The Bravery Test - Rishona Chopra

Being brave is simply overcoming your fears. It can be your fear of the dark or of a dog or ghosts or shadows by just doing it. If you are scared, you will fall if you climb a tree, then don't do it, but if you want to overcome your fear, just do it.

In the previous chapter, The Great Adventure, Totto-chan and Yasuaki-chan showed great courage. It took a lot of effort to climb a tree, but they did not give up and continued trying. In the end, climbed the tree and had lots of fun!

Totto-chan overcomes her fear of ghosts. Of course, you don't have to meet ghosts, but just through thoughts, you can overcome your fear. She soon was happy in her fear too! She thought that if we are scared of ghosts, ghosts are afraid of us too!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Humility - Rishona Chopra

Here is my podcast on humility

Do you wish to rise?
Begin by descending.

Do you plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?
Lay first the foundation of humility.

Rishona Chopra 
Grade VI
Gyanshree school

Totto-chan goes to school - Reveda Bhatt

Book: Totto-chan. Author:Tetusoko kuroyanagi. Totto-chan is a book that speaks about a girl who has been expelled from a 'regular' school to a school name 'Tomoe Gakuen'.The school is totally different from the formal educational system and creates stress and threats to the children by the overloaded syllabus, subjects, books and strict rules and regulations. - Naturing Education Blog

"The book begins with Totto-chan's mother coming to know of her daughter's expulsion from public school. Her mother realizes that Totto-chan needs a school where more freedom of expression is permitted. Thus, she takes Totto-chan to meet the headmaster of the new school, Mr Kobayashi, where the two establish a friendly teacher-student relationship". Wikipedia

Illustration by
Reveda Bhatt

Class 9, The Aryan School

reveda0311@gmail.com

We are reading Totto-chan at My Good School.
Join us every Sunday at 11 am on Google Meet, join the school for Rs 1800.00 per annum only.

The Headmaster - Rishona Chopra

 

The headmaster or the headmistress leads the school. Teachers sometimes use them as a weapon to scare them; when someone does something wrong, the teacher says that she'll send that child to the Headmistress's office. They aren't that scary. They are not frightening at all. They can be as sweet as plum and a strict at a stick.

In this book, Totto-chan meets the headmaster to see if she gets approved. Surprisingly, the headmaster told her to speak whatever she wanted. The headmaster listened to her for hours without a yawn!

This chapter is a must read for everyone as it changes the point of view about teachers.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - Rishona Chopra

 

Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window is an autobiographical memoir written by Japanese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The book was published originally as 窓ぎわのトットちゃん in 1981 and became an "instant bestseller" in Japan. - Wikipedia

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Joy of Learning For Me - Aanya Kumar

The book My Good School reminds us that no school is perfect. Students receive more appreciation for past achievements. Educators will have to understand the pupils and plan interactive activities to raise the enjoyment level of learning. We must find our true identity because that is what truly matters. 

Deciding for ourselves and learning while experiencing real-life instances will help our holistic development. Often, fun examples given by mentors may not clearly tell us that they are related to studying topics, but as we grow up, we seem to understand that what our teachers have taught us stays with us our entire life. Understanding topics with fun and learning to the fullest is the Joy Of Learning.

Aanya Kumar, 

Grade 6B, Podar International School.

The School Bell

Refections from the reading session on the 27th of March 2022. 
We are reading My Good School Where Passion Meets Education by Sandeep Dutt.
Published by Rupa Publications, available online and in Kindle format at bookstores.

You will definitely hear the school bell ring in your head whenever you lend your ear to it! The sound of the school bell has a certain amount of energy that makes the adrenaline flow, and we look forward to the next hour. 

The first bell of the day brings in great energy as enthusiastic young, and fresh minds come racing into the school gates. The day will see the entry and exit of fun and joy in the class, till the last bell that leaves the campus devoid of energy and seems like the sunset hour in midday.

Perhaps our first lessons in time management are rendered to us by this innocuous bell that may sound jarring at first but part of our growing years. A school period blocks time allocated for lessons, classes, or other school activities. They typically last between 40 and 60 minutes, with around 3-8 periods per school day. Educators determine the number and length of these periods and may even regulate how each period will be used. 

Managing time is really the first challenge for all of us at school; using the 40 odd minutes to ensure learning and capture the imagination is always the biggest challenge for teachers and students alike. 

Perhaps our first lessons in time management are rendered to us by this innocuous bell! 

