Of Coffee Mornings and Science Madness

Monday 9 January 2012

Class 3-E MAS Day 1 Album

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=116343214933923403091&target=ALBUM&id=5678576468288956673&authkey=Gv1sRgCLn97pOjocvbhwE&feat=email

Thursday 22 December 2011

MAS has given me a new identity (of Mad Scientist Dr Hump)! I still have children coming to me and telling me "Where's your Hump, Dr Hump. We want to give it a Bump"! And after that picture on the MAS newspaper, I've even had friends and kids calling to Congratulate! :) That goes down in my daughters’ scrap book as “Moments of MAS fame”!

We've all been talking a lot about the bond MAS created between parents and kids. I'd also like to add that I experienced a new connection between the school and parents. It was amazing to see how teachers we've never known or met before made time for us so willingly.

I remember when I first met Preeti Khosla Ma'am for a dry run, I was a picture of confidence - beaming with pride and almost flaunting that I had so much information to share! Interestingly, Preeti Ma'am was highly unimpressed and pointed out that I will have children lose interest if we presented in that manner! What an eye-opener that meeting was.

After a few nightmares (of kids walking out of the classroom during in-class activities), I finally managed to put together a funny script in place. I met Preeti Ma'am several times until she was finally delighted by our mad scientist performance and gave us a thumbs-up! All our efforts would have fallen flat, had we not got the much-needed guidance and support from teachers and staff!

Looking forward for more Fun and more learning through Fun at Shri Ram!

Pooja

(M/O Maanya Utreja)

CR Upvan E

Monday 19 December 2011

MAS Finale Press Release

Mad About Science

The Mullaperiyar Dam may be a topic of controversy between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but for students of Class 4, of The Shri Ram School, Aravali, it is an open and shut case. “The weaker the dam, the greater the chance of its walls collapsing,” says 11 year old Neal Srivastava confidently. “Its waters would then rush uncontrollably downstream, destroying everything in its path.”

Neal is quite matter-of-fact as he says so. His confidence comes from ‘Mad About Science’, a month long celebration of science in everyday life by The Shri Ram School, Aravali. Neal’s mother, Vandana Srivastava, along with other parents, had built a dam in his classroom and shown the children how dams work.

This unique initiative had parents performing science experiments alongside children in the classroom. “It’s an effort to take the learning process beyond the confines of the school by actively involving parents in their children’s education,” says Manika Sharma, Principal Junior School of The Shri Ram School, Aravali. The month long programme culminates in a science fair at the school’s campus on 18^th December.

“My son Neil Basu idolized Spiderman and constantly demanded t-shirts and comic books,” says Niranjana Basu. “But after we conducted a module about bio-mimicry in his classroom, he is creating his own super heroes! Neil’s favourite is now the Geckoman.”

“A gecko can walk upside down on the ceiling, can you beat that?” cries Neil. Bio-mimicry is when humans observe unique attributes of plants and animals and apply them for their own uses. Neil has since learnt that the bottom of a gecko’s foot is covered with millions of tiny foot hairs on each toe. A similar piece, 20 cms long, can hold a fully grown person! “Imagine a suit with sticky hands and knee pads,” says Neil.

“During this month, both my son Ansh and I have realized that we need not go to the African jungle to get inspired,” says Charu Sahay, whose son studies in class 4. “Inspiration is all around us”. “My father used to hate chemicals and chemistry. So I was surprised when I found him performing experiments with chemicals in my classroom. He now helps me with my science lessons at home,” says Parichay Agarwal, a class 7 student.

“‘Mad About Science’ is The Shri Ram School’s endeavour to bring teacher and parents together. It has strengthened their bonds and taken the learning experience beyond the classroom into students’ homes,” says Mark Parkinson, the Director of the school.

“We now have complete respect for the teachers who control a classroom full of inquisitive, intelligent minds, while we struggle with just two kids at home,” says Pooja Raj Saxena. "As parents of The Shri Ram School, we are indeed privileged that we can be part of our child's classroom. This not only helps parents enrich the child's school learning experience but also build a special bond with teachers and other parents" says Prabhat Aggarwal, Secretary, PSA.

The grand finale on the 18^th of December will have a carnival atmosphere, keeping with the theme that “Science can be fun.” Stalls are being put up for each class, displaying their best experiments with students and parents in attendance. The Science Fair is open from 10am to 4:40pm.

Mr Arun Bharat Ram, current Chairman of CII Environment Council, and the Indian Co-Chairman of the Indo German Consultative Group will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest and inaugurate the event at 10 am.

The Fair also brings forth many attractions such as:

Techtronics Education (India) Limited, a pioneer in promotion of 'learning by doing’ concept, established as a leading importer and distributor of Robotics development platforms and hands on learning aids.

