You are invited! 20th April, 2011

Frenzied Finale

The students spent all of last week, in a frenzied manner, working on their presentations. Each group had worked out a three pronged presentation:

a) Visual Presentation

b) Performance

c) Technology integrated Presentation

It was amazing to see the motivation and diligence with which the students cut and paste findings on their panels, in creative ways. A group even decided to put up their visual display in 3d! Each group also wrote original scripts and poem through which they will be sharing the summary of their findings. Some students also worked hard on creating a presentation using technology, be it through Movie Maker or Power Point. All in all a hectic week it was with a whole lot of putting together and making connections. This week also strengthened the student's communication skills, as they added finishing touches to their displays and their social skills, as the pressure of completion mounted and it was important to keep our calm working within the groups. An invaluable lesson, we are sure they will all carry home for life!

We are now at the cross roads of readiness as students from the school will come throughout the day, tomorrow, to check out the exhibition. We look forward to each and every one of you coming to school on Friday, to encourage every child's hard work and appreciate their learning through this 2 month long journey!

Visualising our performance...8th April

The students of The 9 Planet Savers had wanted to create a dramatic enactment to showcase their understanding of their inquiry on Water. They decided to take the help of Mr. Renjith, the Head of the Department, Drama, to translate their thoughts into a drama. After taking appointment to meet him, they finally interacted with Mr. Renjith on Friday in the drama room. They shared their ideas and Mr. Renjith immediately set them going with props, asking them to depict a village scene involving water. What initially seemed like jigsaw pieces of the plot, as the students explored cloth and cane baskets as props, soon naturally emerged into a poetic sequence of the tragedy of water. The children are excited with the play and are looking forward to getting back with him next week, to fine tune their performance.

Abhimanyu Das Gupta, The 9 Planet Savers

Visualising our display... 6th and 7th March

We all planned our display for the PYP Exhibition, and we wanted it to be different! We thought of making our display not on the usual 2d panels, but going 3d! 

Our planning of the display

This also meant that we would be using waste materials like bamboo, newspaper, dry grass, paint, etc. The reason for using waste material is that we are the forest savers, and we don't want to waste paper as we have to save the trees. That is why we are using waste material. 

Working towards our display

We have also decided to do a campaign which will include making posters, bookmarks and an exciting play.

Khushi Misra and Anchal Tawar, Mother's Children

Seniors show us the way... Monday, 4th April

‘Dusk to Dawn’ saw its dawn in the PPT on Fossil Fuels presented by Mrs. Ravinder, a senior school teacher, and her students on Monday, 4th April. They took special care to make a presentation, most befitting the age group to be addressed. The language was simple, the pictures, impressive and the colours, attractive. 

Grade 11 students presenting the power point on Fossil Fuels

The presentation began with the question, “What are Fossil Fuels”?

This was very well explained with pictures and bulleted information which made it easy for the students to understand. A detailed discussion followed on the various kinds of Fossil Fuels. Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas were clearly understood with the help of diagrams.

Visuals and diagrams depicting the origin of fossil fuels

The importance and the advantages of Fossil Fuels were also discussed. The participation showed that they had understood the concept of ‘Form’ and ‘Function’ well. The next discussion was on ‘Alternative Sources of Energy’. The 11^th graders, in response to one of the questions, beautifully brought out the responsibilities which the young children can also shoulder. As one of the students said, “When children speak to adults about what can be done to save the earth and the environment, adults take it more seriously than otherwise. It makes a larger impact on them and they take action faster.”

Students making notes

In the coming weeks, the students researching on Fossil Fuels, will be reflective and work on the various aspects to bring about a change in the attitudes of people. We are indeed very grateful to Mrs. Ravinder and the 11^th Graders for this wonderful presentation. 

Manjula Rao, Dusk to Dawn

FIELD TRIP FRIDAY... 1st April, 2011

Trip to the National Science Centre, New Delhi by the Water groups

An interactive science exhibition delving into the Fresh Water Crisis looming large on our immediate future is currently on display in the National Science Centre, Delhi. The travelling exhibition – Water: a Precious Resource– is on display from 22nd March to 15th May 2011. We, the students of the Water groups, decided to visit this wonderful exhibition which aims to raise consciousness about the world wide crisis of this precious resource that affects over 1.1 billion people around the globe. After much planning, on 1^st April 2011, we went to the National Science Centre to see this exhibition. 

