Month: December 2016

TRIP TO NAGGAR!

Sakshi Lavesh Agarwal

Naggar is a village situated in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. It was once the capital of Kullu Kingdom.I went to Naggar for my winter trip last winter with my classmates. We were a group of 30 people. Naggar is the best place for Trekking, Skiing etc. We did a lot of treks to different places, explored Museums, Ancient temples and communicated with the local people about their lifestyle and how they managed to live in such a cold place and overall developed our fitness skills. My main goal for this trip was to become fit and healthy. In cities we are always dependent on gyms for good health and because of pollution is overpowering and making the air bad, Hill stations are the best place to get fresh oxygen .

 

We used to go on treks everyday and do yoga in the evening and other fun sports after or before dinner. The main challenge faced was walking up hill in a cold weather. Even Though, I have a good stamina i found it challenging because of other factors like: as we tend to go up hill, the oxygen level decreases due to which we tend to have a problem in breathing. Also we were very cautious about not throwing any garbage outside the bus when we were traveling and repeated the same while trekking because plastic is very harmful for the environment and we wanted to save the nature. This trip taught me various lessons like: keeping our city clean and avoiding pollution as much as possible, and i taught this lesson to my family members too. Apart from all this, we made a lot of memories with our friends and teachers and it was a great experience exploring a very new and beautiful place.

 

This picture was taken when we finally completed our trek to this 10,000 years old temple (at the back).

13240165_1142612342456583_2326487929557657554_n

Leave a comment

Reflection 8: Organ Donation

Ronak Harish Makwana

U-turn is an event, which is held every weekend at different places. This act was prepared in a very short period of time. We planned an act and the shared the entire script with everyone. We never practiced it with everyone.

The acting was a big challenge for all of us, we had never acted in public. The most difficult challenge was to act seriously, which quite hard when you are with your friends at 7 o’ clock in the morning. Also, the message we were trying to give to the audience and make them believe about the current situation was really difficult.

We had not planned it really well, but we planned our script pretty well, as far as acting is concerned, we were confident about our acting skills in the beginning, but then we understood the real challenge was acting. This was a serious act and we were split into the ones, who are going to act and others are going to be the voiceover.

I am scared to act in front of people or present anything in the front of people, especially this is the time the audience was not even known, there is a road, where people walk and they see everyone performing.

This act was made by us and performed by the same people, which made it quite easy, because everyone knew, what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to act.

We were spreading awareness about the organ donation, with the help of this act and all the information we gave about the organ donation. Well, we were not supposed to read our scripts and act, and we had to perform this act for at least 5 times due to different batches of the audience. So the first time we acted with the scripts, but after that, we were confident and acted better and better.

At the end, the act was quite successful and one of the people in the audience recorded our act.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIKxnKFuJx4

Leave a comment

Reflection 7: Teaching

Ronak Harish Makwana

According to me teaching is the most difficult job that you can ever have. I always think, that why do people love teaching. So, actually Aarsh and I were given a topic, which we had to teach to the entire chemistry class. This was done because many students were absent, when Aarsh and I were present, so for our revision and teaching other students, we had this teaching activity.

I was actually scared for this teaching session, I had no personal experience of teaching, but later when I started teaching I got to know that sharing knowledge is actually fun. It was really a big challenge, because I am not academically as smart as others students are. The main challenge was to answer the questions asked by our classmates. They have their different ways to perceive knowledge, which arose different questions. I discovered that I have a good board work.

I spent half a day at home to actually plan the entire chemistry class. It was really planned well by Aarsh and I. It was really difficult handle most of the students, as they had many questions. Answering questions was really difficult, but we tried our best and gave answers and to the questions that were out of topic, we asked them to ask it to the chemistry teachers.

