Instilling the 21st century Skills through eSummer Camp for Classes IV and V

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Summer Camp at SAI International has seen a tectonic shift in the way of teaching and learning. Earlier the Summer Camps were conducted physically in the School but COVID 19 showed us a new way of learning that is by staying home at the same time staying connected to the school for learning through the e-Summer Camp.
The eSummer Camp commenced on June 1, 2020 with a plethora of activities for all the students of SAI International. The activities of the summer camp were so divided that each class would nurture a skill needed for the children to be future ready. Starting from the ICT skills of Coding, Robotics, Animation, Video Editing, Photography. To strengthen the body and mind, Yoga, Aerobics, Zumba and Dance were introduced in the eSummer Camp. To hone their creativity, sessions on Mix-Media, Clay Modelling, Origami, Paper Collage, Art, Sculpture & Pot Painting were conducted to expand their creative horizons.

DAY 1
It was a stupendous kick off for the eSummer Camp of Classes IV and V on June 1, 2020. Class IV had a wonderful session on Pot Painting. Children of Class IV came up with beautifully coloured pots and also learnt the various Rasa of dramatics.
While the students of Class V interacted with a professional gymnastics trainer who made the students get involved in physical exercises which require balancing, strength, flexibility, agility and co-ordination of arms, shoulders, legs, back and abdominal muscles while explaining the types of gymnastic with perfect physical presentation. To make our SAIoneers future ready for the 21st century the Robotics session involved demonstration and modelling of a robotic car.

DAY 2
On the 2nd day of the eSummer Camp a Punjabi dance training session by the Guest trainer Ms. Revati Khattar who from all the way from Delhi engaged with the children online. Children even requested the trainer to upload her dance videos so that they can watch it and learn even after the camp gets over. Paper butterflies and flowers were made in the Origami Session on the 2nd day.
While in the eSession of Class V students enjoyed the story on colors and also used crayons during the session to illustrate the story. And also enjoyed the Rajasthani folk dance session where a few children were dressed up in Rajasthani lehengas too.

DAY 3
It was fun overloaded for the students of classes IV and V. The young SAIoneers of Class IV got trained to become master chefs by yet another SAIoneer Divyashish of Class XI. They prepared Poha, Paneer Chat and Rooh Afza with a twist and had it right there after displaying it. It was also a delight that children came up to showcase their 2 days creative works they had learnt from the teachers. They even learnt Sand Art and drew an elephant on paper covered it with glue and then sprinkled sand to stick it on paper.
Class V children learnt Clay Modelling with both hard and soft clay and made a beautiful wall hanging after painting it. They also had a dance session by our guest expert Revati Khatter on some peppy bollywood numbers which children enjoyed whole-heartedly

DAY 4
Session on Dramatics was held for class IV students where they were briefed on how to express various emotions. While in the second session Life Skill Coach Anuppma taught self discipline and discipline at home through a board activity. Class V did some Sand Art by drawing Ganesha on paper and sprinkling sand on glue to stick to the base. Another interactive session on puppetry was held which illustrated the types of puppets, how and when they are used.

DAY 5
Enthusiasm of the Classes IV and V SAIoneers are still high on the 5th day of the eSumme rCamp. A Clay Modelling session and a session on Table Etiquette was held for Class IV students. Children modelled a beautiful three with two birds sitting on its branches. And in the second session they learnt the types of meals, how to set up formal and informal table settings.
While the Class V students had a Fruit Salad session and also a Life Skill activity session on Team Work both at home and at School by Anuppma a life Skill Trainer.

DAY 6
SAIoneers of Class IV entered the world of puppetry on the 8th day of #eSummerCamp. Children learnt about the about various kinds and aspects of puppetry. They were also instructed about the do’s and don’ts of puppetry. Children enjoyed the puppet show and watched it with a lot of curiosity. In the 2nd session children learnt gymnastics. SAIoneers had an educational and energetic session.

In the writing session for Class V students, they learnt how to write a story and how stories are integrated into our culture and mythology. There was also a hygiene, health and skin care session for the SAIoneers and their parents by the expert Ms Lopamudra Pradhan. The interactive session was loved by both parents and the children where questions not only came from the children but also from parents.