Over there we saw different exhibits on water crisis and water as a finite resource. We got to know that there are different organisations working to save water. One such organisation, such as Swecha is trying to spread awareness and to save water. There were different machines and boards that told us facts about water crisis and how much water is there is in our body. There were a lot of games which were related to water, on water crisis and how to conserve water. They exhibited their work in many ways such as, posters, activities/games, questions and many more. 

The best part was when we saw the water cycle, played games/activities and gained interesting information.  Overall it was an amazing experience and we enjoyed it a lot!!!!! We hope that you visit it too!!!!!

Karmistha Bhimwal and Bhav Agarwal, The 9 Planet Savers and Gauri Saluja, Care to Share.

A walk in the forests, a climb of the mountains, a feel of the earth!

On Friday 1^st April 2011 we, the Global Explorers went on a field trip with another group which was Mothers’ Children.  We invited our school’s CAS Coordinator, Mr. Sunil Bhardwaj to accompany us.  We went to 4 different places in the Aravali Hills. 

 The first place was close to the bottom of the Aravali Hills.  Sunil Sir told us many interesting facts about the Aravali and its habitat such as the Pasendu tree under which the temperature is very low and if you live under that tree for 6 months you will become blind.  After that we visited the mining area, where we saw a mountain that was mined in layers.  

We learnt that the Aravali is one of the oldest mountains in the world.  Then we went to a Concrete Plant where they make concrete which is used to build roads and houses.  We collected many samples of rocks, stones and sand over there.  We all then went to see a brick kiln.  We observed and learnt all about the process of making a brick.  It was an educational but tiring day for everyone as we sat in the bus and ate our lunch.

Riya Kumar and Shai Mahajan, Global Explorers

Groundwater Up ... a documentary on the water crisis in North India

On 30^th March 2011, Wednesday, Ms. Tarini Manchanda came to our school. She is the founder of an organisation called “The Ground Water Up Project”. We had earlier seen a trailer of the documentary movie she and her 2 friends made, on the website www.groundwaterup.com. She showed us the full documentary movie on Water Crisis in Delhi and North India. The movie’s name was “The Ground Water up Project”. Grade 3 students were also present for this interaction as they were doing a unit called “Water Wise” in which they were learning about the wastage of water and water crisis in India. The facts that we learnt from this documentary movie are:-

•           Half of Delhi’s sewage is trapped due to poor waste disposal.
•           Delhi’s groundwater is decreasing and will be finished in 2015.
•           Delhi has no water shortage.
•           New Delhi and South Delhi have a water crisis, even for the rich.
•           If the water is distributed equally there will be enough for everyone.
•           40 % of Delhi’s water is wasted.
•           4000 dams have been built in India.
•           The government plans to build a new dam in Himachal Pradesh.
•           Land to be acquired for the dams is 376 hectares and 642 hectare.
•           10,000 people in Tehri will be submerged.
•           People in Tehri don’t want any more dams.

     The 2^nd documentary movie was called “A dam old story” which was based on the Renuka and Tehri dam. We learnt the following:

•        Due to the Renuka dam being built 34 villages and more than 1142 families will be affected.
•        Renuka dam will submerge 1630 hectares of land.
•        Renuka dam was rejected by the public of U.P (Uttar Pradesh) in 2010.
•        Tehri dam – the water is rising higher – can submerge 100,000 people and 42 villages.

Siddhant Gupta and Anmol Chawla, 
The 9 Planet Savers

A POWERful trip... 29th March, 2011

On 29th of March, 2011, we went for a field trip to Badshahpur petrol pump and the power station. We went with Monica ma’am, Ms. Rao and our group ‘DUSK TO DAWN’ in the morning at 9:40 a.m. We first went to the petrol pump and met the manager there. We were curious to find information and asked him a lot of questions such as- where does the petrol comes to them from, where it is stored.  He answered the questions to our satisfaction. 