Aarsh and I planned out the entire chemistry class together and taught together, so that each person gets a specific amount of time, to prepare for another lecture. It was successful. We followed the entire teaching method, with the introduction and conclusion. So we did not skip anything and it was a good revision for us and a good lesson for our classmates.

photo-on-16-12-16-at-11-50-am

Leave a comment

Reflection 9: Plantation

Ronak Harish Makwana

This was my first CAS plantation activity, it was held year too. This activity needed a lot of physical strength. It was july and it was raining heavily. We had to come by our own transport. We all were given instructions by the supervisor.

This activity took place in rainy season, so we had to wear raincoats. It was a really messy situation.

The main challenge was not to get dirty and plant the tree without ruining the soil. Using all the tools appropriately. It was really difficult to manage the electronic devices, that we brought to click pictures.

I had never planted a tree in my life, so it was a big challenge for me, and I had many difficulties in reaching to the place, but the time I reached, I started planting trees and helping others. It was really hard work, but I signed up for it and did it.

Even planting need working collaboratively. There were two people per tree, so they worked together to grow a plant.

It is really unethical to cut the trees and this is why we took this initiative to plant the trees. This was a really interesting CAS experience, where we were not supervised by any school teachers, after planting we all went for breakfast.

photo300234810200271077photo300234810200271093

Leave a comment

BOOK CLUB 

Kabir Suresh Kabaria

We were required to reads books in grade 11 but then later it was not mandatory. However, I decided complete this task. My language teacher helped to decide books to read according my capabilities.
I am never good English language as whole. I am specifically weak in communicating skills. This activity has been very fruitful for me. I have significantly improved my reading speed. I have also improved fluency while speaking.
I never read a book completely. It is really difficult for me to commit to something I have never done. It was very challenging to take out time to read. I had to finish reading before exams starts. I have fulfilled my goal. It was difficult to take out time to read when you have to study.
However, I was committed to completing at least 5 books in a year. Which is a big deal to me because I have never completed single book. I remained committed to this goal and completed all 5 books. I was motivated to complete reading this books because of benefits it can do to me.
I did read all the books and not just started reading it and then dropped or read the summary or anything. I was frustrated in the midway because I had other work to do and wanted to read the summary instead of reading the books completely.

screenshot-97

Leave a comment

Farewell for seniors

Kabir Suresh Kabaria

In 2016 first ever batch of our school was about to graduate. Two of my class mate decided to organise farewell for our seniors. I took part in volunteering for farewell for seniors. We decided to organise farewell for now formal grade 12. I volunteered for dance, a small movie and also decorating the venue. All the dance members were required to choreograph the dance sequence of the farewell. As there was less time, the choreography was modified during rehearsals by two of the dance members which had experience in dancing. Acting is not my cup of tea, even though I successfully took leading role in one of the scene. I was satisfied with my performance.
We did take out time for practising the dance. We were also able to finish the movie which we made for the formal grade 12 in time. I like dancing therefore I was very excited to learn it at the first place. We recorded scenes that replicated grade 12 behaviour during their schooling years.
We had very less time for working and practising due to our grade 11 final exam were close.
However, we were able to execute the plan successfully by working in a team. Collaboration lead to more creativity. The decoration was on going till the last second of the starting of the farewell. The overall experience was very upbeat. Everybody enjoyed their time.

Leave a comment

Mahakhumbh football above -16

Kabir Suresh Kabaria

 

This was our last football tournament with few teammates because it was their last year in the school. This tournament was really important for me to win because like the subroto tournament the whole teams qualify for state level if the team wins.

