Echoes of Experience: Student Insights from the Retreat

Peer Learning in Action: Reflections from the My Good School Retreat 2025

We all learn best through shared experiences—with peers who walk alongside us and mentors who guide us thoughtfully. From April 11 to 14, 2025, students from various schools gathered for the My Good School Retreat at the serene and lush Khan Farm, located near Rajaji National Park in Haridwar.

Set against the backdrop of nature, this Retreat was a celebration of fun, friendship, learning, and a lifetime of memories. Over four days, students engaged in enriching conversations, collaborative tasks, reflective journaling, and soulful moments that nurtured not just their intellect but also their hearts.

More than just an event, the Retreat was a journey of self-discovery, shared values, and meaningful connection. With this experience, learning flowed freely, not through textbooks, but through dialogue, activities, and quiet moments under the open sky.

Let us now hear directly from those who experienced it—the students themselves. Their journal entries, carefully penned and compiled into a digital folder, offer a glimpse into their minds and hearts. Through their reflections, we see the impact of learning beyond the classroom, shaped by empathy, understanding, and inspiration.

Step into their stories and experience the magic of the My Good School Retreat 2025—through the voices that matter most.

Students united in nature, discovering joy, learning, and lifelong bonds at the My Good School Retreat.
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"As mentors, we don't just teach—we listen, guide, and grow alongside our students."

The YES Way (TYW) - Service, Skill, Sport and Study - our log books for the My Good School Retreat.

The students and teachers from the participating schools formed teams to cherish the #JoyOfLearning at the Retreat. The groups shared their journey of learning in four presentations, the first, The Fastest Cheetah, is followed by three more in the following posts:

• The Fastest Cheetah - TYW 1

• The Lion King - TYW 2

• Black Cat Group - TYW 3

• The Brave Dog - TYW 4

Manisha Khanna
GSA Ambassador

JDS School Reflections Sunday 11th November 2024

Life from the eyes of trees

Through the eyes of trees, life is slow and timeless. They witness seasons, creatures, and changes in the world around them, feeling each sunrise and sunset. Rooted in place, they grow steadily, adapting quietly, watching humans rush by. Trees endure, connected to the earth, resilient, and part of a story far beyond a single lifetime.

Name- Anjali Bishnoi

Grade- 9th Rose

Jhamkudevi Sen Sec School

How would Cinnamon feel if he meet his birth parents?

At the time of meeting his birth parents, Cinnamon would have been filled with a lot of emotions and at the same time having a lot of questions about their identities. This would have been a very emotional meeting. Also Cinnamon will start feeling a sense of completion after meeting his birth parents as he will get the answers to all the questions he has had within him for a long time and the feeling of loneliness and depression he was tolerating may also diminished by meeting his birth parents and may start feeling soothing.

Name - Nancy 

Grade- 9th Rose

Jhamkudevi Sen Sec School

The Great Dreams - Doon Girls' School

Do Dreams Show Our Future?

Dreams are the whispers of our future, gently guiding us towards the possibilities yet to unfold.
I have been pondering this quote since the start of my adolescence. The reason I am thinking about it may be late, as my dreams in childhood were just fantasies. An Island with a big castle made of rocks, above the clouds, an orchard full of roses, wearing a ball gown. - Gaurangi 9th

It reflects on the significance of dreams, suggesting that they are more than just experiences during sleep. The text emphasizes that dreams are moments of life that help us understand ourselves better. It also touches on the idea of travelling through time, both technologically and philosophically, indicating that dreams can inspire and shape our reality. - Ibadat 6th

The chapter discusses a theme from the Jataka tales, specifically mentioning King Pasenadi and his dreams. This chapter explains that these dreams symbolize future moral and social decline, but the Buddha reassures the king that these events will not occur in his lifetime. It also includes motivational reflections, emphasizing the importance of believing in the beauty of dreams and the power within oneself to make dreams a reality. - Aadya 6th

It explores the idea that dreams are thoughts held within our subconscious mind, likening them to movies with a twist. The chapter suggests that decoding dreams is like interpreting encrypted messages sent from our brain, posing questions about what our subconscious mind wants us to know and what we can learn from our dreams about our emotions and ourselves. - Sanskriti 6th

A selection of writings from the My Good School cohort at Doon Girls' School (DGS) in Dehradun.

Friendship - Priyanshu Adha

Today I will share what friendship means to me. Friendship is a small word, but it has the whole world in itself only. That’s why this relationship must be pure, and the whole relationship is based on simply trust. It is the most precious gift of life. Friends are those who help you, enjoy with you, understand you. We know many people in our life, but not all are friends. Friendship is the most valuable relationship in the life of a person.

Real friendship is the relationship of two or more trusting each other and not expecting anything in return. Friendship is the way of being lovable and trust each other. We must preserve it throughout our lifetime.

Priyanshu Adha

Class VII B

The Fabindia School

Kindness and Happiness - Laxman Parmar

Within my 17 years of birthday celebrations, I felt like changing my usual way of celebrating this time. Instead of wasting money on cakes and cold drinks, I went to an ashram in Sheoganj, where I found many aged people with some mental issues. I felt pity for them, but I had the last idea about the reason for their mental issues.

Diverting my mind from the sadness, I decided to give them a short phase of joy. I did my cake cutting and served food to all of them, and was overwhelmed on seeing the joy on their faces as it was perhaps their first time they did the birthday cake cutting with someone.

After all the celebration, I received so many expensive gifts from them in the form of kind blessings, then I had to leave them with a goodbye and some beautiful lifetime memories.

Laxman Parmar

Class XI, The Fabindia School