We gained a few facts from this trip such as petrol is stored underground in tanks, which are connected to underground pipes and these are attached to the pump. Approximately, 12 thousand litres of petrol is consumed in a day and on an average 1200 cars come to the pump in an hour. There are 40 petrol pumps in Gurgaon, which are visited by about 2 lakhs 80 thousand vehicles every hour. The petrol mainly comes from Iraq to refineries in Panipat and Rewari, and from there it reaches here. 

We then went to meet the Sub division officer of the power station and   found out answers to a lot of questions such as why there are power cuts, why there is shortage of electricity, where we get electricity from, does this power station supply electricity to the whole of Gurgaon, has the consumption of electricity changed over time and has the shortage of electricity affected people. 

 We also found out about thermal power too and learnt that consumption of thermal power affects the environment. Thermal energy comes from Pali and Hydro power comes from Dadri to Haryana. This is supplied in turn from the Bhakra Nangal Dam in Himachal Pradesh and Bihar is the largest supplier of coal in India. The most interesting fact that we gained was that the amount of electricity that our school uses is 11000kw and that the demand for electricity in Haryana is more than the supply, which is the main reason for the frequent and long power cuts that we all face. 

 

Isha  Bhatnagar and Pragya Jhingran, 'Dusk to Dawn'

Water Conservation Efforts at Pathways, Aravali

On Tuesday, 29^th March, the two student groups inquiring into Water, i.e. The 9 Planet Savers and Care to Share went for a tour of the school campus to find out how Pathways World School, Aravali is conserving water. We were led by Mr. Raj Kumar who is the head of the Maintenance Department. He showed us the bore well which is where the school stores the underground water. There are eight bore wells in Pathways World School. Next we went to the pump room where they soften water and filter it. He explained to us the difference between hard and soft water. Hard water has many minerals like magnesium and calcium and other minerals and this can cause problems in devices or during laundering clothes. Thus, the water is softened to remove these minerals.

We also went to the pump room where we saw the water purifier which takes an hour to purify 600 litres making it fit for consumption. Mr. Raj told us the cost of the purifying plant is Rs. 3-4 lacs and more for maintaining and cleaning it. 

Thereafter, we saw how Pathways World School is practising rain water harvesting. Mr. Raj Kumar showed us the water harvesting line. There are around 100 water harvesting lines in Pathways which is stored in the form of ground water. Currently, 10,000 litres of water is stored. 

Following this, we saw the sewage treatment process (STP) where the used water from washrooms is cleaned and the smell is taken away as much as possible. This water is reused to water the plants and for many other horticultural purposes.

We were impressed to learn about all these efforts the school is making towards responsible use and conservation of water. 

Varun Saran and Keshav Gujral

Getting to know Soil, Rocks and Minerals

We the Global Explorers have recently been exploring about Soil, Rocks and Minerals (SRM) and would like to share some interesting facts with you:

• There are more than fifty types of rocks.
• Just like we have a Life-cycle, there is a also Rock-Cycle which is the slowest cycle on Earth.
• There are more than 2,000 minerals found on Earth.
• Almost everything in our homes are made up of minerals.
• Nearly 100 tonnes of gold -bearing rocks have to be mined to produce just 1Kg. of gold.

We also saw an amazing and fun video which is all about Rocks. We really enjoyed the song and got a few ideas about hoe we can present our work.


The link for the video is attached here. Watch and see how amazing the song really is:

Katyani Mehra

I, Daksh Monga, as part of my research on SRM have found out about these two international organisations working for the conservation of SRM.

Katyani Mehra and Daksh Monga, Global Explorers

Preparing to Find Out... 23rd to 25th March

After the Holi break, the students of each group had brought their information on their assigned topics. Every child shared his/her information within their group. Then the groups planned to go on Field Trips and/or invite guest speakers. The students have also written letters to request the Principal of Primary School to approve of the field trips. In English, we had learnt about formal letter writing and we applied this skill in writing these letters for our field trips. The students of Dusk to Dawn also formed questions for the field trip related to the PYP concepts. The students of Care to Share also learnt to use Google docs to upload and share documents and download videos using YouTube downloader. 

Working to draft a letter

Using Google Docs

Working to decide on Field Trips

Collaborative planning

 

Anushka Lamichhane and Anmol Chawla,

"The 9 Planet Savers"

Water for Life: from local to global!

