The Unsung Warriors : Goenkan Educators

“I do not know the word ‘quit’. Either I never did, or I abolished it.”

While for some, such a motivating line is best read in a book, for others this string of words becomes the motto of life. The Goenkan teaching fraternity falls under the latter that have always strived to exterminate all the hurdles which pose or might be a potential obstacle to learning. Corona pandemic is one such case; wherein our own teaching warriors have been at the forefront, ensuring that come what may, the learning should never stop.

Ignoring the naysayers who believed teaching cannot be done online to balancing work-home scales; teachers at G.D.Goenka have been incredible as they leapt with zeal, commitment, and creativity into this new way of digital teaching. Teachers have been producing online curricula, all while dealing with their own quarantined families. Kudos to the educators who instead of being an ostrich and waiting for the crisis to pass away; took the matters in their own hands.

From experimenting with a plethora of online platforms such as the Google Meet, Zoom Sessions, Google Classrooms, the Goenkan educators have moved beyond the brick-and-mortar structure in leaps and bounds. Efforts have been put up to take the teaching-learning process beyond just the textbook information. Inter-school competitions, webinars and online training with respect to skill development have been beautifully blended in by the Goenkan teaching fraternity.

In order to provide a “New Normal” environment to our children attempts have been made to streamline sessions with leading child psychologists as well as teacher-parents sessions. The Goenkan teaching fraternity has been at the vanguard to successfully palliate the widespread concerns of parents by being available at just a click away.  Not just academic subjects, even co-curricular activities such as Yoga, Dance, Music, Theatre and Art sessions have ensured that the budding artists continue to strive for the best. One cannot deny that had it not been for teachers we would have been prancing around like headless chicken.

The Goenkan maverick legacy has ensured that the students are empowered to own up their learning and grow into change makers. The world is changing and so is the teaching pedagogy where life skills are being imparted with equal enthusiasm. The assignments have gone online and so has the communication but the essence of learning still remains intact. As a bulwark against the virus, the students are confined to the safety of their homes, but their dreams and curiosities have been given a flight by the Goenkan educators.

In the annals of history, teachers should as well be celebrated as the unsung warriors of a battle that almost ravaged the world.

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Towards Higher….Stronger….Brighter….

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success “   —- Alexander Graham Bell

Training students is often characterized as the most transformative experience of a teacher.

Like every year the students of G D Goenka, SaritaVihar, geared up to participate in The World Scholar’s Cup an International Academic program. The prestigious event ushers students into a world of self-realization achievements and a well-defined development.

My maiden assignment as Delegation Head guiding our students was an assorted feeling of hesitance and confidence. Ambitioned at progressing into the Global round I chartered my course of action and helped students traverse the path with ease.

The days of thrilling practice sessions, struggle to master debating skills, competing against time to emerge spot-on responders in the timed events seemed a daunting task .Yet the trust in our course of work, fieldwork and knowledge explored, thrust us towards our goal.

Deriving from the experiences of the past three years of participation, a stupendous performance in the fourth consecutive year with altered and innovative strategies, the delegation of 24 students grouped in eight teams returned beaming with laurels of 3 trophies 37 gold medals and 64 silver medals. 7 teams qualified to progress to the Global Round.

With meticulous planning and energies channelized in optimistic direction the teaching and the taught converged to focus on the common objective ___ TRIUMPH!

Farah Aqueel (Faculty- English)

Life Long Learning at WSC 2020

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When I first heard about the World Scholar’s Cup, I thought it was “just another competition”. But when I actually learned more about it, I knew it would be my greatest experience yet. My team decided to specialize in two subjects each and preparation with training from all our teachers, the day finally arrived.

DAY 1

The silent morning of January 22, 2020 suddenly became energetic  as all the teams boarded the bus, under the able guidance  Ms. Farah mam. We reached Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad. We received a warm enthusiastic welcome by Mr. Logan Muir and Mr. Jason Wu who broke the ice with entertaining alpaca puns.

