Reflections for 2023 - Tenzin Jambey

The Sunday School Session on the 31st of December by My Good School was an exciting session for students and teachers as they spent time reading, reflecting, and looking back on how their relationships deepened in 2023. They focused on improving their reading, writing, and speaking skills. Tenzin Jambey, a dedicated student who attended every Sunday School session in 2023, is eager to share how it has transformed his life, what he has learned, and his plans for the future. Be sure to tune in and listen.

Tenzin Chonzom pours out her heart for My Good School!

Good evening, sir; this is Tenzin Chonzom ✨

We did a lot for today's class, but what reflected in my mind was that happiness is the result and not a cause.

I want to write a short note on this because of a discussion we had in class. 

It depends on external things. Its result, which comes from within due to our kind works, gives happiness. 

* Life of Crescendo (reflection)

. Life is a mission, not a career

. It tells About what keeps people growing

. We learned about the six paths

       : happiness is the result, not the cause 

       : stress is not bad

       : Physical exercise is essential and good 

. If you enjoy

        : Cash doesn't last

        : Stay involved in work

        : Maintenance of a robust social network

. Anyone who keeps learning stays young 🌱

. Staying focused

. It's all recognition of the abundance of facts. 

*Creating Passion 

Passions are developed through emotions, mainly through activities that you find to be fun.

As mentioned by Amerdeep sir in a previous session, he remarked, "DON'T FOLLOW PASSION. CREATE YOUR OWN PASSION." he has motivated me through all aspects of problems with his meeting in the session.

    

* Leaving 2023 and moving to 2024 ( learning I did from My Good School in this passing year )

 . Breaking goals into smaller steps makes them more accessible for students to comprehend. As mentioned by Amerdeep, sir.

My Good School always taught me never to stop dreaming and to keep learning and improving my reading, writing, and listening skills.

A good school encourages the young minds of students and is filled with positive thoughts.

Thank you, sir.

Tenzin Chonzom
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

JOL Diaries November 23

Newsletter by My Good School

"This Children's Day of the year 2023, we are most delighted to bring you the first issue of our monthly newsletter, and we look forward to the middle of every month to get into the middle of your heart and mind with #JoyOfLearning".
Rishona Chopra, School Captain

My Good School is 2, join the party!

Amid the jollification, a sudden and unexpected knock came on the door. #MyGoodSchool We are Two! Hoorah and the party is on!!

Reading, Reflection and Relationships #GoodSchoolsAlliance You must watch the video and, even better, sign up for My Good School; this is not a commercial but a sincere acknowledgement of the wonderful effort all the young people put in at My Good School - where passion meets education. Gyanshree Noida: We avoid sharing videos and photos of our school children and people who attend My Good School. Please bear with us for this small exception, as we are overwhelmed.

My Good School Birthday from Good Schools on Vimeo.

Appreciation - Kiran Vehniwal

Picture Courtesy- https://picpedia.org/handwriting/a/appreciation.html

Appreciation is a simple word that means 'to tell others that you are thankful for their efforts towards you'. Just a 12-letter word that can brighten up someone's day or make someone feel good about themselves.

We, being humans, tend to show appreciation only when someone does something for us.

Have you ever paused and thought about how people make a difference in our life just by being a part of it? Even if they are doing nothing extra to add value to our life?

I assume the answer will be no.

At points, we try our best to do better to make someone proud because that one person matters to us. That someone may not be doing anything in particular, but their existence drives us to achieve more.

Don't they deserve the most appreciation for giving us a motive in life. Definitely, they do.

Let's not only be appreciative just for showing a gesture in return for something but appreciate every living soul we come across, as they will definitely leave an impact on you to make your life better. 

Kiran Vehniwal 

Prita Lee Lesson School, Kapurthala 

Love To Serve - Rishona Chopra

It is said that what we do comes back to us. Karma, as some of us would call it. A good act of kindness comes back to us. It may be true and correct, but it should not be our cause to do something good. We shouldn't give, help, care or be kind, just believing that we will do good so good will come to us.

The law of karma isn't something that can be fooled. It is just a power of the universe. It looks at the thought behind it and not just the action. 

When we give something, do we expect something in return? Well, I did, and I realised that when you give someone something - not an item but even an act of kindness and care, not many return the same to you, and we have to live with it. The only way to yet be happy is to first accept it and then know that your deed of kindness has helped somebody. 

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your standard of living. Raise your standard of giving. - Mark Batterson

It is true what Mark Batterson has said, we should give not only when we are rich in our everyday lives, we should raise our standard of giving, it may not be just giving money, even giving a toy to a person who needs it or a book is an act of giving too! 

A small act of giving could mean everything to a person. Giving not only makes the other person happy but also makes us happy. As said,' make others happy, and you will be satisfied the same way give and give, and you will feel better.

