Newsletter

15 August is a red letter day in the history of our nation. It was on this very day that India finally got what thousands had laid down their live for-freedom from the colonial rule. But now, 60 years on, even though we stand at the threshold of becoming a developed nation, there is something that prevents us from taking that definitive step. The general perception is that we somehow lack the fire and the drive that have propelled countries like Japan and Germany to great heights. Sometimes I used to feel that purcountry is a lost cause, a cause not worth fighting for. But just a few days back, when the Independence Day was being celebrated in our school I was proven wrong. The zeal and enthusiasm with which the students of SKV marched and saluted the flag, the fervor with which the patriotic songs were sung made me feel that there is still hope, that there are still people who will do anything for their country.
     Life here at school is so full, so busy that one is rarely left with the time to be doing anything else then what is strictly necessary.  But somehow in attempting to live out their lives within the four walls of this school, students sometimes lose contact with the outside world and with what’s going on in it.
   The world today is full of paradoxes. Mrs. Pratibha Patil has been elected as the   President of India, one of the highest honors a woman can receive. But on the other hand, thousands of women are raped and tortured daily. Female feticide is still rampant. The great disparity in the sex ratio is also an indication of the fact that India has still not accepted men and women as equals.
  Even women of the so-called upper classes of our country are living lives full of compromises and secrets.
  We are amongst the lucky few who live safely and will probably continue to do so .But we should realize that we will not remain within the four walls of this institution for ever. We too will step out into the world one day and for that we need to start preparing ourselves. The self defense lessons we have in SKV may seem like a joke right now but I’m sure that each one of us will realize their importance in the days to come.
But sometimes I fell that we should think about something other than our lives and ourselves. We should try to make a difference, because we are at this age where everything is possible. Sometimes it just takes courage, self belief and a little idealism to change the world..

Swarnima Singh

School News
Reopening
The school reopened on 9 July after a long and refreshing summer break.

Zenith expedition
On 19th June, a group of 18 girls escorted by Ms.S. Santra and Mr.A.Virmani left for an expedition to scale the peak- Stok Kangri. The girls succeeded in scaling the peak and it was over all a great success.

Staff appointments
The following teachers joined the SKV family in the months of April and July.
1. Ms Preeti Singh-English
2. Ms .Neeraja Kathuria-Home Science
3. Ms.Sushma Bhadauria-Commerce
4. Ms Meenakshi Sharma-Physics
5. