Page 194 - DAIS Insignia 2020-21

LOVING THE LIBRARY CLASS ઘરમા રહ ને પયાવરણ ને મદદ

ં
LIKE NEVER BEFORE! કપડા ક ુ ાવવા ાયર નો ઉપયોગ ન કરતા ં તડકામા ં
ં
ક ુ ાવાવના. અને ચોખા અને શાક ધોયા પછ
When I first saw our virtual school timetable, I was
bewildered to see that the last 30 minutes on Mondays પાણી ન ફ કતા મારા ઘરના ં છોડમા ં વાપર શ.
had ‘Library’ sitting pretty. I wondered what was જયા દાદભાવાલા
planned for the first year middle-schoolers'.

Come the first Monday, the time for our library class,
દર ક સમય મશીન ન વાપર ઘરની બહાર કપડા ક ુ ાવીએ
ે
ં
we discover that our teacher is an American professor!
ં
છ એ. અને જયાર પણ અમે ઘરના કોઈ પણ
He was the second male American teacher we met that
બહાર ખર દ કરવા જઈએ છ એ યાર અમે કપડાની
ં
day – Middle school suddenly got interesting!! On his
ે
part, Gary Sir seemed to know exactly what he wanted થલી વાપર એ છ એ. Siddhant Mehendale
to accomplish each week. His clarity and confidence નયનતારા અમીન
convinced me to happily to go on this roller coaster Sustainable
Arishka Betadpur
ride! And, what a ride it has been!!
Environment
No longer do we 'read books' during our Library period
as our English teacher, Dr. Griggs, has given us access to PSHE stands for Personal Social Health Education This year, geography classes have
History Class activity- Time travel to the Stone Age
the most amazing treasure trove of books, at our finger helped me have a greater
This year PSHE was really
tips. Instead, we have learnt a critical skill – how to understanding and appreciation
interesting, but my favorite part Plant Life Study
research and read from the Internet. No, it's not just for all the natural wonders of the
was ‘teaching the teacher’ and
Googling or logging into YouTube – there's a whole One of the most exciting projects we did in science this year was plant life study. For almost two months, we world. It also reminded me of
new world out there! There is so much more to the ‘swapping roles with the teacher’. donned the role of farmers and grew our food! We grew beans, chickpeas, corn, peas, potatoes, beetroots, the importance of living in
We took charge of the class and
world of books than just fiction and non-fiction. We carrots, onions, and more. With the loving guidance of our science teacher, Ms. Pratima, we soaked our seeds: harmony with nature and other
presented topics to the class for
were introduced to the fascinating aspects of a book, about five weeks! The topic our watched in awe as they germinated then planted them in pots with soil. We proudly showed off our progress in living beings, especially now, as
for example, 'bibliography'. It was something I heard class and appreciated each other's efforts. We took photos, recorded measurements, and plotted graphs to track the world battles the biggest
group chose was BULLYING and we
for the very first time. Today, I understand the their growth. There were small hurdles along the way, but that did not deter us. The result is for all of us to see - the health crisis. Gary Sir has taught
took lots of time to make our plants thrived, buds and flowers blossomed, and some of us even saw pea pods! We learned valuable lessons of
importance and value of devoting some time towards presentation worth watching. me more than just about forests,
making a bibliography for each one of my research perseverance, appreciation for our weather and climate. He also
projects, as well as take the time to go through it when I Watching the other groups present farmers, and above all, we realized that brought my attention to some of
see it in various books. can be observed in both good and there are no mistakes in science, only the most urgent issues such as
bad ways. I soon realized that these experiments! Global Warming, at the same
Gary Sir worked through the summer of 2020, meeting presentations from my fellow Quotes from our classmates: time discussing solutions to
us each week with interesting projects and research
classmates made a larger impact to protect us against flooding,
ideas to pursue – it was a routine that I eagerly looked “I am looking forward to making chips with
my life because students of my age breakthroughs in alternative fuel
forward to! During the Library sessions, Gary Sir shared my potatoes" - Priyamishree Mehta
and size were saying things about supplies and prediction of natural
his simple, yet powerful wisdom, which fall into 2 staying healthy, always thinking “I am waiting for my hibiscus to give me disasters. Geography classes at
broad categories- “Things that Successful Students positively, having meaningful flowers" - Arishka Betadpur DAIS have just been amazing!
Do” and “Learning to be Excellent”. His nuggets are friendship. Since my classmates “I added my onion shoots to a Chinese
small, practical and easy-to-do habits that are the best were facing the same problems as stir fry; it was yummy" - Sudarshan Vir Bakshi
life lessons that I have acquired this year! me, I realized how we have Manikantan
Our most recent classwork was watching a short film managed and survived as class 5A, “My potato plant is three feet tall!
(an animation - “The Present”) and discussing the throughout this year. Unbelievable!" - Rishab Tiwari
thoughts and emotions the theme stirred within us. One of my most favourite activities
The message of the 'short' was disability - something was our group project. My group's “My rajma plant has buds; I am waiting
we don't normally talk about. The sensitive portrayal; topic was social interaction. We for it to bloom!" - Shloka Choudary
the parallels with the three - legged dog and receiver of had to present the topic creatively. While planning things for the class, I learnt so
the 'present', a boy with crutches; several metaphors many new things. I learnt that friends are a very important part of your life. They will OUR MUSICAL JOURNEY THIS YEAR!
and the subtle way of getting an important message always help you and support you in whatever you do. You have to keep your friendships
across, was just amazing! Gary Sir moderated our strong. This was so much fun to present and to research about. In the end, I would like This year, music was really fun as I learnt new skills for playing musical instruments. Our teachers taught us so many
discussions, on the lines similar to those of book clubs, to thank Ms. Manjiri and Ms. Ruhi for all the fun and learning in the PSHE classes songs for every occasion celebrated on the virtual platform.
when we analyse a book. He urged us to discuss our throughout the year.
perspectives as opposed to summing up the story. Let us read some reflections by our classmates:
Shloka Choudary & Vaibhavii Bharjatya
Through this exercise, Gary Sir, has very seamlessly, “Music is amazing! I sing, play games like antakshari, watch videos and many more fun things! Our teachers are
taken us to a higher level - we are getting trained to very kind and teach us beautiful songs. I should keep singing and having fun in the best subject ever, which is
look at literature (the classics) and films (visual medium, music.” - Aditya Patil
greater impact) from different perspectives. This is “When I first joined DAIS, the only thing we wanted to learn was music. Music has influenced our life a lot. And
something that I value immensely, as now, I can offer now music is one of our favorite subjects in school. I love learning new songs and new drum beats. Without music,
better reactions to work done by my classmates, I could never be able to pass my drumming exams.” - Sanaya Shetty
besides the 'Nice!' or 'Cool!'. I am so thrilled with this “Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "Life without music is no life at all." I totally agree with him because we can't imagine my life without music. Music has
new discovery that I have started a list of
'recommended must-sees' like 'Hair Love', and 'Red always been one of our comforts. So, I really can't imagine a world without music. Being a musician, I understand how important it is to practice
regularly. I practice playing the guitar and the flute almost every day. The music teachers of DAIS have taught us a lot in music
Balloon', among others that my mum's book club like how to strum a guitar or play Do Re Mi Fa on the flute. It is because of them that I have developed a love for music and can
watches). I can't wait for our next movie
play instruments easily. Our musical journey in DAIS will always be something we will remember for the rest of our lives.”
club session.
- Abhay Wadhawan
Arishka Betadpur
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