Well, the age category allowed coaches from our school to play with us therefore our football coach played with us which gave us confidence. I wasn’t nervous before the game unlike most of the other tournaments. Plus, I was in a good shape. So I was hungry for the glory. We were tough and not under pressure. I think because of our football coach playing with us made my game better. Anyway, we reached the finals. The opponent team was the same team that defeated us in subroto cup, but it was stronger compare to their subroto team. There was lot of pressure on me in the final game as I was playing forward which is not my main position but I could handle it. In the first half itself we scored a goal which lead us to win the tournament. It was very emotional moment for me to win the tournament that I always wanted to win.
I have improved my ball controlling skills and I have improved stamina as I was able put same effort through out the game. I had developed skills and techniques require for playing at forward position.
Coordination still wasn’t that good when started our first game because we don’t play with the other coaches who were in our team. Fortunately, the first two opponents were not very tough so we were then able to create understanding in our team, knowing the position of our teammates and keeping the possession. This helped us in further matches.
I remained calm through out the tournament even though there was fight in the final match. I didn’t take advantage and tried to end the fight. I obeyed to the decisions made by referee.
What I learned from my coach is how to handle pressure. How to be patient and you will get the result. Winning this tournament is a great achievement for me. This is the moment I will always remember.

 

MAhakumbh

DSC_0098

Leave a comment

A Day Well Spent…!!

Jigyasha Rajesh Gothi

Isn’t it true  that we humans are never happy with what we have?  We always want more and are never satisfied with  what we actually have. Let me give you an example. We children, keep cribbing about how irritating,nagging or controlling our parents are and may not recognize the important of them in our life sometimes. However, we forget that we are so lucky to have them. To live a life with them and to live it to the fullest. There are so many kids around the world, who are not as luck as us. Some children are abandoned, some are lost or some who just  lose their parents in some accidents.

We now have many schools and orphanages to take care of children like them. Though, there is no harm if we help and make a difference in the lives of these kids too. We are capable  of helping those kids and we should. I believe  that, there is no better thing in the world than seeing a smile on a person’s face, and specially when you know you are the reason behind it.

There are many organizations and schools, who take charge of taking care of orphans and give them a better life. My teachers and my classmates decided to put in our share and spend a day with those kids and make it worth it  for them. We could not call kids from different areas, however some of the kids from one of the schools in Surat were invited to our school. This was our way to help some of the many kids who live like them. We knew, that making a difference for a huge population  was not in our hand. Thus,  I believed why not take baby steps and start with a small group and if it goes smoothly, we could gradually take bigger steps.

There were many kids that came to our school, and it was not easy for just one or two people to handle them and carry out all the planned activities. We are approximately 15 to 20 people who planned and executed all the activities as decided. There were various activities, the ones who were good at handling kids and making them participate and play game were responsible for those activities, few of them were responsible to make thank you gifts for them, few were responsible to get them to dace, few were responsible to click their photographs. Distributing duties made the process very simple and smooth. There were no major issues we faced, and all the activities went according  to the plan.

In the beginning it was difficult to get the kids to talk and build up a bond so that they could share things with with. Also, my personality is such that I can not easily open up with people and get them talking. I tried smiling and showing some kind gestures, because of which I saw a positive response.  Soon, I started sharing things and Saw that they shared things with me too. Also, due to the difficulty in talking to them I felt like i should back out and tell someone else to take charger. However, I had to overcome this, and I did it. The most difficult part was when I had to handle one of the kids who was very naughty and did not listen to things. Though, I realised that the more calmly I handle him and not shout or force the kid he will try and listen to what I have to say and make him participate in activities.

I had to be carefully, and tal in a subtle and polite manner with all the kids who had come to our school. Even, though sometimes it was difficult to get them to talk, I had to be patient instead of forcing them or making them uncomfortable. Also, I did take care of the questions i asked them and the way I talked them, as I had to be thoughtful about their feelings and emotions.

Some  thoughts that cross my mind are:  this event was scheduled only for a day and there were limited amout of kids. What about the other kids like them? Who does take responsibility for them? Does organizing these activities mean that we were able t make a difference? Did the way we talk to the kids not hurt them? Were we successful enough?

It was really mind-altering to spend a day with these kids. We may feel very sympathetic towards them and feel sorry for the. We may also think that, they are lack of opportunities and thus can not achieve what they want to. After spending a day with these kids, I think not only me but they made a difference in my life to.  They taught me that how  hope, courage, aim and the desire are the strongest elements of life and are not merely some words.