We the students of the group 'The 9 Planet Savers'  researched during the Holi break on our topic Water. We discussed water crisis around the world when we came back. There is not only water crisis in our local environment, that is the Aravali Hills forest range and Gurgaon city in India, but also around the world.

I, Smriti found out about the problems regarding water in the Aravali Hills forest and of methods to conserve water. I read an article in the Times of India dated the 23^rd March 2011, on the water conservation plans for Aravali. The article talked about the harvesting dams the Gurgaon Forest Department plans to make at the cost of Rs 50 crores. They have also planned to restore and check old dams. KC Meena, conservator of forest said, “The government of Haryana has decided to observe this year as the 'Water Conservation Year'. Presently, the availability of fresh water is becoming difficult in the wake of rapid depletion of fresh water resources. This in turn is ultimately affecting the animal husbandry and agriculture economy."   

I, Belinda found out about the water crisis in Kenya, a country I  visited in 2007. I learnt how the poor people do not  get clean water. This is a reality in nearly almost all developing nations like Pakistan & India . I shared some photos and information of how bad the situation is like in Kenya with the group.

Smriti Singh and Belinda Ndabarasa,
"The 9 Planet Savers"

Nitty Gritties of Planning and Research – 15th & 16th March, 2011

Yesterday was an exciting day as all the groups got their topic for the PYP Exhibition. The topics which were given to us were related to the central idea and with sharing and conserving finite resources. Every group got one of the four issues identified by us as a whole class:

·        Water

·        Soil, Rocks and Minerals

·        Forests

·        Fossil Fuels

After getting the topic, we reframed the general lines of inquiry according to our own topic. Based on the lines of inquiry, we framed questions that would help us find information. In our own groups, we planned how to find the information and discussed the ways we will present our findings during the exhibition. We also went to the library to explore different resources such as books, magazines and CD’s.  In connection to the task of making pairs in our respective groups for the research work, we were narrated a story to guide us to make wise and informed choices.

A few days ago, we had discussed and made essential agreements for the exhibition as a whole class. Today we individually read those essential agreements and signed ‘The Exhibition Promise’. We planned the resources that we would need for the research work. We divided the work between ourselves for the long ‘Holi’ break ahead so that we can do our own individual research, gain understanding and collate the information gathered, after the break.           

Here is wishing everyone a safe, happy and environment friendly Holi!

Pallavi and Kartik
'Mother's Children'

Lines of Inquiry - 14th March, 2011

Today, we discussed the lines of inquiry related to the central idea. We first began with discussions in our respective groups, reflected on the most appropriate line of inquiry and then shared it with the whole class. Everyone was very enthusiastic and excited to share their opinions, which added to the high noise level. After lots and lots of brainstorming and exchange of ideas, we arrived at the final lines of inquiry for the eight key concepts. We are very pleased with the work done by us today and are now looking forward to our research work. 

So, here they go...

CENTRAL IDEA: 
 

Conserving and using finite resources efficiently can contribute to a clean and green future.

LINES OF INQUIRY:

• the different kinds of finite resources (FORM)
• the need for finite resources (FUNCTION)
• the reasons for the depletion of finite resources (CAUSATION)
• the relationship between the use of finite resources and the environment (CONNECTION)
• the ways the use of finite resources have changed over time (CHANGE)
• the different points of view on the use and conservation of finite resources (PERSPECTIVE)
• the evidences of a clean and green future (REFLECTION)
• our contribution towards a clean and green future (RESPONSIBILITY)

 Anshika Singh and Ayati Mehta
'Dusk to Dawn'

Weekend Work - 12th March

Study the final Central Idea and create lines of inquiry for the concepts:

Connection, Change, Perspective and Reflection 

We will discuss these and finalise them in class on Monday!

Central Ideas, 9th and 10th March

The students worked further on their Central Ideas, refining it based on the four key characteristics of it being Significant, Engaging, Relevant and Challenging. They also shared their Central Ideas with other groups and noted them down. Thus, the five Central Ideas were:

1.     Care to Share: Renewable resources can be used efficiently for a longer life for the planet and us.

2.     Global explorers: Our responsibility towards saving our resources can make a big difference now and in the future. 

