LAUNCH PAD

16 Dec 2011

A tweet from the Form Tutor


Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and most patients of teachers. -  Charles W. Eliot






There are a number of pathways to learn the essential lessons of life. One of the most enjoyable ways is through books. The school organised Literary Week, Read-A-Thon and a Book fair in the last fortnight to emphasize the importance of reading books. It was heartening to see the full fledged support of the parents for these activities. We hope for the continuation of such support in the future as well.Now is the time for festivities and resolutions as the New Year is approaching. New Year is the perfect time to look back into the past and make plans for the future. I wish, one of your resolutions is, to be continuing reading.
Wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. 

-Gayitri Singh (Form tutor of Grade 8)

Mark Inglis’ trip to Pathways Noida


On 12th December 2011, Mark Inglis visited Pathways School Noida.
If you don’t know who Mark Inglis is, he is the world’s only double amputee to climb Mt. Everest.
Mark Inglis’ talk to the school was very inspiring; I was presenting him along with Aash. It was nerve-racking to talk to the whole school because I hardly ever talk to big crowd like that, but I think I managed fine. JAash and I know Mark very well as he is a close family friend of ours. And it felt very special introducing him to the school.

Mark did a short one hour talk to the school about aspects of the journey to Mt. Everest and the lessons learnt from it. He also talked about how he got his legs and fingers amputated and the goals and challenges he has now set for life as a result. Mark is really inspiring; because even though being a double amputee is a struggle, he’s put this disadvantage into an advantage, and carries a positive outlook in life. There’s a lot one can learn from Mark – about having a goal, staying focused, taking calculated risks, working as a team, researching and planning our paths, and more than anything, ensuring a positive attitude.




-Aana Kambhoj (Grade 8)

A word from the world of Design and Technology

 In all my life I thought being a teacher wasn’t  hard but I was completely wrong. From what I have earn about Design & Technology , it is a very complex job.  Some of the objectives of the lesson are     learning technical drawings on computers, and big paper sheets. The most  interesting activities to me  are  the usual wood crafting.  I realize  design and technology  is very important for our lives , our grade and for our  career.






THIS IS WHAT WE  LEARNT , when we met Mr Roger  our D.T Teacher ...                  
what do you think about pathways school by its self?
Pathways, it is a very unique opportunity for Indian students to get education in a different way, more creative way.

So what does it take to be good in Design & Technology?
 It take practice, accuracy, Skills, and effort.  

Well, how do you feel when you interact with students, do you enjoy it?
Yes, as a teacher of course I enjoy it, it is very interesting to get to know different personalities.

 what do you expect from the students next year?
That students should be punctual and more attentive ,  a little more organized . 



Swagata and Karan Malhotra 

Anita Roy’s interview



On 5th of December, a famous Indian author named Anita Roy visited Pathways Noida. I feel very lucky to have gotten such a wonderful opportunity to interview her.

In our first session she introduced herself and we got to know more about her. You could probably write what she has written about, and name a few books. After that, she read a wonderful story for us which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. As part of the Editorial Board committee, I also got to interview her with a couple of other students. We asked her several questions; my question for her was– “While writing a book do you think before writing every paragraph?  Like do you think about where to put the plots, settings and other major parts of a story or you just keep writing and these things come to you automatically?” She said that she thinks before writing every single part of her book, which I thought was very sensible. This experience has helped me a lot for my personal project as I am also writing a book and I would like to thank Mrs. Anita Roy for clearing all my doubts.

-Parth (Grade- 8)

Studying is not Everything


In the 21st century people consider being good is studies is one of the many paths to being successful in life. I believe that getting 97% in your board exams and getting into one of the collages like SRCC is not the only path for becoming successful. I mean Sir. Sachin Tendulkar might not be good in studies but he is a role model for millions today. Similarly other activities like acting, singing, dancing, athletics can take you very far in life. We have great examples like- Michael Jackson, Usain Bolt and many more. I don’t mean to offend anyone of you who wants to make a career through academics but I just want parents to let their children do whatever they want to do. They have their own life to live. Parents should just monitor what their children do and guide them if they’re not on the right path. Today several children are forced by their parents to study and leave other activities such as dancing, singing, acting. I am proud to have parents who are always encouraging me to do what I like and I salute all the parents who do the same with their children. This is how our country will progress and this progress needs to happen as soon as possible. There are a few people who are not very rich, don’t have big houses or luxurious cars but they are happy because they get to do what they like. They don’t need anything else from life; they have a reason to live. After all, money can’t buy you everything. Money can’t buy love, happiness and other things which are more important and satisfying.