                                                                       ***
Do we have this life entirely for ourselves? Are we given this life just so we can enjoy and live happily? Well, we are absolutely nothing alone. One cannot be anything alone at all. Mahatma Gandhi alone did not defeat the British. Mother Teresa alone did not help the people. No one has ever accomplished anything alone because it is simply not possible. As brave and fascinating as doing something alone sounds, it isn't. We are all connected; we are all one. We say Unity in Diversity, but do we mean it from our hearts?

We may differ in colour, race, background, education, age, and height, but we are still the same. We are just one soul. 

So why do we believe that all our actions must be for ourselves? Can't it be for others? Will that do us any harm? 
To check, let us just list out what could happen. 

DEED: LOSS
I gave a child my pencil: I had another one
I helped someone tie their laces: No loss
I donated money to charity: I earned some more
Meeting my sick friend: No loss
Gave food to a homeless: Spent little money
Helped someone study: No loss
Complimenting someone and appreciating them: No loss
Sat with someone and listened to them: No loss

These are a few examples of deeds of giving. I may have lost money, pencils and a few more little things, but all these deeds made me happier and were defiantly worth it. These deeds may have taken out some of my time, but they all make me happier. 

What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others lives on forever. 

Rishona Chopra

Grade VII

Gyanshree School

A trip to SchoolEducation.Com - Veda Varshita Marrivada

It was a fun and knowledgeable trip visiting the SchoolEducation.Com. It is a website created by the Good School Alliance program. It was an outstanding experience with many things to know about. As I scrolled through the web pages, I came across many other programs held by the Good Schools Alliance. There were many informative videos. Some programs were Happy Teachers, Sunday School, My Good School Retreat etc.

The school song of My Good School was melodious and splendid. It was soothing, lovely, and relaxing to hear. Also, many takeaways from the reflections given by many students were creative and helpful. Coming to the Internships, the reviews provided by the interns made me determined to become an intern in the future.

The various programs listed on the website gave me a sensation of excitement. The website also gave me the curiosity to learn many more things. The Meet and Greet podcasts were fascinating. It was a unique website because it was like an online school. There were several books to read. I could not notice how fast the time passed by just scrolling on the website for half an hour. The various programs also help us to build our vocabulary.

The My Good School Program focuses on the 6 C's, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, character, and citizenship, which are very important to success in our life and career. There is also a facility to buy many exciting books, such as:

Live Life In Crescendo
Blue Sky, White Cloud
Ratan Tata Ek Prakash Stambh

My Good School
Where passion meets education
And many more are based on our daily life and have many things to learn. This website is very inspirational for me as I could understand there are "No limits to knowledge and learning". It was a spectacular trip visiting the SchoolEducation.com website.

In conclusion, we have many things to learn, and what we know today might help us tomorrow, and whatever we learn is a drop or a pond compared to an ocean. The trip to SchoolEducation.Com will allow us to learn many new things and succeed in our life.

Veda Varishta Marrivada
Grade 5 Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

Please listen to my blog post.

Being Human - Veda Varshita Marrivada

Being human is something which everyone cannot do. It depends on whether an individual is human, but what is being human? It means being a very generous human being. It is also a part of Humanity. Being human can also reflect on the character of a person. Donations, Charities, Adoptions, etc., come under the category of being human. A person requires a pure and kind heart to be human. Being human gives a feeling of satisfaction and happiness and teaches us to be good human beings.

The reality of the world hides in a mask where most people claim the good deeds and blame the bad deeds, but rare people are good humans from the inside. People show off their acts for the sake of status but not with good intentions. Humanity is becoming extinct, and many people hate each other. The percentage of cruelty in the world is at a high intensity.

Everyone should be treated fairly and equally. ALAS! I am still a child, but once I grow up, I shall donate money to old age homes and orphanages, give money to the poor and help anyone I see in trouble without hesitation. Also, I shall try my best to be a good human being as an honourable citizen of India, but my parents currently arrange food banks at orphanages and old age homes on our birthdays. Helping them gives us a feeling of happiness and joy. My parents always help others, inspiring and motivating me to do the same.

Helping others makes everyone happy. Humanity is an essential virtue which we should follow for a better world. Being human also applies to animals. Treating them fairly is necessary too. Many people torture animals such as horses, elephants, lions and other animals for entertainment.

In conclusion, everyone should do their best to be a good human being.

Veda Varishta Marrivada
Grade 5 Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

Listen to my reflection

My visit to SchoolEducation.com - Tenzin Jambey

After visiting the website, I found that the focus on the development of the thinking abilities of the students is the priority of My Good School, and it also focuses on the improvement of reading, writing and speaking skills of children. 

My Good School gives us a platform for sound learning, and its teaching is among the top schools. Instead, it teaches many life lessons and excellent morals, which would be helpful to till our last breath. 