DAY 7
Class IV at the eSummerCamp had a blast of expressions. In the drama session the resource person briefed upon how to portray various emotions while enacting a drama.
While in the Storytelling session the resource person narrated the story and based on the story children had to suggest a title for the same. The children suggested ‘An Oily Mess’ as the title. She also taught how to make finger puppets.
In the class V session the Gymnastic session Ms Karishma made the students to gymnastics on music. While in the storytelling session the children heard the ants story and discussed about teamwork, friendship and also did an activity on chart paper.

DAY 8
Class IV students at the eSummerCamp had a session on Robotics where they were guided on how to make a robot. The second session was held on Communications Skills where Ms Annu Ralli taught how to strengthen the communication skills.
The pottery session of Class V; children made colorful tribal paintings on pots using Orange, Yellow and Black. While in the Drama Session children learnt how to express themselves in various situations.

DAY 9
The little ones of Class IV moved to the tunes of Sauda khara khara a Punjabi Bhangra song. In the second session Ms Karishma taught various steps and postures of Gymnastics. Class V children had a session on Communication Skill by Ms Annu Ralli where the children learnt how to communicate with each other not just verbal but by using body language, expressions and eyes. It was an interesting session for the children where the children interacted a lot. The Session on dramatics was equally interesting for the children as the instructor asked the children to dress up as per the situation.

DAY 10
Stories fascinate children to the maximum it is the best way to inculcate good habits in them. A Hindi story telling session was held for children of Class IV, the story revolved around on ‘greed’, to make the story interesting the resource person used puppets and props. A Health and hygiene session was conducted by Ms Lopamudra Pradhan, the small children were trained on keeping themselves clean and follow hygienic ways of living.
Grade V students engaged themselves to make scientific toys using paper with optical illusion. The resource person Shri Auro Rashmi Mohanty adapted to each age group and created his activities accordingly. While in the Master Chef Session Custard Pudding was made using Rusk as base.

Children thoroughly enjoyed each session and participated whole heartedly.

Mask Club Assembly Presentation

“The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation.” – Stella Adler

The Mask Club members of Class IV and V presented a skit during the Mask Club presentation. The play highlighted ‘Unity is Strength’. The theatrical skill of the young artists elevated the play to another level. It was a delight for all who witnessed the performance.

The Mask Club members focus on 3Cs – collaboration, cooperation and coordination which helps in making their act lively. The whole play was artfully executed by the characters in a well-defined way and was flattered by proper lighting, sound, make-up, costumes and action. The members emphasized that their club has helped them in enhancing vocabulary and command over language.

 

Mathematics Quiz

“Mathematics is the most beautiful and most powerful creation of the human spirit.” – Stefan Banach

The Mathematics Quiz for Classes IV and V was conducted on January 9 and 10, 2020 respectively. The logical and mathematical skills of the participants were tested in the competition. The active participation of the audience made it more interesting.

Mathematics quiz benefits the students in various ways. It not only helps the participants but also other students who get to know a wide range of information on the subject. Quiz competitions of such kind helps students to go beyond their text books and explore areas that enrich their knowledge repository.

Spectrum Club Exhibition

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement.” – Ken Robinson

The Science Exhibition was an astounding display of innovative ideas by the young and enthusiastic Spectrum Club members of Class IV and V. The young ones displayed all their creations made throughout the session in the Atrium of Mahatma Gandhi Block on Monday, November 4, 2019.

The participants exhibited unique creative ideas through gadgets and devices. Some of them made a revolutionary oxygen mask which could address the air pollution problem in near future. While others impressed the gathering with models demonstrating windmill generated electricity, air cooler using wet tissue paper, gadgets operated flying disc and wobbly bubbly bubble maker.

 

 

The futuristic experimentations presented by the young talented minds through ingenious demonstration skills and inventive ideas was really praiseworthy.

Importance of Soil

“Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” – Charles E. Kellogg

Soil is a very important resource, essential for life. It is a medium for plants to grow, allows exchange of gas between land and air, provides habitat for most of the organisms on Earth, holds clean water, recycle nutrients and is used for constructing structures.

