"Where the Mind is Without Fear"

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.”

Where the mind is without fear

and the head is held high,

where knowledge is free.

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

by narrow domestic walls.

Where words come out from the depth of truth, 

where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection.

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.

Where the mind is led forward by thee

into ever widening thought and action.

In to that heaven of freedom, my father,

LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE!

The poem, Where the Mind is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore, was written before India’s independence and shared his vision of a new, independent and awakened nation. The message of the poem is also applicable to our individual struggles for personal freedom and growth.

Rabindranath Tagore taught the world the beauty of his mother tongue – Bengali, but the message he conveyed was universal. His open-mindedness towards other cultures and nations, ardent fight against prejudice and injustice, and his progressive ideas made him an iconic figure in the Indian sub-continent with his legacy held in high esteem far beyond Indian boundaries. He was truly versatile with his contribution to the world not limited to poetry. He was a statesman, educationist, painter, composer and philosopher.

This poem is one of our all time favourite poems.

Despite the passage of time, in fact nearly a 100 years, each and every word still echoes our sentiments, what is in our hearts, in these trying times! Tagore's words weave their magic immaculately to finally take the form of this glorious poem. Free yourself right now, as the poem suggests. Accept and appreciate that this moment is as it is. Freedom arises the moment we truly accept and appreciate this present moment: without complaints, without dissatisfaction, without wishing that it was any way different than it is. So be kind to everyone you come into contact with, no matter what they do. Let go emotionally and mentally and have as much fun with life as you can. Whatever happens to you- use it as a lesson to practice accepting life and letting things go. Inner freedom is what you need. So give it to yourself right now and accept that your life is as it is. We are all part of a larger tapestry of life, so just relax and enjoy watching it unfold. Remember, the more you can relax and accept life the way it is, the more effortlessly life falls into place for you. It is only our resistance to the present moment that slows us down, so give yourself permission to relax and enjoy, watching this miracle we call life unfurl! Our purpose of writing this post is to remind you all about those philosophies, which can really transform your life.

Thank you!

Ms. Kausiki Das (Co-curricular Teacher) & Ms.Joanna (Science Teacher)

Being a Teacher

It’s a universal truth that a doctor wants his child to become a doctor...

an engineer wants his child to become an engineer…

a businessman wants his child to become a CEO…

             

but…a TEACHER also wants his child to become one of them, as well!

Nobody wants to become a teacher BY CHOICE…

Very sad, but that’s the truth…

Today, after about a decade and a half years of my experience as a school teacher, I feel immensely proud that my mother, who was also a teacher for almost three decades, encouraged me and gave me the liberty to pursue my passion as my profession which provides me with ample opportunities not only to help my students excel in the academics but also help them become better human beings.

Recently, I came across the following occurrence which reaffirmed my faith and conviction that eventually I did make the RIGHT CHOICE.

-Shalini Singh Hamilton

Pre-Primary Assembly on July 14 - Eid Celebration!

In July, we conducted the second assembly of the academic session. It was dedicated to Eid, as part of the month of Ramzan, to familiarize the students with the concept and the spirit of the festival.

The pre-primary teachers presented an informative skit to demonstrate the significant details of Eid, which held the rapt attention of the students. Two students each from all four sections of PP-2 were selected to hold placards and read out lines on Eid, attired in traditional kurta-pyjamas.

The assembly came to a close with a beautiful singing performance by all the students of PP-1, highlighting Eid. Later in the day, dates were distributed as part of the celebration. The assembly proved to be both informative and colourful experience to the students.

-Shwetha and Shikha

Pre-Primary

Pre-Primary Assembly on June 20 – Fathers' Day Celebration

Ensuring the surge of enthusiasm and energy- that is what the first assembly of the new academic year did. It was very important to the teachers and the students of the pre-primary to kick-off the year with a bang. Therefore, the theme for the assembly was an easy choice, Father’s Day- a celebration that was quite different yet important.

 Invites were sent out to the fathers of the students beforehand and the turn up on the assembly morning was quite big and surprising. The students had eagerly made hand-prints on cards that bore the beautiful lyrics of “You Raise Me Up When I am On Your Shoulders”.

 These souvenirs were distributed to the fathers in the assembly along with ‘My Dad My Hero’ badges. It was truly a moment of pride for the fathers when they received the handiwork of their children as a gift. Students of PP2-A presented two songs dedicated to all the fathers and later, Tvarita Tomer of PP2A and Om Bhogu of PP2-B shared their experiences with their fathers. Our first assembly thus had a little something for everyone to take back.

-Shwetha and Shikha

Pre-Primary

Teddy Bear Picnic!

Ever since we sent out invites of the Teddy Bear picnic, the students were counting days enthusiastically. Teddy Bear picnic is the first outing of the academic year for pre-primary students. They were taken to KBR National Park to learn more about nature and environment along with having a fun time.

 We set out to the park around 9 am on 11^th July, Friday after a light snack. Excitement was at its peak when the students were showing off their teddy bears to their friends and teachers. A flight of school buses promptly dropped the picnic party at the National Park in Jubilee Hills with the help of teachers and other supporting staff. The 40 minute ride to the park was punctuated by songs that set mood to the trip. The students smartly clad in their caps were happily cuddling their toys throughout the ride.

At the entrance of the park, we were greeted by a flock of pigeons which made the students even more excited. The trip to the park made the children quite hungry, but luckily for the snacks and juice we brought along soon the growling tummies were happy.