On the website there is a picture of a book named My Good School which is a great book written by Sandeep Sir the book tells about the ways of making a good school better, a place where everyone can enjoy the teachings and learning. 

I think My Good School is teaching us many many lessons and gives messages that would prove productive in our future.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children’s Village India

Gyanshree School Noida has helped build our Internship Program

 #mygoodschool

Gyanshree School Noida helped build the Internship Program.

Anvesha Rana
"I joined Good School this month only. I am new here but did not feel that way; all the managers and other interns are accommodating at this organisation. I love being a part of the Good School Alliance primarily because of the honest feedback I get from everyone here, which helps me improve my skills and initiate more company growth. The best thing about being an intern is that I can collaborate with the other interns and brainstorm more ideas for the company's development. As an intern, I complete the managers' tasks and write blogs for the Joy Of Learning Diaries".

Simar Kaur
"I am Simar, new to The Good Schools community. I applied for an internship after attending a few reading sessions. At first, I thought being an intern would be nerve-wracking, but I was wrong! Rather it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Along with my fellow interns, I am working on the My Good School podcast and enjoy working on it. Being acquainted with the program is refreshing, as I can do something productive when I take a break from schoolwork. I also enjoy writing blogs and reflections for the Joy of Learning Diaries. All this is new for me, but what makes me happy is that I went for it and loved it!"

Do you have the courage?
Students, Teachers and Volunteers
Interns are an intrinsic part of the Joy Of Learning Program; they attend Sunday School, the monthly meetings and work remotely. During their tenure, interns are intimately engaged in the school community, and these experiences often create lasting impressions for all.

Critical areas for participation are Instruction and Training, Supervision, Counselling, Marketing and Assessment. Depending on the individuals' interests and experience and the school's needs, the intern may be appropriately placed in an online classroom supporting and occasionally leading core curriculum classes and extracurricular programs.

My Passing Out Speech at School - Keyura Rao Cheeti

Hi! I am Keyura, a student of class 5 who is now graduating from Primary and moving to middle school. How can I ever forget the year I first stepped into this school in Primary. The teachers, the ayyammas, the students, everyone were very welcoming. 

The first time when I saw a Prefect minding the assembly and telling the children what was right for them, that was the moment I knew I wanted to be a Prefect! When I discovered I was selected for the Prefect interview, my heart jumped joyfully!

I WAS VERY NERVOUS when I reached the waiting area, and my heart was beating fast. When my name was called to take the interview, I pushed that nervousness away and felt confident. A few days later, I found out I was a Technology Prefect! On the day of the investiture ceremony, I was super excited. I got to shake hands with the Commissioner of Police, Mr C.V. Anand, IPS! That was amazing! 

I made friends yearly but lost touch with them as we got shuffled. In the Primary, I was also a part of the choir. I got to participate in all the singing performances. Joining the choir made me realize my love for singing and being on the stage. During COVID, when I was in 3rd and 4th grade, I made some excellent friends and stayed in contact with them online. I ended my Primary with a BIG surprise! Me and four of my other friends were selected for a student exchange program, My Good School Retreat 2023.

Good School Alliance also offers a Sunday school program for avid readers. We got to go to Dehradun as part of this program. We were warmly welcomed at The Doon Girls School. We visited  The Doon School. We had a lot of fun in Dehradun by trekking, watching cultural programs and attending circle time, where we express our gratitude daily. There, we had to talk about our state and our school. I enjoyed it a lot

though I was a little homesick. But overall, what a way to end primary school, isn't it? 

We learnt many things here in Primary School that we must apply in Middle School. I enjoyed winning, learnt to accept failure, stand up for what I believed in, let go and always have a good time. My best friends might be shuffled as I speak, but this will allow me to make more. I am leaving here with many memories, advice, friends and teachers that will be in my heart forever. 

Keyura Rao Cheeti,

Class VI

The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet

To be human... - Rishona Chopra

Humans. That term rings a bell, doesn't it? What does it really mean?

Scientifically, humans are the most common and widespread species of primate.
Psychologically, humans are complex beings, and their behaviour and mental attitude result from interaction within and between their internal biological, psychological and social systems.

There are several definitions of "human", which are perhaps countless. I believe that "human" is just a term for creatures with two arms, two legs, two hands, two feet, two eyes, one nose, and two ears that can talk and express their words clearly. Apart from our distinct physical features, we are like any other living organism.  

There is so much we can learn from the smallest of creatures. Ants, for example. They work diligently in an organised manner and are quite industrious. They never fight with each other and don't interfere with each other's work. They simply do what they do. Even sheep, they only care about getting food and water. They don't realise that they're walking a new road every day. They probably don't see that the fields are different and the seasons change as long as we give them food and water. (lines from The Alchemist).