-Parth (Grade 8)

The Read-A-Thon experience



Read-A-Thon was a very good experience for me because I read for fun and for the benefit of others. This Read-A-Thon  experience is something that I will remember for a long time.We organised this event because all of us in the Middle school wanted to fundraise and collect money for the children who don’t have any clothes. 
All the money collected will go to a Non government organization called Goonj. Goonj aims to make something useful for the people by using old and used material.
Through the Read-A-Thon fundraiser, we plan to donate money for some stationary of Goonj so that it can provide  for the poor children who cannot even by an eraser.  This event taught me  that people can change someone’s life just by putting in some effort.




I would have never thought that I would have to read a book  for charity but I had fun because you could read anything you want. I have already finished a book by the end of a week (which I thought would be impossible for me to achieve) which was pretty interesting and this event made me read the book.  Now I have already ensured that I have some money to give to Goonj.

'Readathon  build a wall' 
I think I had a great opportunity to help them. And I really, really hope that we do this every year in this school.  And even though I am going to go to the Senior School next year I would love to do this event again and again just to help those people out there.






-Swagata (Grade 8)

Yuvraj Singh visits our school


The Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh visited our school on 5 December on Monday somewhere around 2:00 pm. Everyone in the school assembled in the MYP Atrium.  He had come to our school for the opening of a cricket academy called Yuvraj Singh, centre of excellence.  My schools experience was good with him because we all were disciplined. The selected ones asked him different types of questions about cricket and about his childhood. Everyone was excited to meet him and wanted to ask different types of questions related to cricket.






 He told us that he was unlucky because he didn’t have such a good school to study in like we have here in Pathways. He told us that he used to play tennis, was excellent in skating and wanted to become an English teacher if he was not a cricketer. We asked him questions like if he still gets butterflies in this stomach before batting in a cricket match, we also asked him that if he ever gets a chance to become the captain for India’s cricket team would he accept it or not? We all enjoyed hearing him answer our questions. I hope he comes to our school regularly.
Pulkit (Grade 8)

2 Dec 2011

  
   “When you're a little kid you're a bit of everything; Scientist, Philosopher, Artist. Sometimes it seems like growing up is giving these things up one at a time”



Dear parents
Don’t we all know how fast our own days went past; Growing up was  never easy. I still want to  hold on to things that were as I  wonder what's to come. But as Abraham Lincoln said “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” so GROW we all did and I guess ,are still …….
As stakeholders of our childrens' world ,lets  help them grow into perfect rounded personalities ;who retain the bit of the Scientist ,Philosopher and Artist in them. They are blossoming into young ladies and gentlemen ,all set to make us proud .lets peep into their world of experiences and see what they have brought forth his time  .




Aprajita Ralli 
 Co-Form tutor
                                                                                                                                                                             

British School Trip

we enjoyed  what we did ...

Mr. Anil  -  our mentor 




our creation




great minds at work !!!







On the 1st of December 2011, 6 members of Pathways School Noida from Middle School went on a trip to the British School for an art project. We left at 7:30 in the morning and arrived at 8:30. We were sent to the assembly hall for an introduction to all the schools that came. There were at least 15 schools that came to the British School. They started the day with singing, they sang songs about peace and gave us a presentation of what peace means to them. They then told us what we had to do for the project and then we were sent outside to our table to start our project.
Our first project was to draw and paint something that resembles peace onto a kite; we finished it in 1 hour. After that, we breakfast. For breakfast they had really nice cake and samosa, along with different varieties of drinks. After that we had to paint a sculpture of a bird coming out of an egg; Sohini and Ketan did that and I helped a little bit too. That was a fun thing we did. After a fun day, we headed to the buses back to school.
-Aash Kambhoj (Grade 8)

Interview with Mrs. Sunanda Sandhir (Principal of the Middle School


How much progress do you think the school has made?
The school has made a progress in many ways. I am mentioning the physical part. Building contruction work has been completed and  now we have a  Cafeteria and separate  Sports block.. Our sports facilities have alos bettered .The students are actively using  swimming pool and there is horse riding facility too. Number of midddle school students have grown to 41 this year from 21 last year.  
Do you like the idea of being responsible for the student's safety?