Our team, being a part of the senior division was escorted to the library for our first round – Collaborative Writing. We were given a set of topics to choose from and had to research information and write an essay based on the topic.  More than a competition, WSC proved as a great platform to extend friendships and boost acquaintance.

Next was the Scholar’s Challenge – an Objective Type test based on our assigned syllabus. Debates followed lunch. The topics were different and very interesting. Often, we debated among ourselves to choose and understand our own views in general. As the day drew to a close, we were more eager for the next day.

DAY 2

With nervousness at its utmost high and hearts beating at the fastest rate possible, we climbed aboard the bus again on the morning of 23rd of January, this time proudly wearing our school uniforms. We went to Satya Sai Auditorium and gobbled up our breakfast. The day started with another set of jokes and alpaca puns.We had the Alpaca Balance Challenge and other fun events before we geared up for the most scoring event of the WSC – The Scholar’s Bowl. We kept our clickers ready and gave it our all like never before. It was engaging and not only did we get lots of points; we also adopted our own alpacas and became proud Alpaca parents. My alpaca, which I later named Fluffy, brought us more good luck. After the highly enjoyable (un)talent show, and the debate , was the much-awaited Awards Ceremony. My team bagged lots of medals and most importantly a trophy each for Scholar’s Challenge and Scholar’s Bowl!!

We also qualified for the global round.  Sadly webid farewell to WSC which was more than a competition. WSC was like an emotion, a great meeting place to learn about others, about subjects and about alpacas. Our team felt grateful for having been taken on such a wonderful journey of learning.  And I had the most amazing and unforgettable experience of all….

BY MAANASA.S, XII-B

The Sweet Taste of Success; World Scholar’s Cup: Regional Round 2020

Nobody dislikes a friendly competition and when you get to socialize and make friends competing becomes fun too. Such was our World Scholar’s Cup Regional Round competition held in January, 2020.

The competition was themed ‘World on the Margins’ and with great interest and enthusiasm I geared up for my first experience of WSC. Our first day of the event started with three back to back competitions; Collaborative Writing, Team Debate and Scholars Challenge. My team and I enjoyed Collaborative Writing the most. The Team Debates were informative wherein we learnt something new with every debate. We also realized perceptions differ and vary from person to person. The Scholars Challenge, as a MCQ pen and paper questionnaire,was not as easy as expected. The questions were quite tricky demanding to think twice before answering and set our brain rolling. The final competition was held on the second day of the event. Titled the Scholar’s Bowl it required great team effort. A few questions were for sure tricky but we tackled them well. After this we had the Scholars Talent Show followed by the award ceremony! Our team won 20 medals and 2 Trophies! It was beyond expectation that our team going for the first time would display stiff competition. But, Yes. We did! World Scholar’s Cup was a great experience and I really look forward to the Global Round.

Jahnavi (Grade X)

 

 

 

An Unforgettable Experience

The World Scholar’s Cup is a known annual event conducted world-wide. I am glad I had the opportunity to participate in the Regional Round held in January 2019 and 2020. Commonly referred to as WSC, a few days before the event, we attended an Orientation Session organized in our school by one of the members of the WSC Team, Mr. Logan Muir. It was without a doubt that I was ready to experience my 2^nd year of WSC and I was quite excited about it.

Based on the same theme as 2019 ‘A World on the Margins’, this year too, the regional round was held in Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad. The event unfolded with a speech by Mr. Logan Muir at a spectacular opening ceremony.The experience was enthralling.The regional round went on for two days. On the first day, the teams competed with each other in Team Debate,Collaborative Writing and Scholar’s Challenge.

The second day of the event was held in Sai Auditorium. On the second day, we faced the Team Bowl Challenge where we sat with our teams with a clicker in hand. We were given multiple choice questions which earned us points for every correct answer. As the rounds progressed our points grew higher. The talent show event that was held while the results were awaited, entertained us a lot. During the event, we also got our own alpaca stuff toy to take care of. It was a great exposure, competing with other students (scholars) from schools across NCR. It was a cherishing experience with thorough fun. We returned home elated and satisfied with a treasure of the medals we truly earned.

