Learning, Connection, and Growth - Sunbeam School Lahartara

 

My Good School by Manisha Khanna

A Sunday morning becomes truly enriching when spent reading, reflecting, and nurturing meaningful relationships. The students of Sunbeam School, Lahartara, embody this beautifully as they take time to think deeply about their Sunday School experiences. Through stories, thoughtful discussions, and shared moments, they not only strengthen their understanding but also build stronger bonds with one another. Their reflections show that learning becomes more fulfilling when guided by empathy, curiosity, and companionship—transforming each Sunday into a powerful step toward personal growth.

Learning with Heart - Lotus Petals Foundation

 

My Good School

A wonderful way to relax on a Sunday morning is to read, reflect, and build meaningful relationships. The students of Lotus Petal Foundation embody this spirit beautifully as they pause to think deeply about their experiences in Sunday School. Through stories, discussions, and shared moments, they not only strengthen their understanding but also connect more closely with one another. Their reflections reveal how learning becomes richer when paired with empathy, curiosity, and companionship—turning each Sunday into a meaningful step toward personal growth.

My Good School, Sunday 29th June 2025

YES Workshop with Shikha Agnihotri of Right Side Story

Discussion on puberty, growing up, and adolescence with high school students, led by Shikha Agnihotri from Right Side Story.

Key Takeaways

• Puberty involves both physical and emotional changes that are beyond one's control; understanding these changes helps normalise the experience ("puberty is not a race")

• Students shared insights on mood swings, emotional changes, and physical transformations during puberty, demonstrating awareness but also misconceptions

• The session emphasised communication as a crucial strategy for managing challenging emotions and relationships during adolescence

• Gender differences during puberty were discussed, including societal expectations and biological variations, with an emphasis on respect for all genders

Topics

Understanding Puberty and Growth

• Puberty is defined as a "software update" in the mind and body, signalling the transition from childhood.

• Students recognised that puberty is influenced by genetics and occurs at different ages for different people.

• Physical changes discussed included body odour, voice changes such as the Adam's apple in boys, and muscle development.

• Brain "rewiring" during puberty leads to feelings of independence and new emotional experiences.

• Girls and boys experience different physical changes, but both face hormonal shifts (testosterone vs. estrogen)

Emotional Changes During Puberty

• Students identified negative emotions experienced: anxiety, jealousy, frustration, irritation, depression.

• Positive emotions noted: happiness from recognition, validation, success, and achievement.

• Discussion of mood swings affecting both genders, not just girls, as commonly believed

• Students expressed challenges with controlling emotions during puberty

• Shikha emphasised that emotions during puberty are often temporary but intense, requiring patience

Friendship and Relationships During Adolescence

• Students debated whether friendship affects puberty or puberty affects friendship

• Trust issues in friendships were highlighted as a challenge during puberty

• Advice given: when hurt by friends, communicate within 24 hours rather than avoiding the issue

• Self-inflicted independence during puberty can strain relationships with parents and authority figures

• Importance of finding trusted adults to discuss difficult decisions emphasised

Self-Image and Body Awareness

• Students noted increased focus on appearance during puberty (clothes, hygiene, physical features)

• Discussion about boys becoming more conscious about their physical appearance (muscles, height)

• Girls discussed increased attention to skincare, makeup, and fashion choices

• The importance of hygiene is emphasised, especially regarding body odour, which increases during puberty

• Both genders experience increased self-consciousness and concern about how others perceive them

Reading Session: Animal Behaviour and Taste with Brinda Ghosh

• The second half of the meeting featured a reading from "The Inner Life of Animals" focusing on taste in animals

• Discussed how animals have different taste preferences than humans (example: crows eating seeds from horse excrement)

• Explored how taste is adapted to different species' needs and evolutionary history

• Reading skills were emphasised, including proper use of punctuation and expression while reading

• Importance of regular reading beyond textbooks (15-20 minutes daily) was encouraged

Next Steps

• Shikha proposed separate follow-up sessions for boys and girls to discuss puberty more openly

• Future session on pronunciation and reading skills to be conducted by Brinda

• After completing the current book, the group will read Gerald Durrell's works about animals

• Students are encouraged to practice communication skills when dealing with emotional challenges

• Students advised to develop reading habits beyond textbooks (15-20 minutes daily)

Reflection of the week - Sunday 21st July 2024

Session Summary:

We played the 2 Girls 1 Mic Podcast - The conversation revolved around classic literature, reflection, and societal norms. Participants shared their perspectives on the significance and enduring appeal of classic novels like Pride and Prejudice and Little Women. We discussed the importance of reflection in understanding oneself and others. 