To understand the importance of soil, students of Class V collected different materials from the surrounding like twigs, pebbles, mud, sand etc and arranged it in layers like soil. They used waste plastic bottles as a container.

They connected themselves to the soil and explained, how soil is essential for life of plants, animals, humans and even micro organisms. They also explained that how soil acts as the filtration system for surface water.

Workshop on Classroom Management

“Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.” – Paulo Coelho

A workshop on ‘Classroom Management’ was organised on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 for teachers from Class IV to VIII. The workshop focused on the elements of classroom management which include management of content, conduct and covenant. Various activities and role plays were undertaken to illustrate these elements.

Facilitator Ms. Swati Sengupta spoke about the importance of effectively managing classrooms with proper routines and procedures. Some innovative methods of teaching that are important to impart the 21st century learning were discussed. She stressed that the responsibilities of a teacher should align with the creative minds of the children and teachers should also have the added responsibility of understanding the growing and animated thought- process of individual child.

The facilitator emphasised on addressing the concerns of students and reducing stress by substituting consequences with positive rewards. The various topics covered were Understanding Classroom Management, Physical Arrangement in Classroom, Components of Effective Classroom, Teaching Styles, Learning Styles, Managing Classes with Large Number of Student and Management of Inter-Personal Relationships.

The workshop aimed at inspiring and enabling the teachers to adopt various techniques to make the teaching and learning process more effective. It helped the teachers devise innovative strategies to be applied in real classroom situations.

School Development Programme – Life Skills

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” – Ignacio Estrada

A workshop was conducted on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, for teachers from Classes IV to VIII, on the topic, ‘Life Skills: Uses and importance’. Facilitators Shri Jaysurya Das and Ms. Shipra Bijaya Sahoo spoke about the important life skills like Thinking skills, Social skills and Emotional skills and its significance.

The participants also learned about UNESCO’s five pillars of education learning like linguistic skills, communication skills, basic analytical skill, respect for culture and sensitivity towards environment. The facilitators briefed the teachers on the importance of understanding life skills and inculcating those in the students during their growing up stage.

They were also briefed about the significance of life skills in maintaining a sound physical and mental health, to be able to make rational decisions by weighing pros and cons, how to be assertive and not aggressive in classroom situations, the difference between being self-aware and self-conscious, methodologies to be followed for problem solving in daily life scenarios, importance of critical and creative thinking and the difference between the two.

During the workshop, the teachers learned how to manage emotions by identifying stress and coping with it, importance of having good interpersonal relationship in the work place among the teachers and take the skills to the classroom to educate children about it, how to say no without hurting the sentiments of others. The teachers also learnt to identify problems or areas of difficulty in a child and have an early intervention to enhance the capabilities of a child and enhance his or her psycho social abilities.

Through several videos and activities, the participants learnt about the importance of life skills in the 21^st century to build a better society and the role of a teacher in imparting the skills to the students.

#SchoolDevelopmentProgramme

School Development Programme – Conflict Management in Classroom

“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Conflict is natural and happens in every ongoing relationship. As it is unavoidable one must learn to manage it. On a positive note, conflict is a sign of need for change and an opportunity for growth, new understanding and improvised communication.

As part of the capacity building of teachers, a workshop on ‘Conflict Management in Classroom’ was conducted on Friday, April 12, 2019. The objective of the workshop was to develop the knowledge, skill and confidence to manage conflict in Classroom situations effectively with resolution techniques. The training was facilitated by Ms. Uma Patra and teachers from Classes IV to VIII took part in it.

The participants learnt the various strategies to handle the interpersonal conflict in different situations, the factors responsible for conflicts and got an in-depth understanding of Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument which describes the ways of dealing with conflict. They also learnt about their role as mentors to direct destructive conflict to constructive one, how to channelize the impact in positive ways through collaboration, compromising and avoiding the unwanted situations so as to covert the loss-loss situation to win-win situation.

The facilitator also recapitulated the Dos and Don’ts of the classroom rules as mandated by the National Education Association like praise students for acting appropriately, get parents involved early on, give students tools for interacting with each other, define behavioural expectations using the champs model etc.