Shreyas Dhawan (Grade VIII)

TRIP TO AMRITSAR

The trip was a great fun. It could not be possible without our mentor teachers and tour guide. We had great fun observing the Golden Temple, Wagah Border and Jallianwala Bagh. The hotel was very comfortable, spic and span and the services were also good. Everybody liked the food in Amritsar. It was a great pleasure visiting the pious land. We wish we get opportunities like this in near future too.

Kisna Kanti

Class VIII-A

 

TRIP TO AMRITSAR

Trip Date- 10^th Nov-11^th Nov

It all started at 6 AM on Saturday. We all saw familiar faces as soon as we reached the platform. Bidding our parents goodbye we were all set for a thrilling experience; a train journey with our school friends. Our journey in the train was full of fun. We shared food and played all the games we knew.

Stepping out of the train on the land of courage and devotion, we headed for a sumptuous lunch. Back into our bus, we were set for Wagah Border. That parade, that patriotism which pulls people from all around the nation made us spellbound. When we were still busy getting ourselves clicked by our mentor teachers, we heard the crowd cheering suddenly. The team of eleven people including 9 men and 2 women came marching proudly together as a single body. We then headed to Durgiana Temple.

All tired and sleepy, we reached our hotel and finally checked into our rooms with our friends. Filling our stomachs at the dinner table we slept soundly.

All our rooms rung up in the morning with the wake-up call after which we all took a bath. Packing all our stuff, we had Breakfast, checked out and headed to Jallianwala Bagh. The whole arcade which leads to Jallianwala Bagh and Golden Temple with statues and shops and hawkers gives you the real sense of standing in Punjab.

We reached Jallianwala Bagh and had goosebumps on reading about the people who were an active part of the freedom struggle, looking at those bullet marks and gazing down under that well in which the common people had jumped into. There were around 600 rounds of bullets which were fired.

On reaching the golden temple, we were all captivated with that building purely made of gold and it stood shining under the bright sun. All of us had our heads covered with scarves and walked into the temple. It is extremely beautiful from inside and that is why people from all around the world come to this place, which stands out as the cleanest pilgrimage place of the world.

At noon, we headed to the nearby Dominos. After waiting for a while we had the best lunch. It was ‘PIZZA’ after all. We then went to the station and boarded our train and happily came back.

We were always mentored by our teachers and learnt a lot from this adventurous trip. We have amazing memories now to share. We all returned with a golden heart!!

 

Harshita Mathur 

Class IX-A

 

Learning by Collaborating at WSC Global Round

It was a tough yet a fun competition. I did not really expect it to be as difficult as it was. The participants for the competition saw people coming from different countries such as Vietnam, United States, Cambodia, Switzerland, Pakistan, China, Japan, South Africa, Slovenia, Djakarta and many other South Asian countries. The most in number were the Vietnamese. My opponents were pretty strong, but I think we gave our best. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a medal in arts as I thought arts was really tough. Questions like “How would ‘Frida Kahlo’ paint a painting if she was inspired by ‘Nawja Karam’s’ Khalini Shoufak?” put in front of me got me really thinking! It was amazing to see how other participants performed at the competition.

As a welcome break we went out sightseeing. It was exhausting but an enjoyable one too! It felt good to click pictures in front of the Petronas tower . Many people sat in the bus but I was really excited to click pictures.

Oh! And how can I forget? The ball dance! It was awesome! Most of the people were dressed in black including me. Many people were out there dancing. The boys were jumping with their hands in the air. While I focused on my dancing. A circle in the corner showcased a dance battle. I went in there too and shuffle danced. People were impressed and some of them joined me. We all got tired and went back to the luxurious hotel after a fantastic day!