Reading Jatakas, which explored the challenges of societal norms, offered fresh perspectives on the role of women in historical contexts. 

Additionally, the speakers discussed the behaviour and adaptation of trees in response to climate change and brainstormed ideas for a newsletter and podcast for their school's JOL Diaries. 

https://otter.ai/u/wSMurS0H9DA5m2PHFU0Q--iTukA
Link to the Session Summary

- Tune in to the Podcast 2 Girls and 1 Mic - 

- What does heaven mean to you? 

- Which is your favourite classic?

- From Jataka Tales - 

1. Why do we read about the Jataka Tales?    

2. Did the story connect with you today, and why?     

3. What learnings can we take away from the story today?   

4. What does "iniquity" mean?

5. Gender Equality 

6. How have things come along and changed in this world?

7. Change in mindset

- From Hidden Life Of Trees -     

1. Why do we read about trees in the first place?   

2. Did the story connect with you today, and why?     

3. What learnings can we take away from the story today?   

4. Take a look at the trees growing around any small clearing

5. Characteristics of fungi. What is their role in the life of a tree?

6. Notice a fungi growing on a tree and mention how it looks. 

7. Why do trees grow downwards? Mention a tree that grows downwards. 

Read My Name is Cinnamon by Vikas Prakash Joshi. We will invite him to a meet and greet soon!

These are some suggestions. We're looking forward to your excellent and thoughtful reflections, which you can email to LF@ebd.in.

Gratitude makes our Attitude - Sunbeam Varuna

Ismat - "If you concentrate on what you have, you'll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you'll never have enough." - Lewis Howes

Astha - Maintaining an attitude of gratitude holds significant importance as it transforms our mindset. By redirecting our attention from ourselves towards appreciating people or things, we open doors to express gratitude for every facet of our lives.

Ismat - Cultivating this attitude involves consciously appreciating both major and minor aspects regularly-be it relationships, health, business, possessions, basic necessities like food and water, or our general sense of wellness.

Astha - Embracing an attitude of gratitude lets us engage from a standpoint of abundance. Nurturing this mindset cultivates greater happiness, positivity, and compassion towards ourselves and those in our circles.

Ismat- Centering on what brings us gratitude helps build stronger habits of appreciating the significant individuals and elements in our lives. Gratitude, fundamentally, involves appreciating what we possess rather than fixating on what we might lack.

This is our maiden effort, we hope you like it.

Brought to you by Sunbeam Varuna School & Hostel Varanasi

You can also listen out our podcast on your favoured app or on www.DilJeeto.com.

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.

How did you repair a broken relationship? - Veda Varshita Marivada

Firstly, a relationship is a way through which people or things are connected. People can have relations with family, friends, animals, nature and even things.

The critical elements for a strong and healthy relationship are mutual Respect, Understanding, Communication, Compromise, and Trust. We should first understand the person and respect their opinions; giving them a chance to speak and putting in their shoes is important too.

Being an 11-year-old child, I have never experienced a broken relationship, but let me tell my story with my best friends. My parents and I have lived in Bangalore since my birth. Over there, I met Ridhi and Tanishka on the first day of school. We became best friends. They were kind, affectionate and caring. They would cheer me up when I was not in a good mood. 

One day, my father said we had to shift to Hyderabad for his job there. I was distressed to leave my friends and head for a new life. It was tough for me to adjust to the situation because we spent quality time together over weekend outings, playdates, birthday celebrations etc. I also had a good scoop of opportunities to learn activities like art, chess, and karate with my friends at “The Indian Heritage”, an activity centre. I also had a strong connection with nature over there. The weather was cool and pleasant, and the city was wooded and full of greenery. 

After relocating to Hyderabad, I took time to accept my new life. Days passed, and it was my friend’s birthday. I was flustered because I wanted to convey my wishes to her. I gathered courage and started texting her anxiously. But to my surprise, she replied immediately, saying she was delighted and missed me. I was pleased and relieved as I thought she might be furious for not being in touch with her. I also texted my other friend. I had a good time talking with my friends. From then onwards, we have been staying in touch regularly. How could I forget such good friends? I am fortunate to reside in a peaceful, green, and safe colony which helped me to acclimate to the new locality and make new friends. Hmm! But I still miss those memorable days and keep recollecting those sweet memories.

Why should we have a relationship? We would be depressed and lonely if we did not have anyone to spend time with. Therefore, try to have more relations as they say, “The More the Merrier”.