It is said 10% of conflict is due to difference in opinion and 90% is due to delivery and tone of voice. So be the positive voice and not the echo.

#SchoolDevelopmentProgramme

A New Day

When the Sun shines bright,

And the Moon goes away.

The animals come out

And so starts the day.

 

When the birds start chirping,

And the owl’s hoot is no more.

Many young school children

Go through the school door.

 

While the grass is still green ,

And the sky is still blue.

Enjoy your own life,

And make your own dreams come true.

 

By: Ayaan Ali

My Family

Mother and father are teachers of life,

They give us love to lead our life.

Parents are kind and caring,

They are so affectionate and loving.

Grandparents are sweet and talkative,

They make our lives fun to live.

Grandparents spend time with us,

They also play with us.

This is the best family I have got,

I love my parents and grandparents a lot.

I thank God for it !

I have everything and thank God a lot !

 

By: Sanvi Patnaik, Class -V

Solo Music & Dance Competition

“Dance, like music, is the expression of the human spirit. Dance is ‘visual music’.” – S. Janaki

Music and Dance energises the brain and helps to cultivate communication skills, fosters physical skills and contributes to creativity and imagination. It also helps in enhancing concentration, imagination, memory, apart from adding an element of fun.

SAI International School believes promoting these skills in the students for their wholesome development. To inspire and encourage the students, various competitions and events are organised apart from providing them with proper hand-holding support by experienced music teachers.

On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, a competition was organised for Class IV students on Solo Dance the genre of which was semi classical dance/ folk dance. Similarly a competition was organised for Class V students on Solo Song on the same day based on devotional/ folk/ patriotic songs.

Awards for Internal Activities – Class IV and V

Co-curricular activities play an essential part in the life of a student. These activities aim to hone the talent and interest level of each and every child, thereby enhancing the learning process of the students.

At SAI, co-curricular or co-scholastic activities play a vital role. These compulsory Internal activities help us in identifying the latent talents in the students, simultaneously build confidence in the students.

On Saturday, October 13, 2018, the prize giving ceremony for three such events was conducted for Class IV and V students. The events are Poetry Writing, Science and Heritage Quiz. In Poetry writing, students were judged on the criteria like word choice, neatness, spelling, grammar, punctuation and creativity.

The Quiz competitions were held in two levels – Preliminary and Final. For Heritage quiz, the topic was Understanding India, where Science quiz included all the mentioned topics in the Science text books and beyond.

As co-curricular activities relate to academics in many areas, it strengthens the knowledge level of students, add more vocabulary to their list and encourage them to do an in-depth study or analysis of a subject or area. These helps in effective learning of students, sharpens communication skills, boosts level of confidence, enhance creativity, hones debating skills and develops in them a passion for achieving bigger things in life.

Butterfly

Once a butterfly was hungry,

It flew and sat on a tree.

The trees were laden with fruits and flowers,

It sucked nectar for hours and hours.

When the butterfly was satisfied,

It took a leap and flew to the sky.

A strong wind blew from the mountain,

Its tender wings fluttered with pain.

It somehow managed to escape,

But its wings were in bad shape.

The butterfly was again hungry and weary,

When it reached a flower, it became very merry.

By: Sanvi Patnaik

 

William Wordsworth

Oh William Wordsworth, how great you are

Your poems are simple, but justified by far!

You adored your sister as dearly,

But never could bear it when she was weary.

 

A nature lover… I’m sure it’s you!

In your poems, you describe of…

Nature’s sweet gust and the sky blue.

How sweet! How tender!

I always adore and often wonder,

 

My friend writes poems just like you,

And I’m sure that, one day, she’ll make it through,

Meanwhile, I don’t think can ever describe,

In such a beautiful way you write your rhymes.

 

Till now, you’ve encouraged me and my friends,

As sweetly and calmly as in your realms.

But tell me please, oh great poet,

How do you write your nature loving poems?

By: Chayanika Das

 

Charming Birds

Sitting on a tree branch,

early in the morning they let out a pick,

or a woodpecker who builds a home in the tree with a peck.

A cock lets out a shriek to wake us up,

While the other birds make a nest for their family at tree top.