The next day was the cultural evening. Everyone was dressed beautifully. I got to know about many cultures and also got a lot of things to eat, which was my favorite part. I got stickers, notepads, chocolates, etc. I also got my name written in Mandarin and Japanese. Then we had a lovely group photo in our cultural dresses and we returned to the hotel after a long wonderful day.

The next day was the result day. First we had a talent show where Lokevidu performed. He was beatboxing, which was wonderful. There were so many scholars performing that I lost count. Finally, the moment that I was waiting for had come. The closing ceremony! Some children were on the stage waving their flags. After that the medal distribution took place. Urvashi ma’am was there too to boost our confidence. I got two medals, One for Arts and one for the Scholars bowl. It was a proud moment when one team qualified from our school.

The next day, we were leaving. I had to sadly wave at Kuala Lumpur and say my goodbyes to everyone I met there. It was a fantastic and a memorable trip! Thanks to Principal Ma’am for this opportunity to represent our school at an International level. To help us prepare for the competition help of parent trainers, Urvashi ma’am and Sudeep Kohli ma’am and my mother is invaluable. I would like to represent my school in many more competitions like this.

Eshwari

Class VIII-A

World Scholar’s Cup – a parent’s view

I was doubly fortunate to be an intrinsic part of the team that was preparing the select students of GD Goenka Sarita Vihar for the World Scholar’s Cup event 2018. Firstly, as a parent – trainer and then also as a parent who witnessed the fantastic international competition, between student – teams from approx. 50 different countries, first hand. What an awesome experience!

I conducted a half – day session on literature with the nine bright students including my own son, Lokevidu. As a writer and poet (and a creative – writing trainer), I’ve been conducting creative writing workshops earlier with students and aspiring writers. What was different here was that these children were getting ready for a prestigious international contest and the format and curriculum was already in place. Based on the WSC theme of ‘An entangled world,’ the course was vast and it was impossible to cover the entire curriculum in a half – day workshop. Thus, I focussed on imparting knowledge and skills in identifying and understanding the key elements of literature and how to present it meaningfully to bring out their best during their collaborative writing challenge or debates on the subject. It was gratifying to see how quickly the students picked up the cues and absorbed the important points I shared with them.

In Kuala Lumpur I was with the GDGPSSV team from Day 3 onwards. What I saw and experienced along with the students was a unique affair, one that will remain embedded in my mind for a long time. Firstly, the atmosphere was charged with energy, vigour, ideas, laughter, thoughtfulness and so much more. Everything was meticulously planned and despite it being such a large gathering; things moved smoothly. Kudos to the individual schools and the organisers for managing it all so well. Then the competition itself was extraordinary and outstanding in the way it focussed on the current challenges/issues facing our increasingly entangled world. More importantly, the event tremendously gave a boost in inculcating an important lesson in the young from now that it is important to have a dialogue or debate things and express individual thoughts while at the same time it is fine if opponents agree to disagree with each other. At the end of it all everyone’s a friend or fellow human with similar dreams and aspirations. People might be different in the way they speak or live but deep within they are all the same. The event brought another important point home that activities like cultural shows (music, drama, dance et al) are a must to help different people understand and appreciate each other. It’s an important medium to spread joy and peace.

Ms. Urvashi Sarin deserves a special mention here for the fantastic way she handled nine super – vivacious and excited students with utmost care and full responsibility.

I also appreciate the School’s full support in making this incredible experience possible for these nine students. All the parents equally played a big role. Cheers to them!

Sujata Parasher

Principal’s Blog

Dear Readers,

Its a heartening beginning to write this blog page for all my students, parents, teachers and community at large.

A delightful journey of three years has been possible due to a spirited team of educators who have held the baton of learning , forging ahead with all our young learners in preparation for tomorrow moving “Higher, Stronger, Brighter”.

Please join in here to share your views! Happy Blogging!!

Best Wishes

Seema Sahay

Principal