The race against time, the need to complete the lesson plan, ensure good understanding and give the students the absolute joy of learning between two bells is not an easy task for even the best teachers. How best you use your limited time determines your effectiveness as a teacher or a mentor for a group of learners. There are thus crucial questions to be answered, keeping in mind that the next bell will ring soon- What do I do? When do I do it? How well do I do it?

Our life sets a limit of time, and this is indeed the wealth we often do not value in our quest for materials and the race to beat others to it. 

“...there will be sleeping enough in the grave....” by Benjamin Franklin. 

Hear the bell, find the energy, think for yourself and make a conscious decision about how best you will use your time. Remember the school bell and hear it always ring; let it not make life uncomfortable but instead help you enjoy every moment and be the master of your time. Time management alone will help you find yourself and live a joyous life.

The views expressed above are of Sandeep Dutt alone, and you are welcome to comment and share your thoughts with him by email to sd@ebd.in, please. For more about the author, please visit www.SandeepDutt.com.

Starting a new session at school - Rishona Chopra

Last year, I was in fifth grade and had made beautiful memories. The best moments were when we did the Math Week Quiz. Our class didn't win but what mattered was that we did our best. The Science Week where we did projects and then the last day of fifth grade when I went to school and met some of my classmates and teachers physically for the first time!

Another moment was when Sandeep Dutt visited our school! I was really nervous but overcame it, and it turned out to be the best day ever.

Now I am starting a new session, I got my books, and I am excited. I'll be in the Senior Wing! I can't wait to see the extensive library on the third floor. When we were in primary, we used to go to the smaller library on the ground floor, but now I'll go to the big one and read every single book there. I will also be learning French! Bonjour

Rishona Chopra Grade V Gyanshree School

Autobiography of an Autobiography - Rishona Chopra

Hello! I am an autobiography. People write in me when they feel like expressing their life to someone else, but I am unique. That is because the most valuable, intelligent, famous, and minor things I write in me. My author is Rishona Chopra, who is very kind for letting several people write in her book. Like my friend, fan, curtain, wardrobe, coin and several other people like that. 

I am the main lead here since I am who you are reading and seeing, and I am talking to you. So that's me, an autobiography and here is an autobiography of an autobiography!

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Forgiveness - Arav Agarwal

Reflection on the chapter forgiveness from the book Is Your Child Ready to Face the World? By Dr Anupam Sibal

I got to know about forgiveness for the first time when I read Dr Anupam Sibal’s book and learned about the magic forgiveness creates. I understood that forgiveness is setting a person free and discovering the person was you itself as when we don’t forgive, we don’t feel good, and it is we who suffer, but if we forgive, then it is we who feel happy.

I had no experience of forgiving someone or someone who has forgiven me. If I happen to meet with such knowledge, I will always keep in my mind that forgiving people is forgiving ourselves.

There are beautiful examples in the book of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi who were always forgiving. Nelson Mandela forgave the people responsible for putting him inside the jail for 32 years, and Mahatma Gandhi forgave all people who did wrong with him.

I will never forget that Forgiving is the key to peace and happiness.

Name: Arav Agarwal
Grade: 5C
Billabong High International School, Thane

Meeting Sandeep Sir - Rishona Chopra

Today Sandeep, Sir of Learning Forward India Foundation, visited our school,  Gyanshree Noida. It was indeed a pleasure to have him here; it was the first time I saw him in person and met one of my friends too! 

It was great to be in school and meet him. He is one of the best mentors I have had till now. I also met a few other teachers and students. We, along with a few teachers and students, discussed a small marketing plan and how we could motivate people to write in languages other than English to feel comfortable with the language they like.

We plan to read the chapter "The Annual Day At School" from the book My Good School, Where Passion Meets Education by Sandeep Dutt on the 20th of March.

I hope to meet him once again and be back in school physically!

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Goals - Rishona Chopra

 

Set your goals high, and don't stop until you get there.

Goals are our ambitions. Like in football, there is a goal. Our life's goal is quite the same! 

In football, we have to hit the ball at the goal, but the goalkeepers and the opponent's team don't let you do that. You have to face them and hit the same goal in your life; we have challenges facing and reaching our goal.

Goals are not just a tiny thing; they are your life. We all have a life, and we have the opportunity to do whatever we want with it, so why not do the something we wish, our passion. And that is a goal!

My goal is to become a neurosurgeon, and I have started practising for it! I have read 3 thick books on our body and have done a course on Udemy on the Brain and other body parts. It was a minor higher level, but I understood most of it. I also want to be an author and have written several short blogs and stories. I wrote a small book of 20 pages and will start writing another one!

So whatever your goal is, make sure it is your passion.