        _dsc6018          _dsc6146

        _dsc6116        _dsc6340

To sum up everything, I believe and I always will believe that, “When you help other people, you help yourself.It’s impossible to not feel great when you do good to other people”. This may just be the saying, but when a person begins to helps other is when they truly understand the meanining of this saying.

Leave a comment

CAS essay

Unnati Tarun Agrawal

CAS as a core component of DP is something that has helped me realise that there is more to life than just studies. Because it was compulsory, I did things that I didn’t know I was capable of. It made me caring, balanced, and someone who takes chances and initiatives.

cas-3Over the course of about one and a half year I have either initiated or taken part in many different activities but some of them were such that gave me a sense of pride. Those two activities are the garba fest which was a one time Navratri celebration in our school, and ASTH which was initially a small idea which gave rise to an activist group working for the welfare of others. Both these activities were initiated by me and I think this is why they are very close to my heart. Also these were not meant only for CAS; I did them for myself which is why they are different from all other activities that I have done.

Garba fest was initially just a fund raising event but as we started the planning things and organising stuff we got so excited that our motive was not only fund raising but also giving the students of fountainhead school an opportunity to celebrate a much loved event along with all their friends and teachers. The first thing that I learned was that organising any event is hard work however the fruit is always rewarding. I developed the skill of working under pressure, and because this was the first event that I was organising the pressure was higher than ever. I am glad to have done atlas one fund raising event because nothing compares to the smiles on excited faces of underprivileged children when they see new things being bought for them.

ASTH started with a small idea of four friends wanting to do a flash mob on independence day to spread a good message in the society. The first flashmob that we planned was just the day before we performed it. But the MOST important part of this first experience was the thrill and satisfaction it gave me. It felt so good to be able to gather as much crowd and help spread a good message in the society. We never planned for this one flashmob to turn into 2 or 3 flashmob. It was the satisfaction that all of us got that motivated us to that this a step further and give this thing a name. We came up with the name ASTH as an acronym for A Step Towards Humanity and turned this into an activist group on the social media.cas-2

While doing all of these activities, the most difficult learning outcome to achieve was the one about considering the ethics of our choices, especially in ASTH, because we took up various societal issues and it was hard to consider how different perspective could offend some people, however I am proud of the fact that we managed to pull it off. This also made me want these experiences in my collage life too, because I never want to let go of that proud feeling I get when I either help someone or help the society grow. It has made me take a decision that I will continue to work on ASTH and probably turn it into an NGO, so that it doesn’t just stay as a school activity.

 

Leave a comment

Naggar Trip

Unnati Tarun Agrawal

Trekking has always been one of my hobbies because it gives me a chance to be close to the isolated part of nature in this world. So naturally I couldn’t miss the school trip we had.

I went on a school CAS trip to Naggar which is the capital of Kullu. There I mainly did trekking and adventurous activities like skiing and snow tubing. These activities were mainly for my personal development. 

img-20160126-wa0017Initially I thought that we won’t be able to have fun like we did in all our other school trips because it was a CAS trip. However when we got there, the pleasant atmosphere and the beautiful view changed my mind.

Waking up early in the morning was really hard as it was so cold but the view from the castle was BEAUTIFUL. Also the early morning short walks really put me in a bubbly mood. I had been trekking all my life but this was my first trek after the 3 year break I had taken so I was not in practice, which made the uphill treks really difficult. screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-3-47-06-pm

On the D-day of the we did a lot of exciting activities like skiing, snow tubing and shopping. I had tried skiing for the first time and it was the most amazing thing I had tried there. First of all I couldn’t walk because of the cold and heavy shoes. When I fell down in a funny position I laughed so hard that I couldn’t stand up even with the instructor’s help. It was one of the best moments I had on the trip.

Even though this trip was not as great as our last trip was, which included water sports, I did have a lot of fun.

img_0568

Leave a comment
1 2 3 4 5 … 12