 
I like taking responsibilities of  my students. Their safety is one of the most essential aspect.
Do you find that being a middle school principal is hard?

There are challenges but because I love working with children I do not find it hard.
Can you give us one of the challenges that you’ve faced up till now?
One of the challenges is to motivate students to meet deadlines and while doing so, use all learning opportunities that are provided to the students .
What was your career before coming to this school?
I have always been an educationist Mathematics and ICT have been my areas of specialization. In my last job before joining this school, I was an education officer in an organization that sets up new schools and also manages them. 
How many years have you been practicing to achieve this career?
I started my career 19 years ago.
Do you love the students here in Pathways School Noida?
Of course! I really love the students here and I connect with them a lot.



-Swagata & Aana (Grade 8)

Sports in Our School


Sports in our School:
Sports activities  in our school are very  nice, we get to be involved in many games for  e.g: Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Cricket, Table Tennis, Golf, Squash, etc.
Past two weeks we have been busy with  the inter house basketball for senior and middle school, they were great fun ! In the senior school, Earth House stood first(boys) and Air house ( girls)came first. In Middle School, Water House  stood first, and the second and third position was bagged  by Fire House and Air House. There was a great team spirit we all saw and experienced on the ground that day .  I scored 14 points and  can proudly say that I was the third highest scorer of the game.
We really enjoyed the game and would be very happy if many more such matches are organized in the school . I love  all the sports activities we have here at Pathways
Team  discussions!


Three cheers to Pathways ,Noida

Teachers' support 

teams in action



Mr Deepak ...our  motivating force 
-Tanish (Grade -8)

Math Lessons


“Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky - or the answer is wrong and you have to start over and try again and see how it comes out this time.”
Carl Sandburg
 Yes that what the concept is. I have always believed - try-try and you will succeed. All that is required to be good in Mathematics is practice. After all, practice makes perfect. Well our Maths lesson is not like any other Maths lesson; in fact it is one of the lessons we look forward to. There are many reasons for  that. - One being the fact that we get to use our laptops. We all love to work on our laptops, I mean we’re in the 21st century and we don’t want to write on paper when we already have laptops. Miss Sunanda (Our Maths Teacher) uploads assignments on Moodle. For those who don’t know what Moodle is, it’s an online document where you can upload assignments. Miss also uploads videos on Youtube, and trusts me it’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us to get to learn new things. We can watch these videos again and again till we understand the entire concept .We do a lot of self-studying, which enhances our comprehension skills. I personally have learned new things like uploading videos on Youtube, how to print-screen files and how to use the calculator to its optimum use.it always exciting when we can do things on our own and our Math lessons give us that opportunity
-Parth (Grade 8)

Trip To Red Fort

the walk ....


The Monument





our resource Person : Ms. Smita Vats  from Itihaas


On the 29th of last month we the students of middle school went for a field trip to the Red fort or the Quila-e-Mubarak. It was an educational field trip organized by Itihaas. It made us realize that architecture of the time was way ahead . The resource person Ms.Smita Vats not only  focused on architecture but also went into history and battles of Shah jahan’s reign . The Red fort was first named Quila-e-Mubarak. It was first made out of red sandstone then given a coating of white plaster. On this plaster there were rare jewels and gems. But after the decline of the Mughal era there were raids that took place and the jewels and gems were stolen. When the British arrived they saw nothing miraculous in the fort and thus named it the red fort. This field trip made us realize that we Indians had the basic technology even before the west did. We had a long and tiring but a very thrilling walk through the monument . I wish we had many more such trips !


-Tanmay (Grade -8)