Grade 3- Creating an ideal community

What fun the third graders are up to! You should see them in working mode! Full of zest and energy, putting their creative instincts to the best use। We are onto our third unit of inquiry –How we organize ourselves---Communities----and as a part of enabling enduring understanding we were supposed to design community.

With the help of architect— Snehal Shah and his team of students—Kinjal, Vairagi, Shabbir, Nakul and Ankur----we successfully completed our mission.

It was a 3 day activity—Day one—We went on a city tour to observe the places of work, play, live and places that serve us. And also the general movement pattern in the city. The kids were divided into 4 groups each with a team leader from the architect’s team. They interacted with the kids and help them identify the different places and they even managed to answer the kids non stop volley of questions. It was a day well spent.

Day two—The kids eagerly waited for their team leaders to arrive and kept everything ready for them (arranged themselves according to groups, moved the tables &
benches, kept the art supplies ready).As soon as the team leaders arrived the kids started making templates of various places that they had seen like the temple, hospital, bank, municipal building, parks, super markets, bungalows, high rises, etc. By the end of the day each team had quite a collection of templates.

Day three—Once again the kids were anxious to know what was in store for them and what a welcome the team leaders got with shouts of hurrah and joy! Now each team was given a blank landscape—a cardboard with one thing drawn on it---a river, a lake, a road and a railway line –and they had to plan their city around it .What a time they had selecting the best templates from the ones which they had made. Every now and then the leaders kept on reminding them to choose wisely, to pick a template from each category- a place to live, work, play and places that serve us. Kids sometimes selected their own drawings or rather colorful drawings and left out some important but less attractive ones.
They pasted them around on the cardboard and made roads and greenery around it. Now their ideal city was ready and they were ready to present it.

The kids explained their choices for planning their city in a particular manner and even accepted their mistakes when they were asked about some missing things like a railway station in their city in the oral presentation.

Overall it was quite an enriching experience for the third graders who became little architects for a few days and got first hand experience of hanging out and working with real architects.

The architects of the future are ready and raring to go!!!

Mariyam Baxamusa—Class teacher,Grade 3.

NIGHT OOOO……………..UT !!!!!

NIGHT OOOO……………..UT !!!!!

Yes, that’s exactly what students from Grade 1 to 5 had on the 19th of December.

It all began a week ago when the circular went out to parents regarding the night out. Bold agendas were made, secret plans discussed in whispers, games planned, menus laid out,…….the list is endless. The excitement seemed to grip every one right from the students, teachers, helpers to the admin staff.

Mrs. Pooja and Mahendra Sir had their hands full with planning the various activities, Vishalbhai and others were busy arranging tents to be put up on the grounds.

On Friday the 19th, students arrived with luggage of various types, descriptions and styles and sizes. Suitcases, backpacks, strolleys, duffle bags, packed with clothes, pillows, blankets and vanity pouches. Tugging, pulling, pushing, dragging everything up to the classrooms.

At 3.30pm, sharp, the students rushed to the changing rooms to get into casual clothes and came running to the assembly area armed with bats, raquets, etc……to relax !!!

The activities started at 4pm with the “Lemon & Spoon race” for all grades. Mrs. Falguni & Ms. Sonam, our admin staff took active part along with the students and teachers in the race.
The winners got to keep the lemons !!!

After a snack break, all the students were mixed to form groups for the treasure hunt. For the next one hour the students, using clues to identify locations, ran across the school grounds looking for items assigned to their groups. The clues, prepared by Mr. Vardan, had to be deciphered first by the students to identify the location of the items.

Now, it was time for “Tug – of – War”. After a lot of pulling on either side, some wins and some losses, the game ended.

Tiredness and hunger took over and you could have witnessed the fastest line being formed in the dining area. Chole-puri with rice and halwa was downed by the students and others with full gusto. The younger ones were ready to sleep after dinner, ready to snuggle into their soft blankets after a full day of excitement. But, the night was not yet over!

It was 8.30pm and time for the “Camp Fire”. The campfire was lit in the grounds at the back and every one gathered near it. It was time now for “Word Anthakshari”. The game proceeded briskly, but soon made the students restless. “Star Gazing” too was organized but the clouds played spoilsport hiding the stars from being visible.