 This shows that sometimes we humans too, don't realise that every day is a new adventure, a new beginning to relish. We are so busy in our work that we don't care to look out the window and see the world's beauty. 

You might think that animals don't have feelings, but we do, so we are superior to them. But, have you ever been in the mind of an animal? Probably not, so you have no idea if they have feelings and thoughts too. And if you have been in the mind of  an animal, bird, or plant, tell me what you saw in the comments below!

It is right when we say humans are complex. Everything is perfectly laid out, but we unnecessarily make our  life complicated and create issues. We get puzzles to solve, telling us that the boy has to reach a box of cookies through a complex maze. We can just directly take the boy to the jar without really going inside the maze but going out of it! Isn't that so much simpler? 

We say animals' life is simple, but we don't realise that so is ours. We divide ourselves foolishly into castes and religions. In my opinion, it is nothing but our blindness to the truth. We separate ourselves based on different "gods", but there is really just one god, a power that guides us. "My guide inside", as some of us would call it. I wouldn't comment more on that but this is my opinion. 

Let me ask you a question, or why don't you ask yourself a question. What is your purpose on Earth? To get a good job, earn money, be a good citizen, be a good child, and be a good student? You would probably quote all your roles as a reply. I believe that your only purpose is to do good. I think we all have forgotten that very purpose and are physical humans but mentally we are not. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Life is a beautiful journey to death - Tenzin Jambey

I saw this quote hanging on the wall of my class classroom. Every day I used to see it, and I used to think and ask myself, is life a beautiful journey to death? Then my consciousness would say it's in our hands whether if you do good things, then you will get a peaceful death, but if you do sin, then obviously you'll face a terrible death. But, sometimes, it happens that kind-hearted people die.

If we look into the world around us and see the recent deaths, we will find that a good person dies first. There is the story of a man and son; once, a boy asked his father why good people die first, then the father said to the child think you are going to a garden, and there are many flowers and which flower would you pluck. The child told the most beautiful one then the father said that god also wants to take the good person with him. 

Sometimes things become so complicated that we are unable to predict the output. Peole say you are not good, she is like this, he is like that, they are not good but sometimes our  life itself becomes a cause of great destruction of ourselves. 

Many people desire to become rich whereas some people are happy being poor. Rich people face as many problems as other people do. Behind every negativity there is a positivity and behind every smily face there is a sad face.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children’s Village India

Image from The Little Book Of Values

Reflecting on the My Good School Retreat 2023

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2023 at 21:52

Subject: REFLECTION ON THE MY GOOD SCHOOL RETREAT 2023.

Dear Teachers,

Hope you had a nice day.

When I got a chance to attend the My Good School Retreat in the Doon Girls School, first l was very excited to see the people from various parts of India whom I had only heard or seen on the screen. On the other hand, I needed clarification about interacting with them. But who knew that I would talk to everyone and enjoy with them. 

On the first day, we walked to Khalanga War Memorial, Nalapani, accompanied by Col Vikram Thapa and two more people. One of them was around the 70s and was very kind and friendly. We learnt many things from him, like about the Khalanga War etc. After the walk, we returned to The Doon Girls School, where we had the Icebreaking session, held after the tasty lunch in the school. In the evening, we had presentations by various schools which were knowledgeable, but at the same time, I was scared too, as it was my first presentation in public.

            

We left for The Doon School the next day, which was a great life opportunity for me. There we had our breakfast, and I liked the school system as it was different from regular schools; all the activities done in the school were looked after by the students and even the school assembly. After the walk in the school, we went forward to Khan Farm, Biharigarh. We had a nature walk and played many games, including the talent show, team building and leadership activity. Through those games, we learned how a leader should act.

It was the second last day when we returned from Biharigarh. Then back in school, we had to reflect on our two-day journey. And I had many things to say, but couldn't I be nervous to say things in front of others. When it was my turn to speak, I said something funny, which made everyone laugh. After that, we had our friendly basketball match between the retreat team and the Doon Girls School. Fortunately, we won the game by one point. There was a situation when I snatched the ball from a girl, but later in the game, she took revenge, which was fun.

On the last day, it was Earth Day celebrations in which many schools came and sang songs based on nature, and we also sang the song "Somewhere In The World".

I am very thankful to the Director of Pesstalozzi for giving us such a great opportunity, Shelja Ma'am, and Minaxi Ma'am for supporting us.

Thanking you 

Yours faithfully,

Monika Singh Pundir 

https://pestalozziworld.com/about/where-we-work/indian-village/

Minor edits were made to publish the letter in its form and substance.

