Welcome Letter (Academic Year 2017-18)

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the Second Semester of the Academic Year 2017 – 2018. I hope you have had a wonderful Winter Break with lots of rest and opportunities to enjoy the vacations with family and friends! I am sure you have had a chance to review the First Term Academic Reports with your child. We look forward to having our Students back in the School on Thursday, 18th of January with renewed energy to begin the 2nd Semester of 2017 - 2018.

The start of a New Year provides an ideal time to reflect on where we have been and where we are heading. As we step into completing 15 years as an institution in April, our endeavor to provide a harmonious environment for all students to achieve academic, physical and emotional excellence, grows even stronger.

The Academic Staff has already re-joined the School on Monday, 15th January and have been undergoing various training sessions and workshops to strengthen the collaboration within the Grade and across Grades and to ensure further academic enhancement of your child.

While the Students and the Academic Staff have had a chance to unwind and enjoy during the Winter Break, the Admin Staff, along with the Support Staff has continued to work in rotation towards upgrading and upkeep work of the Campus. The Campus is greener, adding to the freshness and clean atmosphere. The road on the Ridge leading to the School is being reconstructed with concrete and tiles for a smoother ride.

One major addition to the School’s infrastructure has been a newly constructed State-of-the-Art Indoor Auditorium with a capacity to eventually seat 600+ audience. This is situated in Panini. It will now enable us to present Theatre, Music and Dance Events all through the year.

During the Winter Break we have had an opportunity to host two major events:

1. Sri M’s Spiritual Retreat a 3-day Residential Program between 8th and 10th January, 2018. Over 300 participants, including children, from India & Overseas, stayed on the School Campus and attended various Satsangs, Spiritual Awakening Sessions, Meditation Activities & Peace Walks around the sprawling Campus in the August presence of Sri M, who had earlier led the Walk of Hope from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 2015-2016. Sri M, born in Kerala as Mumtaz Ali, in a Muslim family, left his home at the age of around 20, attracted by a strange and irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas in search of spiritual awakening. Over the ensuing decades he has evolved through a deep connect with Hindu Spirituality, guided by a Spiritual Master.

2. Mission Discovery a 5-day Residential Program from 11th to 15th of January, 2018. The program exposed 120 Students to cutting edge Science, enabling them to explore new possibilities and innovative research avenues. 15 Teams from various Schools in India and Nepal took part in this exciting and challenging program. The participants were mentored closely by Astronaut Mike Fincke (NASA), Ms. Sarah Murray (Flight Operations Directorate, NASA), and Dr. Julie Keeble (King’s College, London). The judges had a very challenging time deciding between 15 proposals presented by the Participants. However, the final Winning Team comprising of – Navya Mittal (Welham’s Girls School, Dehradun), Shaswat Lall Shreshtha (Rato Bangla School, Kathmandu), Kushal Shardul Doshi (Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai), Ojaswin Singh (Pathways World School Aravali), Aanya Dhillon (Pathways World School Aravali), Karan Yadav (Pathways World School Aravali), and Zayed Arshad (Pathways World School Aravali) made an excellent proposal on the antibacterial efficiency of compounds found in plants such as ginger, garlic, and turmeric. The motivation for this was the use of these plants in traditional remedies in India. The proposal will now be developed into a viable project and sent to the International Space Station (ISS) via NASA.

The 2nd Semester is equally exciting in terms of Events and learning opportunities.

I would like to thank you all for your participation in the Events and PTMs that took place in the School in the previous Semester and would like to take this opportunity to encourage all community to be proactive and remain connected with the School over various events to follow.

Best wishes for a successful year!
Dr. Sarvesh Naidu
School Director