Finally it was time to s….l….e….e….p….

Grade 1,2 & 3 slept in their respective classrooms, boys of Grade 4 and all students of Grade 5 slept in tents put up specially in the grounds. Beddings had been arranged and students took great thrill in making their beds.

It was zzzzzzzzz time for those indoors. But for those in tents, the night was still young. After a round of snacking, it was time for some campfire singing and dancing followed by “desi anthakshari”.

At 10.30pm, out of compulsion, the “tenties” had to go to bed. There was laughter, giggling, fighting in the tents, which was punctuated with regular “shoos” from the teachers. Sleep finally took over after a long battle to be awake. A quick peek into the tent revealed that the students had slept wherever there was place. Even if it was uncomfortable, it did not show in their contented faces.

4.30 am dawned with a heavy drizzle, waking some in the tents with a steady sound. These few worked as a wakeup call for the rest and soon all were awake in the tents. The excitement of a new day and the promised morning walk made them make their way to the classrooms to freshen up and change clothes. Their gregarious voices and actions were enough to wake everyone else and soon the entire school was up and ready.

By 6.30 am everyone had assembled at the main gate for a 4 km walk to Kunkni village and back. It was still pitch dark and a few had flashlights to guide the others. The beauty of the day breaking, the sounds of birds and insects and the greenery of the fields unfolding before us was worth all the effort. The walk was invigorating but the return was tiring and the students took off directly to the dining area. After a refreshing drink of cold milk and fruits, it was packing time.

Students scrambled upstairs to pack their bags to board the buses which would take them home. Happy faces once again trudged oversized luggage to the buses, waving goodbyes.

At the end the students were all boarded in to the buses and the teachers and organizers heaved a sigh of relief.

It was indeed a very long day …..and night for everyone !!!!

As experienced by Gowri Murali – Grade 5 Class Teacher.

“I Believe”

“I Believe”

12th December, 2008, was a Friday. This Friday was special for Grade 5 at Fountainhead School. It was time for their summative assessment on “I Believe” and preparations had been going on for a week. Students were preparing to give an oral presentation on a selected topic.

The topic was on RELIGION and each student got one to prepare on, through a draw of lots. The religions covered were Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. The students gathered information through inputs given by our guest speakers, Mrs. Kavita, Mrs. Zahabiyah and Mrs. Anita, through the internet and the World Books in our school library. Students used a graphic organizer to guide them with their research. Charts were prepared, pictures were printed, prayer recitations, carols and shlokas were recorded and artifacts gathered from various sources. Umaben, Kalpeshbhai and Prakashbhai helped with the arrangements.

Friday was a lovely winter day and the students arrived at the school, filled with enthusiasm। Parents were invited for the presentation scheduled for 11am and they started arriving by 10।45am। Some grandparents had also come to encourage their grandchildren. Students of Grade 4, some teachers and admin staff were also part of the audience. Ms. Sonam, our cameraperson, did not miss a single moment of her shoot. Mrs. Pooja, our sound engineer behind the scene, played the right piece of music on cue. Above all, our judges, Mrs. Vishaka and Mrs. Monica, took time out from their duties to be part of the students’ presentation.

The presentation began and the students started speaking by turn. The students had dressed appropriately according to the religion they were supposed to represent and greeted the audience accordingly. There was pin drop silence when they made their presentations. After the presentation by each student, the judges and audience asked questions to test the knowledge of the students and for gaining information. This kept the students on their toes and also posed as a platform for the students to learn to face challenges. They faced questions for which they did not know the answers to, by saying that they did not know the answer but shall find out and let the person know. After the last student had finished making his presentation, the audience and judges walked around viewing the displays and asking more questions about the displays. The students were competent enough to answer most of the questions.

The response of the audience and the judges was wonderful and they were full of praise for the students and their efforts। Our displays were also viewed by 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Sr. K.G students with full enthusiasm. The students heaved a big sigh of relief when it was all over and the room was empty. We sat down for a heart to heart talk about our feelings, views, comments, etc. about the entire presentation. The students went back home that day with weary feet and tired bodies but with a smile on their lips and happiness in their hearts. Well done, Grade 5!

by Gowri Murali