Some birds go to find themselves some food in late afternoon,

And come back in the evening to sleep under the starling shade of the moon.

Birds are charming enough to show the world their beauty,

Until the humans know the birds get the toughest duty.

Their flight they take in great hope to find the something,

Or stay at the home until the bell rings.

It isn’t easy to make out a beautiful nest,

nor is it easy to work without rest;

but the birds can do this easily because they are better than the best.

They fight of fierce animals, to reach their goal;

They also can bear the cold around the pole.

Their journey begins as a little chick which learns to fly and they breed their little ones, until they die.

By: Anshi Avipsha

Nature

Oh Nature! Oh Nature!

All products you give us are natural

We make shelters that are man-made

The trees give us natural shade

All you give is natural and all we make is artificial

You give so many things like rubber and glue

Your clean water makes our Earth pretty and blue,

Thank you nature,thank you nature

For giving us things that will help us in future

We should see nature’s lovely view

From atop the mountains and plateaus too

In many countries like Switzerland and France

Your beauty has no bounds and often put us in trance

You give us a glimpse of heaven on earth

Can you do us a favour ?

Please stay as pretty like this forever…

 

By: Shreya Rath

Poetry Writing

Poetry is a medium of expression of emotions. It helps one to understand how language and vocabulary can be used to express thoughts and ideas. It is a wonderful way to build phonemic awareness in children and enhance their vocabulary and writing skills.

To encourage the students with an affinity for writing poetry, a competition was conducted for students of Class IV and V. The theme for writing poetry for students of Class IV was ‘My Favourite Things’ and for Class V students, it was ‘My Teacher’.

Creating poetry makes a person insightful, fills him or her with joy and gives a sense of concrete accomplishment. People who loves writing poetry develops a penchant for understanding larger issues in life and feel more connected with people, places and nature. Writing poetry involves a lot of cognitive skills, and accelerates the emotional and intellectual growth of a child.

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” – Robert Frost

Creative Writing – Poetry

To encourage the students with an affinity for poetry writing, a competition was conducted for students of Class IV and V.

Poetry is a medium of expression of emotions. It helps one to understand how language and vocabulary can be used to express thoughts and ideas. It is a wonderful way to build phonemic awareness in children and enhance vocabulary and writing skills.

Creating poetry makes a person insightful, fills him or her with joy and gives a sense of concrete accomplishment. People who loves writing poetry develops a penchant for understanding larger issues in life and feel more connected with people, places and nature. Writing poetry involves a lot of cognitive skills, and accelerates the emotional and intellectual growth of a child.

I Had a Dream

There was this night, when I had a dream,

There was a party, over the biggest scoop of chocolate ice-cream,

There were people from far-far-away-stars,

And some of them even came from Jupiter and Mars,

I went looking for my Mom but couldn’t find her,

But on my way I found the Princess of Jupiter,

I bowed to her and asked how do you do,

She smiled and we went to see where my Mom went to,

On the way we had a bit of the chocolate ice cream,

Believe me, it tasted like the mint candy I once had in a dream,

There were trees showering candies on our way,

And we put handful of them in our pockets and walked away,

Finally I saw some fairies pass by and there was a big decorated chair,

Mommy was sitting on it and looked pretty as ever,

I shouted- “Mommy”, and this woke me up,

I saw Mommy was there and I was in her lap,

I love my Mommy and she loves me a lot,

I am her princess and she is my fairy queen!!!

By: Shreya Rath

FOR THE LOVE OF SEASONS

I am really in love with the four seasons we have in our world,

They all are pretty in their own way and they get me amazed,

Summer is the boldest, while winter is the coldest,

Autumn colors all the leaves, and spring brings back green to the trees,

I still cannot decide which season I love the most,

Maybe it is spring, when I like to relax near sea on the coast,

It can also be summer, as I get long vacations from school,

Or is it autumn when after summer the sun’s heat gets cool,

My favourite can also be winter, now I really cannot say,

I really don’t know which season to choose as of today,

These seasons love me, and I might not have a favourite but I love them too,

And I might not be sure of other things, but my love for mother nature is true…

By: Shreya Rath, Class V