My Good School Retreat 2023 - Nishan Karki

I have got many great opportunities in my life. The excellent My Good School Retreat is one of the best opportunities, giving me many life lessons. This will be an unforgettable part of my life. I had never been so excited about many things, but this was the opposite. I have described below my experiences and what I learned during this retreat.

Day 1: 18th April 2023

Our trip was going to be great, and I was very excited. Excitedly, I left Pestalozzi, my four friends, and my escort teacher Minaxi Rawat. I was hoping my day would go well. On reaching The Doon Girls School, we first had our RT-PTR tests. The good result was that all of our reports came negative. We assembled at the basketball for the walk at Khalanga War Memorial, Nalapani.

Khalanga War Memorial: The day's first activity was visiting Khalanga War Memorial. The Memorial was located in a hilly region which I like. Now for sure, my day was going to be very significant. When I entered the memorial surrounding, I felt like I was in my hometown in Nepal. We gathered at one place where we had our introduction. We had a little introduction about that place by Col Vikram Thapa.

Along with him, there were three more people. They all were Nepali. I conversed with them and gathered a lot of information about that place. We had a nearly 1 km walk from where we gathered to the Memorial. 

We reached the Memorial and spent time talking, making friends and clicking pictures. After some time, we left the Memorial and went back. On our way back, we also visited the Chandrani Devi Temple. Both the Memorial and temple were incredible. The sal forest also added more beauty to them. We thanked all the people who supported us during this visit. We also presented them with some gifts.

Ice-Breaking Session: The ice-breaking session was conducted by Monisha Ma'am and other teachers of The Doon Girls School. In this session, we had many activities, such as our introduction, the secret fact about us and some fun games. The games were entertaining, which also continued hidden moral values.

Schools shared their PowerPoint Presentations: In this session, students from various schools presented the Presentation about the heritages of their places. It was a very effective learning source, and we learned about the heritage of different areas.

Fun Games: We played fun games during this session, including dodgeball and chasing games.

Cultural Program by The Doon Girls School: The school girls presented various cultural activities in this session. They included choir, dance, drama and yoga. They gave all of their actions very beautifully.

 Day 2: 19th April 2023

We all came to The Doon Girls School and assembled at Basketball Court for a visit to The Doon School.

The Doon School: One of the top 10 schools in India, The Doon School indeed needs appreciation for its level of education, environment and facilities. The students studying there are very hardworking and disciplined. Even the Headmaster, Dr Jagpreet Singh, was very friendly with everyone and knew every child's name. Indeed the visit to The Doon School was once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Khan Farm, Biharigarh: The Khan Farm in Biharigarh was beautiful. It was a mango farm with small fruits growing on the trees. We stayed here for a day and had a lot of fun. We also did many activities. They included team-building sessions, walking and exploring the farm and a talent show. During these sessions, we played various games containing moral values. Exploring the farm surrounded by beautiful mango trees was fun. Coming close to nature is a great experience. In the talent shows, every group shared their talent. We sang a Nepali, a Tibetan, an English and Peatalozzi song. The food here was also delicious. Even now, also I miss the food.

Day 3: 20th April 2023

Again there was another new day starting. We all woke up and got ready for a fresh start to the day. We had to do many activities this day. We had the activities like Understanding Farming and Leader in Me. Without farmers to produce the food we need daily, we would die of hunger. Farming is an essential source of livelihood. The Leader in Me session taught us about famous leaders and their characteristics. Each school had to choose two leaders and talk about them.

After all these activities, our trip to The Khan Farm ended. We thanked all the people on the farm who supported us during this trip.

We reached The Doon Girls School in the afternoon. We all were tired due to the travel by bus. Now it was time for us to take some rest. After our rest time, we had to share our trip experience. Each child from every school shared their experience of the past few days.

The session after this was very interesting. It was a friendly Basketball match between the retreat and The Doon Girls School teams. Both the teams played very well. I also participated in and played the game. The good news for us was we won the match by one point. The score was 19- 18. After the game, we all were praised for playing so well.

Day 4: 21st April 2023

This was the last day of our retreat. The activities today were only till the afternoon. On this day, the activities included workshops like needlework, art, craft, designing, bamboo works, music, etc. There was a music festival also.

I attended the needlework class and the bamboo work class. I found both of them very interesting and valuable. I enjoyed this time and learned new things.

The Music Festival - Music of Spheres was conducted by the Doon Girls School. Many other schools also participated in this event. We sang a song called Changer of Seasons. All the schools sang very beautifully. Indeed, music brings peace to mind.

After this session, we had some snacks and left for home. It was such a wonderful experience.

Nishan Karki is a great youth ambassador for Pestalozzi Children's Village India.

