors showed how to use of alum to make dirt particles settle at the bottom of a water container. This is a practical and useful learning for everyone, to be used in case of contaminated water. 

Discovering that scientific technology can be fun and useful in the making of gadgets and learning how everyday essentials like sound, light, lenses and even musical notes work, make the study of science more enjoyable and exciting too.

Here’s a poem which some of our junior students came up with:

Science, Science why do I need you,

Science hidden in me and you too,

It has made such a beautiful technology,

Maybe it can take us back in the timeless mythology.

I don’t know how

Science makes us go just wow!

On the last day of school on Friday 30th October there was more of the relaxed fun along with dancing, games and unwinding. All the students and teachers indulged in singing, dancing and playing sports. 

This of course, had come after days of practice where the pre-primary levels, juniors as well as the seniors got acquired spatial skills with the Garba. 

In the end, during the Garba Finale it didn’t really matter if one could dance like a professional or with two left feet. Everybody joining the ever growing circles in the MPH felt like a part of the whole. Take a look at some more images, with students and teachers at Jyotirmay International School having a joyful time!

Connecting and Interacting with Visiting Speakers – On Varied Streams and Career Options

The previous post in this mini-series focused on visitors at Jyotirmay International School speaking to our students on technicalities of applying to foreign universities and colleges. The current post features guests who have added an element of fun, excitement and integrity to their chosen professions. With this stream of our Global Connect sessions, the aim is to introduce the children to new avenues for careers.

Dr. K.P. as popularly known to our students and faculty

But first, there have been many success stories on the Indian Education scene too of well-known figures in the business and service fields. Our faculty member, Dr Krishna Pradeep, a medical professional who has taken a hiatus to teach science and be with our students, gave first hand information while describing his personal success story.

This interactive session briefed students about what is involved in seeking entry to a medical school. Using a Prezi presentation for the technical aspects, he spiced up his talk up with personal sharing which hooked the children's interest. Dr Krishna shared real life experiences, his perceptions and his feelings on what it takes to be not just a doctor, but a "good" doctor. In spite of the many years of dedicated study which equates to hard labour, he said that at the end of the day, it was the “patients that make or break you”. As such, one can consider that they got an A grade when their practice continued to flourish and succeed. Asked what his greatest fear was, he answered "losing a patient" but added that time is the greatest teacher and healer.

Another guest speaker who connected fabulously with our students was Dr Chihiro Koiso, from Japan, who visibly enjoys her profession. Associated with India, specifically Pune, and its culture for the past 30 years having done her PhD on Indian Philosophy, she has authored two books in Japanese on Indian Food Culture and another one on Indian culture, along with her archaeologist husband Dr Manabu Koiso. 

Dr Chihiro Koiso with her daughter Maho on her right

Ms Koiso, who visited us on 14^th August along with her daughter Maho, in connection with her latest research project on Indian food culture, surprised the children with her familiarity with Indian and especially Maharashtrian cuisine as enjoyed in Pune! 

Collecting data for her research, Ms Koiso connected excellently with the children focusing her questions on their favourite food including eating out. In return, our students got to ask questions about Japanese cuisine, the unique ingredients and food related customs like the 'tea ceremony'; in fact, the fun-filled interactive session turned into a cultural information exchange. 

In an Aero Modelling workshop conducted by Wing Commander Ajit Sapre, our children thoroughly enjoyed learning about airplanes. 

Wing Commander Sapre had all eyes on him

With child-friendly diction and simplified physics concepts, he had a captivated audience who eagerly joined him in constructing paper planes – an even more fun-filled activity followed with paper planes flying all over the Multi-Purpose Hall! Wing Commander Sapre has promised to come back with more workshops in the future.

Gleeful children hailing the trajectory of paper planes!

Journalism is a much talked about career option. To enlighten our children, Ms Kirti Pandey, a senior journalist and the Head of Research for the DoQ project of ‘The Quint’ was invited to Jyotirmay on September 1^st, 2015. ‘The Quint’ is an online portal which makes hard news easy and offers a modern, sharp take on the world, guiding readers through topics ranging from politics, policy and entertainment, to sports, business, food and everything else that matters.

