​Learnings of Life, 
All it gives you is Lemons and Knives;
But look at it this way,
What if I read to you a story,
Starting; "Once Upon A Time",
And you realised that it was your life,
Spelt out on every line,
Would you hear my voice with wonder,
As it brushed across each word,
And pray my arms had strength to hold,
The truth about your world,
Would your view on life be different,
And would it shock you most to find,
That the things you thought defined you,
Could be summed up in just two lines,
And all  the ones you took for granted,
The ins and outs of everyday,
Play a bigger part in who you are,
Than you'd ever dared to say,
Would you wander at pages left,
And all the places that they'll lead,
Then vow to make each moment,
One that you'd be proud to read,
Because there is a story of your life,
But it's you that holds the pen,
And I hope you fill the pages right,
Before you reach the end.

Aditi Trivedi

One of the most awaited trips for me began on 16th Nov.,2019 and it lasted for 7. Here is a brief summary of that mesmerizing journey to the majestic abode of clouds:

La Nicholas Resort
The most important part in shaping the memory lane was played by this place. Every evening brought new opportunities and every night ended with new pleasant memories. DJ party and games with children took my matured tarnished soul to its original state of pure childish infinity. Although it was kids who were writing reflections, it was me who learnt that your daily experiences when shaped properly by the use of words, can become travelogues.
 
The following are the 3 most important entries form the Meghalaya Pensive:
 
Dawki River
If you ever happen to visit Meghalaya, one place which I would strongly suggest that you never miss is the river Dawki. The clean transparent waters of river Dawki remind you of the purity of nature. You would see the fish taking a swim stroll in the waters when you look. It's almost impossible to judge the depth of waters by a mere gaze, though. In retrospect, you find that the way that river joins India and Bangladesh teaches us that nature has no boundaries.
 
Sacred Forest
If trekking is your sport, the sacred forest is the place I would urge you to consider. This place teaches that for a great change to happen you just need an idea. The people used to use that forest for all sort of "sacrifices", its only later when the number of sacrifices grew so much, that they had to reduce sacrifices and convert the place to the Sacred Forest. Their strong belief of 'do not to take anything from the forest outside the forest' lays foundation stone to nature conservation- "Keep nature to nature ".
 
Zipline
This is one of the most famous adventure activities with utmost safety. The way you just zoom past the valley and reach the opposite mountain makes your heart pump fast. While ziplining, you reach a point exactly halfway and you realise that if you fall, your entire body will be lost somewhere in the oblivion of nature. This thought is frightening and liberating at the same time. it makes your heart skip a beat.
 
Thus, I would like to conclude that the trip is an occasion that provides a child to learn so many things and develop skills like interpersonal skills, communication skills and life skills that help them to enrich their cultural, historical and geographical knowledge. The way this trip helps you to establish and strengthen bond with children at personal level is something you fall short of words if you try to describe.

On the morning of 21st Sept., the SMIS 360 club jumped with exhilaration and anticipation as Ms Reetu Karmarkar took us through a Zumba ride with some feet thumping music and heart-pumping moves.

Apart from being an internationally certified trainer for Zumba and other Latin dance fitness and cardio routines, Ms Reetu is also the recognised Instructor (Saurashtra region) for Skill India - an Initiative by Hon. PM, Shri Narendra Modi. She is well known for keeping the city's fitness quotient in check and on the 21st she also made children more aware of their fitness responsibilities.
 
The sessions started with an ice breaker where through interaction children became familiar with their guest for the day. They indulged in a warm-up full of monkey jumps, ab-crunches in pairs, and mountain climbers. They also recapitulated the four pivots of fitness - food, rest, exercise and hygiene. The warm-up was followed by a rigorous Zumba session in which children danced the hour away to some high energy music. Later, children were made aware of the importance of a cool down discipline. For the closure, children performed some stretching and breathing exercises for muscle relaxation.
​ 
At the end of the first term, children are consciously aware of the varied choices that lie before them; Zumba dancing being one of them courtesy of Ms Reetu Karmarkar.

The first term is at its closure. Through the last few months, MS English or MSE, as we fondly call it, served as a significant contributor to the skill development and practice of English as content and as language.
 
Not only has MSE helped most children to practise and some to master English, but it has also been a wonderful source of some very relevant and intriguing information and insights. More than anything else, we marvel at the wide variety they offer children in the form of reading and listening material.
 
"Mom, how small is a whisper?" is an innocuous little question from little Mark who insists that he has a "need to be tiny in a whisper sort of way". The grade 4 passage in which these words appear is written by Savannah Hendricks, who is a renowned author as well as a social worker. 'The Creature in the Classroom' is a humorous fifth-grade fantasy poem by Jack Prelutsky.  Over  and above the fiction that is otherwise uncommon in a child's life, MSE also offers informational passages on various subjects like Music, History, Medical Findings and Scientific Inventions. The Audio passages are accented and often portray dialogues on meaningful subjects between two or more people, depending upon the grade level. They equip children  with skilled listening (active and comprehensive) as well as an insight into the art of communication.
 
Like Vladimir Horowitz profoundly said that,   "the difference between ordinary   and   extraordinary   is   practice",   we   can't   repeat   ourselves sufficiently that it is only through consistent and focused practice does one master anything ever! In the same breath, we are glad to recognise that Prerak Sata from Grade 3, and Mann Ruparelia and Naitry Dudhagra from Grade 4, demonstrated their prowess in language acquisition through consistent  high  accuracy,  week after week, during the period of July to September 2019. We take great pride in having with us these wonderful little champions who play hard and practise (English) harder! 
 
We look forward to another term full of exciting passages from MSE and participation from children.