My Good School Retreat 2023 - Tenzin Jambey

Seeing all the teachers and friends leaving with whom I spent an excellent time for four days, I almost cried. After spending four days together, I felt like we had been together for a very long period, and during this time, I became very close with them; I suppose that we all became so close that we were much more than best friends and because of this bond I emotional when everyone was leaving, the only thing which  I could say was " goodbye " and " best wishes ahead " I wanted to say many things, but the words were not coming from my mouth, one after one everyone started leaving and only HPS (Hyderabad Public School) group were left, for few minutes we talked and after a while, they were also nowhere to be seen. 

I was sitting near the basketball court of The Doon Girls School with my other Pestalozzi's friends and Shelja Ma'am, we were waiting for our bus to come and then suddenly my memories flashed back and I saw two vision that deeply touched my heart, first was the vision my friends entering the school on first day with full excitement and another was again them who were now heading  back to home with happy memories, pocket full of knowledge and with sad feelings of getting apart then I remembered the words of Monisha Ma'am who on first day told us that the word retreat means "heading back" but in our case the word retreat meant  something else for us it's meaning was heading back with good memories, memorable experiences, pocket full of knowledge and atlast the sadness of getting apart with eachother, these thoughts kept roaming in my mind and I kept on reflecting upon it while I was sitting near the basketball court of The Doon Girls School (DGS) where we had a friendly match with DGS versus the retreat group, I match was fun and and went tough as I was also among the player I really enjoyed but the spectators enjoyed even more seeing us putting basket and getting tired.

"Bus has come," said Shelja Ma'am and in a minute, we were inside the bus, I still looked at the DGS building even when the bus was moving, and after a turn, I could not see the school. We were going from the same road, the road from where we went to the Kalanga war memorial, The Doon School, and Khan Farm, and now from the same route, we were going back to Pestalozzi, the same road. I was sitting in the front seat, and it was 1:50 pm, and I played the "Jena Jena" song on guitar. No other song came into my mind; only this song came, which Malan Sir played for us during guitar class in DGS.

He taught us many guitar lessons in one hour, and if we had more time, he might have taught us many more things. I don't know whether this kind of feeling comes in every person or not; I get overwhelmed with happiness when I meet someone from my place or northeast as I am also from north east "Arunachal" I feel happy to meet someone from there; the guitar Sir was from Manipur, and because of that, I got even more interest in learning from him and also many students in DGS were from Arunachal. For a moment, I felt like I had met my brothers and sisters, as we have many things in common, especially those tiny eyes. Getting apart was the most challenging situation for me; it was even more difficult than singing a song on stage on the last day among different schools and students I had never seen or met.

The bus suddenly stopped, and I opened my eyes and found that I had reached back. I didn't even know when I went to sleep, but while I was getting off the bus, many thoughts came into my mind, which made me feel a bit worried as I was absent for three days from school. I wondered how much homework I must have got, which I could do without any difficulties, but the lessons or chapter taught in school was something I had to understand all by myself. I entered my room and saw all my friends resting; I was also tired and fell on my bed and tried to sleep. Still, the memories of the retreat kept me awake for a while. Somehow after a few minutes, I managed to sleep.

At 5 pm, ma'am came to wake us up, and there was a workshop. After the workshop, my friends. I went to Cheme la Ma'am to thank her for allowing us to attend the My Good School Retreat. She was simultaneously pleased and proud of us because we guys did an excellent job within these four days; she said, "We don't need to be thanked because you all deserve it." Those who work hard are always rewarded, which motivated me to work even harder even in future. I would love the reward of attending the My Good School Retreat.

We had our study hour from 8 pm to 10 pm, but I didn't feel like studying, and I thought of writing the reflection on the trip for four days. Then I took my reflection notebook and a pen and started putting my thoughts and emotions into words. From the first day of my visit to the Kalanga war memorial to the last day of the Earth Day celebration, I kept emphasising my mind to remember every moment.

In my notebook, I wrote down the lessons I had learnt and the life skills taught by Monisha Ma'am greatly influenced and motivated me to push myself towards success. I kept on writing, and I didn't even know how two hours had passed, and at 10 pm, I went to bed. I was lying in bed when I heard the sound of thunder bursting, and it took me back to the visit to Khan Farm. We enjoyed sitting on the sofa on the veranda and seeing the thunder and shower of rain was one of the most beautiful pictures I had ever seen. The lightning of thunder brought daylight for a second, and again, the darkness came  While I was thinking about this, it was already 11 pm. I felt like someone had stolen my sleep away, I wanted to sleep, but I could not.

I missed all my friends, and I wanted to see the faces of Monisha Ma'am, Shilpika Ma'am, Kunal Bhaiya, Sathya Ma'am, Malan Sir, Taraksh, Aradhya, Snigha, Vibha, Sanitah, Tammana, Yashraj, Ragav, Oshi and my Arunachal I friend Zirpo. More than that, I was excited to sleep because I thought they all might come in my dream, and after sometimes I went into a deep sleep.