United Way of Delhi, an NGO whose mission is to improve lives in a measurable, scalable and sustainable way by mobilizing the caring power of Delhi. One of their initiatives is a mobile van which is being effectively used to spread the wonder of science to those outside the reach of conventional means and many more.

In addition, Craft Corners reinforcing the science concepts will provide a range of art and craft activities to keep the little ones enthralled.

“Minute Maid is about working with nature. Science helps us to better understand nature and how we can give back to nature and flourish. We are happy to be associated with ‘Mad About Science’ which helps young minds to understand and give back to nature through science. “, says Deepak Jolly, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communication, Coca Cola India who is supporting Mad About Science.

Media Contacts:

Neelima Singh

9811244555

Vimala Rajkumari

9650012959

Must Appreciate Science - Another Name for MAS

MAS- Another name that is coming to my mind is Must Appreciate Science!!!Look what science did to us.Created chemical bonds of the large number of atoms that were floating around either singularly or maybe in groups of one or two! So many hearts that started beating in rhythm to the one instrument that makes our children make music-TSRS!The physical changes that one saw from reluctance and confused state of mind to a total energy and focus till the final day! The beautiful coming together of the' Shri spirit'in every sense of the word

KUDOS to all!

Sapna

The After MAS

There was MAS and now there’s the afterMAS ! When it is time to retrospect, everything that we were cribbing about THEN doesn’t seem so bad NOW and you know what, we might just do this again!!

A slow rewind into the last few days will reveal a lot about human nature – how tribe A (read section A parents) previously unknown to tribe B (yes - section B parents) is willing to interact sociably and go to the extent of forming bonds over sharing of mutually critical commodities (posters, books, table space, stationery and the likes). How the most evolved tribe members are willing to stay up well past high moon in the pursuit of elementary science comprehension, all for the good of the youngsters of the tribe. Unfortunately and to the utter disgust of these evolved kinfolk, this observation cannot be generalised across the entire tribe as several clansmen were too indifferent to participate in matters of communal scientific proportions and now run the risk of being excommunicated, at least temporarily.

But sociological hypotheses aside, it was one crazy ride over the past 2 months and especially the last 2 days, culminating in a fantastic high on Sunday. Starting Friday, everything that was on paper so far was starting to take shape on the field. And didn’t we all have an ‘awwwww’ moment when we saw the expanse of the (almost) original field after so long? After hearing “The field is back” from parents and teachers alike, my 5 year old came home to duly report “The field is back, the field is back” to her father, only to question after a second “Where had the field gone?”

For most the action started on Saturday morning, but there was a group that worked through the night on Friday, fire-fighting the inevitable last minute disasters to make sure the stalls were ready by next morning. Ready to receive parents laden with skeletons, sun catchers, periscopes, water troughs, magnets, spiders (live and otherwise), heart and lung models, potato batteries and what not. Another moment for us all – a ‘wow’ moment – was the first sight of the beautiful stalls, cleanly laid out with the striking graphic backdrops. Sure, there were mixed reactions ranging from “What the (beep) - Tomatoes?” to “Oh wow. . . Tomatoes!” First glances tucked away swiftly, the teams didn’t lost much time in setting up. Each one had their areas well defined, whether operations or infrastructure, class teams, food teams or creative, all got down to execution of the plans they now knew verbatim. At the entrance, the school’s awesome art department put together the installation that was to welcome all visitors. A race against time, but one won superbly.

For some things went according to plan, for others the strong breeze played spoilsport. Back up strategies and plan Bs came into play, as did that famous Indian invention - ‘jugaad.’ But there was method to the madness and amazingly, even in the midst of all the chaos, there were no flare ups, temper tantrums or fiery showdowns. Perhaps that was because at the helm of it all was our very own calm, smiling Buddha – Prabhat Agarwal. If you wondered what PTA/PSA stood for, just think of Tranquillity/Serenity as his middle name. Peace was also maintained because the school employed age old military tactics knowing that an army marches on its stomach, and thus maintained an endless supply of tea/coffee, fantastic rajma chawal, aloo tikki burgers and the unbeatable combo of hot chai-samosa.

As parents bonded over double sided tape, the panorama took shape. By late evening, we left the arena in the hands of the enthusiastic Encompass team to tie up the loose ends. And tie up they did – even making a 3 am trek all the way to Okhla to replace prints for the entrance that had somehow got damaged.

The rest as they say is … Science, and madly so. Who could miss the vibrant buzz in school right from early morning – the best ever combination of excited children, proud parents and happy teachers. For those who visited, it was a Sunday well spent. But for those who created, what can I say . . . it was just oh-so-worth it!