Before her current position, Ms Pandey was the Chief Copy Editor of the Sunday Guardian, a Senior Copy Editor of INX News X TV, Associate Producer for Headlines Today and she has also worked with Network 18.

During her talk at Jyotirmay, Ms Pandey took the children through her personal journey which spanned from a regular job in the Railways to hard core journalism. She asked the children about their plans for the future and even gave them tips on reading material, such as The Diary of Anne Frank, A Pale Blue Dot, A Brief History of Time; documentaries like The American Experience and concepts like The Arrow of Time.

Stressing that hard work and ethics are very important if one wants to succeed in life, she said, “a good leader takes the whole team along.” To quote one of our students, “Ms Kirti Pandey was a wealth of information”, with her talk combining technicalities of journalism with stories and experiences besides advice on varied subjects.

These interactive sessions gave students at Jyotirmay International School a wide and vast exposure and we hope that they helped in broadening the horizons for their future.

Connecting and Interacting with Visiting Speakers – On Foreign Universities and College Admissions

During this academic year, students of Jyotirmay International School have enjoyed the company of some very interesting visitors from various walks of life in our Global Connect sessions and interacting with them opened up new vistas of understanding and knowledge. The visiting speakers made fascinating contributions, and with so much to be shared this first post in the mini-series will be covering speakers who informed us on foreign universities and college admissions.

Ms. Madhoor Wale, a Grade 12 student of International Baccalaureate pursuing History, Literature, Visual Arts, Biology and Math at United World College in Dilijan, Armenia, shed light on education in foreign universities. Having gone through the entire process of admissions, applying to Arts as well as Liberal Arts colleges in various countries, she could share the technicalities of admission processes besides her experiences as a student.

With a well organised speech, Madhoor spoke at length on choosing subjects, how to apply for Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Global Citizen Programme, travel grants and Commonwealth scholarships. She also spoke to our students on how to handle rejections and to distinguish between “who you are” and “your success”. She emphasized that students should handle University rejection letters with panache and realize that the University is not rejecting you as a person; they may sincerely believe that you can do better in another setting and this may not be the best fit for you. Madhoor’s convictions came from the heart: her message was “love what you want to do, and then get there and do it”!

Another student speaker was our very own Shreyas Kamat, Grade 12, A levels programme under Cambridge International Examinations, who added a special flavour to his talk with his recent first-hand experience with applications to foreign universities. With the help of a graphic organizer, he outlined the various requirements necessary for admission applications to foreign colleges, citing practical examples.

With his keywords being “passion” and “truthfulness to oneself”, Shreyas came across as a young specialist! His advice to the children was to “look at the college the way the college looks at you – in a holistic manner”. He urged them to “just go out, explore, try new things and take initiatives…the world is not looking at just how we score, but a lot more than that…”, no wonder our students were all ears.

In another talk on admissions to foreign universities, we were very fortunate to have Ms. Dierbhle O’Reilly, Global Officer from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland who briefed the children about the college and the undergraduate courses offered. She also spoke about its infrastructure, including hostel accommodation and costing. Ms. O'Reilly shared soft copies of the material and college brochures with our school and distributed bookmarks with college details to the children.

The school also invited Mr Aryapriya Ganguly, Professor, Admissions & Students Affairs, Indian School of Business and Finance (ISBF) which offers University of London International Programmes (LSE), to brief our students about the courses offered by them. He informed students about the eligibility and admission processes which are based on iMET (ISBF Maths English Test – ISBF's entrance exam) and personal interviews.

Their degrees are recognised globally, including Indian universities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. ISBF students have also successfully transferred to LSE and other leading universities in their second year of study. More importantly, their graduates have been offered International and Indian placements at prestigious banks and KPOs.

Very briefly, the ISBF is a pioneer institute, committed to import and provide international quality education in India. It's vision is to transform the way we approach education and the academic tone is set by the rigour followed at the University of London and London School of Economics and Political Sciences. The courses currently offered in the three-year undergraduate (Hons) degree programmes at the ISBF are:

·       BSc Economics

·       BSc Economics & Finance

·       BSc Economics & Management

·       BSc Business & Management

Other visitors at Jyotirmay International School also introduced our students to various fields as possible future career choices. Our next post in this mini-series will highlight these esteemed speakers. Needless to say, our children had a wonderful time making new discoveries.