At last, I would like to thank Sandeep Sir, Monisha Ma'am and DGS group for organising the beautiful events and assisting us in various ways.

Thanks to Cheme la Ma'am for allowing me to attend this retreat, Shelja Ma'am and Minaxi Ma'am for helping us for all four days.

Tenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Thanks to the Headmaster, Staff and Students at The Doon School

My Reflection on Self-control - Nishan Karki

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that he exercises over himself." -Elie Wiesel.

Self-control means controlling our feelings, emotions and actions when we are angry, irritated, upset, enraged, etc. Self-control helps us in several ways. It leads a path for us to be a good person, it leads to a good life, it leads to happiness and receives us from certain emotions such as sadness, anger, depression and evil actions such as fight, gambling, ganging, etc. There are many ways to develop self-control. I have mentioned some of them below:

1. We need to correct our way of thinking.
2. We need to have a goal in life and follow that goal to achieve success.
3. We should have the confidence and willpower to do things correctly.
4. We should focus on our work daily.
5. We should be self-motivated and inspired and also take motivation from good people.

6. We should learn to control our feelings, thoughts, emotions and actions.

- Nishan Karki
Pestalozzi Children's Village India 

We are reading.

Reflection on the topic Peer Pressure - Tenzin Jambey

In the Oxford dictionary, the word "peer " means people of the same age as you, and "pressure" means forcing someone to do certain things or activities.

It feels fun to do things with our friends; we play, study, and spend time with our friends in school and without friends, life would be pretty dull. When we make friends at first, we never know who is nasty or good; only after spending some time do we learn about our friend's personalities and mentality. A good friend will always think and wish for good welfare, but a lousy friend will try to pull you in the wrong direction. Bad friends often put pressure on you to do the activities which they do. 

If I had to tell you how to overcome peer pressure, then I would say we should break our bond with the wrong people or bad friends as we know a bad person always puts pressure on you and will always emphasise on wrong things, but we should first try to change them and if they don't change then we must simply end our bond with them. A good friend would never pressure you and always teach you productive things.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Launch your child into Space with Slooh

In season 10, episode 11, Anna Paolucci is in conversation with Sandeep Dutt, the Founder of the Learning Forward India Foundation. 

Slooh has democratized school space access through innovation, and in association with the Learning Forward India Foundation, Slooh is spreading the joy of learning in India #JoyOfLearning. 

Space Program Technology: From backyard telescopes to networked mountaintop observatories, 15 online robotic telescopes, including a flagship observatory at a top site in the world U.S. Patent 7,194,146 B2, issued in 2006 for instant imaging via networked telescopes, 18 hours of live feeds per day, 1000 plus daily "Missions" to space 

Community: From a solitary experience to a social one Student communities sharing control of the observatories Live Star Parties syndicated to the media attract millions of viewers Education: From textbooks to experiential learning Gamified, asynchronous STEAM curriculum from elementary to college Fulfils NGSS requirements by enabling the capture of phenomena for analysis Join a global community, and explore space via a network of robotic mountaintop telescopes. 

Live online telescope feeds unique astronomical events from Slooh's observatories in the Canary Islands and Chile. School Space Program makes learning a fun process. My Good School curriculum focuses on service, skill, sport and study. The Slooh program adds value to the school curriculum. 

The Learning Foward India Foundation through My Good School encourage schools and students to become involved in activities beyond study; this helps develop confidence, knowledge and networks.

To discover more, please visit www.Slooh.org.in.

Reflections from The Sunday School 15th Jan 2023 - Pestalozzi World

What do you value in life?

"Things that people do for me for my own good, like my school teachers, staff members in Pestalozzi as well as the staff working for "My Good School" and the uncles and aunties working in EBD, creating a lot of good memories with them are the valuable things in my life. My family's support and courage also matter greatly to me." - Tenzing Dhekyong N.

"I value time very much, and I respect and value people who spend their valuable time on us. This not only encourages me to become a better human and not let their efforts go in vain but also give time to others who may need it cause it's time which is the actual ultimate healer. Blessed " - Tenzin Tsering.

"The thing I value the most in my life is my home. It is the place from where I started the journey of my life.No matter where or how far a person goes, he/she has to come back or end up with a place called 'home'. The home provides us with most of the things that we want. It is a place where we make love for each other and for family members. It is the very first place to start with anything.

Like before going to school, we learn A, B, C, D...... at home. We learn manners and moral values, which I still do. What do we want in our life? A safe place to stay where we can spend our days and night. So, what would be safer than home?

And the second thing that I value the most is the person's personality, behaviour, the way he/she act and react and the way of thinking etc. I guess these are the things we need to carry with us until death. These are the precious jewels a person should have." - Nisma Meghi.