Here is a poem in Hindi that says:

This carries a lot of meaning. It says, “If something is broken, then learn to repair it. If someone is angry, then learn to convince and please them. Relationships are destined; just learn to handle them beautifully.” So, make sure you have a solid and good relationship, whether it is a person, animal, nature, or thing.   

VEDA VARSHITA MARRIVADA
Grade 5 Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

Listen to my Blog Post on the Learning Forward Podcast.

Repairing A Broken Relationship - Tenzin Jambey

It's for sure that in life we'll come across many people and with some people we will become very much attached, and we become a support for each other. With time our bond becomes even stronger than before, but a small problem or fight can result in the breakdown of our relationship. 

There is a saying that " Don't break the thread of love because it cannot be joined again and even after they are joined a node is left in between".

There is always a cause which leads to the execution of the action and the words we speak, there is always a reason which leads to a breakdown of the relationship, and we must understand the liking and disliking of the other person and avoid all such actions which can affect our bonds. At last, there should be a mutual understanding between the two, and they should have reasonable self-control over themselves, which wouldn't lead to a relationship breakdown.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Sunday reading with Jugjiv Sir

Gratitude - Arfa Khan

We all are familiar with the feeling that life is not as we want; our relationships are not deep enough, we are not successful enough, and we don't have the things we crave. This is the feeling of dissatisfaction, a feeling that makes you at others with envy and at yourself with shame. Social media makes it worse by showing us the picture-perfect life others have, unlike us. We have seen many people laughing and enjoying their lives...but their lives aren't perfect too. Then why are some people happier than others? Can we also apply their methods to be more comfortable and more satisfied? It all sums up to one thing - Gratitude. 

Gratitude is a feeling that connects us with the positive side of the world. There are many ways to practice it, like gratitude journaling, where we write about the things we are grateful for. There are many everyday things in life for which we should be grateful, and we might be taking them for granted, like:

1. Recovery/ Post-Crisis -

Life can feel fabulous after recovery like an enormous burden has been lifted off our shoulders. We can do many things that we couldn't do earlier. Objectively, our life would be the same or maybe slightly worse than before, but we compare the present to when life was terrible and react with gratitude.

2. Our Relationships-

We might feel lonely or want more friends, but there might be one or multiple people wanting to spend time with us. We might feel this is not enough and feel bad. If we're grateful for our relationships, we might accept the offers or take the initiative. Many people don't have anyone and suffer from mental illnesses, but we have many people who care for us.

3. Anyone who means a lot to you-

There might be someone significant in our lives, and we can't imagine life without them. By comparing our life with and without them, we feel grateful that they are with us.

4. Fate-

We have many things in our everyday life many don't have, like clean water and food, money, access to the internet, limbs, eyes, ears etc. We should be grateful for these things.  

Scientists have found many benefits of gratitude journaling. Many participants showed more happiness and life satisfaction after practising for a few weeks and even a change in brain activity after a few months. It's pretty mind-blowing that something as simple as writing about a few things you are grateful for can help fight dissatisfaction. We know our life is hard, but it might not be as bad as it seems if we look from a different perspective.

•  Arfa Khan 

  Ahlcon Public School

Sources:

https://leadchangegroup.com/daily-gratitude/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0&t=15s

 

Peace - What it means for us?

Thank you to all who joined us today; we are over 100, and you will see up to 75 names; there were many sharing devices, for which we are most grateful.

 [25/09/22]
We look forward to more quotes. Our value of the month is PEACE. Is it different from the piece?

Avni Kochhar

11:00
"Peace means everyone being treated equally. Peace means harmony."

Shambhavi Nautiyal

11:10

A piece can be a piece of mind, but peace is much more than that. It's trust between two individuals; it's having self-belief and perception of yourself. If you have made peace with yourself and your mind, you can have a whole new vision of the world, and simply nothing can go wrong.

Rishona Chopra,
12:03 PM

Peace is one virtue we must maintain in the smallest of things. Even sharing a piece of cake will have to be shared with peace as we tend to fight over the smallest of things, neglecting that this small piece of cake can ruin our relationships.

kanikadogra946
12:10
Peace, for me, is when you gain complete self-confidence without worry or fear. It is mental strength and brings happiness to me.
Kanika Dogra and Tenzin paldon

kanikadogra946
12:24
"Peace is mental freedom. Free yourself to achieve it."

Nidhi Chauhan
12:35
Peace allows us to overcome our problems. It will help us to live the best of all possible lives, and "Never let anyone destroy your inner peace".

Tenzin Lhadon
12:42
Peace begins with a smile.
When a person has patience and is happy and grateful for all the things

Best post as a Comment as mentioned at The Sunday School.