Rishona Chopra 
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Friendship - Khushi Badgeri

Friendship is a state of trust where two friends spend time talking and knowing each other. Friendship is an important relationship in everyone's life. It means understanding, forgiveness, growing together, sharing, and keeping secrets. Mainly it also needs to have lots of patience.

For me, my true friendship is with my books and nature. I love to see the beauty of nature and write its beauty in my book. I love to plant seeds and see their different stages of growth. I can talk to them
while watering or being around them. Plants can listen to you and feel your touch. You have to preserve nature. It's our responsibility in friendship. The more you plant trees and take care of nature there will be greenery everywhere which will help our ecosystem.

Name: Khushi Badgeri

Grade: 2A

Billabong High International School, Thane

Autobiography of a piano - Rishona Chopra

Hey there! I am Ms. piano. You must have heard my name... I am pretty popular. What a second you don't know me! Oh my goodness, I must tell you about myself.

So I am a grand piano, 5 - feet long ( quite tall). I am a mother of wait how many children, yes 36 teenagers and 25 babies. Lots of work! You might ask where my children are well for you, humans what you call 'keys of the piano' those are actually my children. The small ones (black colour) are the babies, and the long ones are the teenagers. I don't really remember the names, but I'll tell you a few of them. Let's see, Pinky, Kitty, Keyer, Kate, Peter and other names.

Enough about my children, now about me! As you know, I am beautiful and elegant. Sometimes I feel I have lost all my respect (even my children forget about me sometimes), but when I read the book 'The Piano Shop On The Left Bank', I just knew that someone loved me, truly loved me, even more than my children. Did you know that when my owner plays me, it doesn't hurt me! It hurts my children but seeing them hurt, I am sad, but what can I do? I am a piano, after all.

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Fun is learning, learning is fun - Rishona Chopra

Fun is the beginning of anything fundamental. Even the word fundamental has the word fun! 

The book states that when we are pushed and taught, we don't really learn anything, but learning becomes more effective and enjoyable when we have fun. As children, we are taught that we should go to school and learn to become something one day. But in my opinion, it is much more than that. We become better humans, we get to know how each thing has its own way of forming,  and the world becomes so much more fascinating!

Not just reading our textbooks and memorizing is learning; it is boring. Suppose you are reading one of the concepts States of Matter, and you are reading about the matter. Then you can think of five-ten things and write them down in which form they are and more factors such as size, shape, mass and colour. This will show the concept in the real world and make learning so much more fun. 

My science teacher always tells us to visualize things and draw them. It makes it so much fun, in your science class you can draw several diagrams and learning is fun!

When I revise for my exam, I put all my notes of different subjects in envelopes and send them back to me through the bottom of my room's door. It's like receiving a letter with notes. While revising for my English exam, one of the topics is a formal letter. I wrote a formal letter to the principal, put it in an envelope and acted as if I was the principal! 

So there are so many ways in which learning can be super fun!

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Be The Change - Arav Agarwal

Reflection on the chapter Be the Change from the book Is Your Child Ready to Face the World? by Dr Anupam Sibal.

"We must remind ourselves that one child, teacher, text, and pen can change the world when in doubt. By being the change, we can make this world a better place". - Arav Agarwal, Grade: 5C, Billabong High International School, Thane

Be the change - Pravar Kasma

 

"Change your thoughts, and you change the world."

                                         - Norman Vincent Peale

What is this chapter about? What do we need to do to make someone change?

This chapter is about change. We all need to change in some or the other thing. Sometimes we need a shift in home appliances, furniture, behaviour, etc. Let me tell you a story of Mahatma Gandhi, which I read in 6th grade. It was based on Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram. The people staying there needed to do chores across the ashram, but no one was doing that, so Gandhi Ji thought of a fantastic idea to change them; Mahatma Gandhi did the tasks they needed to do. He led by example. A true leader always leads through an example. He did the chores even though he suffered from any health issues. The other people saw him do the tasks, and they started to change and do their duties.

From this chapter, I learn that we need to change ourselves before changing someone else. It is a fantastic chapter written by the author.

Pravar Kasma

Grade VII D

Gyanshree School

Autobiography of a Book- Aanya Kumar

Aanya Kumar is a grade V student whose interest lies in composing short write ups and stories on different topics. She strongly believes in in-depth research before expressing her views on any topic. She has also written reviews on a few books she read and liked. She is a keen learner who wants to increase her understanding and work for further development.

Determination - Rishona Chopra

Reading Chapter 12, Determination from the book,

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World? by Dr Anupam Sibal

Rishona Chopra
Grade V

Gyanshree School