3.     The Nine Planet Savers: Conserving finite resources can contribute to a clean and green future.

4.     Mother’s Children: Our responsibility towards/against rigorous deforestation for the protection of endangered species can help us make a difference in future.

5.     Dusk to Dawn: Finite resources need to be conserved for future generations.

A whole class discussion led by Ms. Monica and Mr. Abhimanyu had all the students trying to merge the different central ideas into one and after extensive discussion and rewording the following was unanimously chosen by the students as the final Central Idea which was:

“Conserving and using finite resources efficiently can contribute to a clean and green future.”

As a whole class, we brainstormed a few lines of inquiry as an example and the students were asked to individually come up with different lines of inquiry based on the eight key concepts, during their extended weekend.

Many ideas, one in focus, 7th and 8th March, 2011

As we moved on to the 3^rd and 4^th days of the Exhibition, the students gradually immersed themselves further into an academic understanding of the work ahead. The students discussed all the real life issues that they had listed, first in groups and then as a whole class to clearly identify the one strand which seemed most important to them from the description of ‘Sharing the Planet’. It was amazing and thrilling to see how the minds of all these students worked in rhythm as every group highlighted the struggle to share finite resources with people and other living beings, as the one that was most critical! 

The students planned the entire timeline to their Exhibition, with guidance from Ms. Shalini, going backwards and forwards, to accommodate the different stages of the work ahead! They also reflected on their prior knowledge of the Essential Elements and had a discussion to refresh themselves on the same. Soon it was time for them to learn about a Central Idea and considering their preferred strand come up with one that would sum up their concerns the best. This task was challenging to say the least as the students empathised with the work that teachers do, to come up with the whole school Programme of Inquiry.

An identity of our own, 4th March, 2011

 
The groups started bonding from Day 2, especially after the wonderful photo clicked by Mr. Jim, which is now our profile pic and after having discussed and come up the Essential Agreements! Having read through the Student Handbook, the students visually represented their understanding of the Exhibition in the form of charts, concept maps and flow charts. Then it was the time to tune them in into the transdisciplinary theme, ‘Sharing the Planet’, which is the only aspect of the Exhibition, apart from the final dates, that the teachers have decided! So, they were shown a series of newspaper headlines, art work and fashion wear created from recycled material, the video of The Earth Song by Michael Jackson and they were read out to the story ‘Dear Children of the Earth’, in which Mother Earth makes a plea to her children to protect and save her. The students were very easily able to figure out that the theme we were going to explore was ‘Sharing the Planet’. They carried home the challenging task of listing real life issues centred on the theme, after having a discussion with their parents. 

 The students also carved an identity of their own, by naming their groups based on the theme of ‘Sharing the Planet’. Thus, the five groups were:

1. Care to Share 

Teachers: Ms. Shalini and Ms. Mrinalini
Students: 

     i.        Amandeep

    ii.        Hamza

   iii.        Rahul N

   iv.        Deepanshu

    v.        Anirudh

   vi.        Gauri

  vii.        Rahul S

 viii.        Keshav

   ix.        Nandini

2. Mother’s Children

Teachers: Ms. Isha and Ms. Shipra

Students:

     i.        Kengo

    ii.        Yuvraj

   iii.        Bani

   iv.        Shaimay

    v.        Pallavi

   vi.        Sagar

  vii.        Khushi

 viii.        Kartik

   ix.        Aanchal

3. The Nine Planet Savers

Teachers: Mr. Abhimanyu and Mr. Jim

Students:

     i.        Smriti

    ii.        Belinda

   iii.        Raghav

   iv.        Varun

    v.        Anushka

   vi.        Bhav

  vii.        Anmol

 viii.        Karmistha

   ix.        Siddhant

4. Global Explorers

Teachers: Ms. Priti and Ms. Seema

Students:

     i.        Riya

    ii.        Davika

   iii.        Katyani

   iv.        Daksh

    v.        Shai

   vi.        Lakshya

  vii.        Swikriti

 viii.        Sahil B

5. Dusk to Dawn

Teachers: Ms. Monica and Ms. Manjula

Students:

     i.        Ayati

    ii.        Anshika

   iii.        Simran

   iv.        Rohin

    v.        Anisha

   vi.        Pragya

  vii.        Sahil P

 viii.        Yash

   ix.        Isha