After the snacks, we took to walking around the park in groups. The sultry weather could not bring down the excitement as we climbed on top of rocks and up above the tree house. During the nature walk, the students observed the huge trees that gave us shade and also learnt about various animals found in the park. Some lucky ones even spotted peacocks basking in their grandeur.

After the walk, the KOOH Sports team who accompanied us was ready to refresh the children with games like Tisket & Tasket. Packed boxes of rice and parathas were soon served to the students on long carpets, were they sat together to have a perfect picnic lunch. Though tired, the students were hesitant to leave the park and on the bus ride back, all the teachers were met with the same question, “When is our next picnic!?” 

-Shwetha and Shikha
Pre - Primary

Narrative poetry by grade 5

Grade 5 enjoyed learning about narrative poetry with Phebe ma'am and have enthusiastically come up with interesting examples of narrative poems. Here are a few that represented the narrative poetry well and we wanted to share them with everyone:

Gargoyle dreams (by Anoushka)

When a gargoyle enters a dream
he starts to build up his self-esteem
these dreams are always nice
never filled with rotten lice or mice
BUT! It happened so
that poor baby gargoyle had them, you know!
He dreamt of witches, murders and death
leaving him awake and out of breath.
He cried for his mommy:
"I don't want dreams!
I don't want to go back to sleep
and hear all those screams!"
So the gargoyle never went back to sleep,
all he could do is weep and weep.
"The night is selfish, the night is cruel,
I don't want to spot another ghoul!

So, for years and days,
on the bed he never lays
he thinks it's scary
like the Myth of Bloody Mary.

Once on the field he plowed all day
he wouldn't stop working till the end of children's play.
Wait a minute this is not normal, this is not right
he decided to lay on his bed tonight.

It felt so good, it felt so light
and the best part was he dreamt of his might.
The next day he woke and climbed on an oak
and regretted for not sleeping for years
but now he knows, and really shows,
that he should never give up so fast.
He plows for a day, then rushes to play
and then goes to sleep...
Oh, yes, as I've said before -  I'll say it once more
when gargoyle dreams, he might hear screams
but never will wake
only break the ghouls and fools and screams
in his amazing, adventurous dreams.

My Dragon's Treat (by Mahati)

I was walking down the street
and i saw a scrumptious treat
all for my little dragon
it's my dragon's treat
it's ny dragon's treat.

So i bought the treat
and couldn't wait to give it my dragon
I didn't know where I was going
but to the Everdeen forest.

I found myself somehow there
but i had to go some-where
"Oh, yes!" I remembered
It's my dragon's treat
It's my dragon's treat.

I managed to get out of the Everdeen forest
and started to go towards Beverldeen City
"Come, on! Sing along everybody!"
It's my dragon's treat
It's my dragon's treat.

On my way, i met a dwarf
who snatched my dragon's treat
and ate it as a sweet
"Oh, no!" It was my dragon's treat.

So i went to the butcher's shop
and stole two handfuls of meat
and gave it to my dragon as a treat
It's my dragon's treat
It's my dragon's treat

Flying colours (by Sriya M.)

On my way back from school
i sat on a bench and
a breeze touched so cool
i opened my eyes and realized
i was in a park
i saw a beautiful butterfly sitting on a bark.

The rainbow colours on the butterfly were so attractive
i felt refreshed and soon i became active
i started chasing the butterfly
but it started flying so high.

Then I stopped at a fresh water drop
the spark of the scene made my heart hop
i caught it and planned to take it home
but then i felt it should not be caged
so i let it go roam.

I felt the park with the memory
of it's colours in my mind
I tried to locate it back next day
but i couldn't find it.

Our brand new library!

After all the classes moved to our new, beautiful building, our library moved as well. Yes, we have a brand new library in the second floor of the new building. Even though all the teachers were super busy with exams and corrections these past  few days, no one can compete with our librarian Mrs. Kalpana Chandramouli. I think everyone can imagine why!

I ventured into the library today with a sole goal to conduct an interview with Kalpana ma'am. You know, to find out how she is doing, how many books have we got, how many more boxes she needs to open, and interesting things like that but guess what? I was pulled into opening boxes and putting books on the brand new shelves! I love the feel of the crisp new books so i didn't mind at all but interview took the back seat in an instant.

Student volunteers helping up in the library after school.  Children were so excited to see the numerous new arrivals on the shelves!

Every helping hand was welcomed as Kalpana ma'am was busy setting up the new library.

I got so engrossed into sorting the books that i almost forgot to ask my questions but i did manage to get some interesting facts Kalpana ma'am shared with me. 

We have crossed the 8,300 books mark with many more books en route to us! Amazing! We will very shortly be a 10,000 plus books library! In a single move of setting up the new library we have doubled our book collection or in other words, in past two days 4,500 books were placed on the shelves. I tell you, it's a lovely sight!

With the school vacation around the corner Mrs. Kalpana will issue more then 500 books to our budding readers today and tomorrow!

Class teachers of grade 1 and PP2 were in the library selecting the books they will send home with children...

Rakhi ma'am and Vaishali ma'am focusing on what books to select...

Mrs. Chandramouli told me that no later then on 16th of October our new library will be in full swing, with every single book in place. We have beautiful collections of books for every child and every level. I was thrilled to see a great selection in the teachers section as well.

Selecting books for our students  just became more exciting! So much to choose from!

With our fantastic library in place i can only think of saying one more thing: "We at SMIS wish all our students happy reading! Enjoy!"