"I get all the respect of others due to my Integrity, Spirituality, Perfection, Confidence,  Leadership, and Responsibility. These are the most valuable thing in my life." - Brahamdeep Thakur.

"I value many things in my life: parents, truth, study, personality, time that has given, loyalty, relatives etc. 

But the person I value a little more is my sister; in Tibetan, we say ache (sister); she helps me when I am down. She is like my close friend with whom I share feelings. And sometimes, I fight with her severely but end up hugging and crying together, saying sorry. She is also the one who teaches me good things that I value." - Richen Khando.

"For me, As a blanket statement for every living thing on Earth, nothing is the most valuable thing in life. Some people value memories. Some people value time. Some people value certain idols or ideas more than they value their lives. And that's completely fine — it's up to them to decide what they love the most in life. But who's to determine what's the most essential thing in life, ever, for everyone?

You create your own meanings and your own value in life. You really do. What you value in life differs from your friends, family, neighbours, pets, etc., and the billions of other humans you don't know and never will." - Thank you from Januka Basnet. 

"To begin with, today, I am here because I would like a better or brighter tomorrow. Being here means I receive an education and can learn valuable things daily. Whether it is academics or life lessons. So firstly, the most valuable thing in my and most people's lives is their parents. They have supported me since I was young and will support me in my future life.

Secondly, my friends and Pestalozzi have given me such a good environment and help me whenever I need them. I am very proud to have such good teachers who teach me studies and good behaviour. At the same time, there is my health and time.

Health= if I will not take care of my health, I will not be fit and fine.

Time= Not only me but everyone should value time and use it properly because time will not wait for you; you need to learn to love it." - Manisha Rana.

"Many people have their own valuable things in their life to which they really care and never wanna lose it. Similarly, I have many valuable things that cannot be bought or lost easily. Like time, we should always value the time we have, especially with our circle, since it's elusive and significant. Even happiness is essential for our mental health, which may affect the people around us." - Tenzin Nyesel.

"Firstly, life is the most valuable thing because we get human life after millions of years as a gift. We can make the most of the life given to us. Parents are also important in our life as parents not only give birth to children and provide needs like love, attention, support, care, and, most of all, knowledge. Pestalozzi is also one of the most valuable things in my life. I am fortunate and thankful to be a member of Pestalozzi and for giving me such a good opportunity to learn new things and be part of The Sunday School, by My Good School." - Smriti Rai.

"First of all, time is the most valuable thing in my; it does not have any start and end. It has its own way of moving; no one can stop it. For example, we cannot say time; please wait for me. I will study later or do any work later on. It will not wait for us. Because time doesn't wait for anyone, time is precious, so mostly all are scared to waste time. Time changes everyone's life. If we do all our work on time, it will make our future bright if we play with time, then our life will get worst. Time can control everything, but no one can control time. Even there is time for doing every work. Secondly, to be kind to others, be respectful, and help others is also valuable in my life." - Nirusha Limbu.

There are several things which have great value to me. Things which have great value in my life are time, health (both physical and mental), studies and nature. These things have been essential parts of my life since my childhood. I will always take great care and focus on these helpful values. Nishan Karki.

"Someone has rightly said `, Time and tide wait for none'. Each of us knows the value of time because we only get successful if we see the value of time. So, time is precious in our lives. We can buy a watch, but not time; once it goes, it never returns.

The second thing I value in my life is the opportunities and the love, care and support I get from people around me. Opportunities are valuable as, once gone can never come back. I am always thankful for all the people who helped me. I feel very grateful and lucky to have all those people in my life, especially Pestalozzi." - Shristi Khulal.

"The thing that I value the most in my life is my family. Families are important because nobody can live alone all the time. We need others to support us in our hard times and good times.No one could better support us than your family. They are always going to be there for you whenever you need them. I am here with my friends, who always support me because my family taught me to be friendly and good to everyone. There is a saying that says, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." I have a good relationship with everyone because of my family and the saying that they constantly reminded me of when I got upset and had a hard fight with anyone. I remember the saying and took action which would help make the situation better. I am very thankful for my family.

In my life, I value everything given to me by Pestalozzi and my family. I even value my career, so l can be successful and earn enough money to provide for my family and myself. I value my family, Pestalozzi staff and friends the most because they are the people with whom I can trust and share my problems. They are always there for me. Whenever I am in need" -  Ankita Khadka. 

"What I am grateful for, I wish to thank everyone I have ever met. They all are the ones who motivated me, who supported me, who studied and played with me. My family, especially my mother, to whom I am grateful for giving birth. My father who helped me in all ways till now. He is the one who fulfilled my requirement and who brought me toys when I was small. Here in Pestalozzi, I am grateful and thankful for whatever I get. I wish to thank the scolding which I get from my Ma'am".  - Tenzin Jambey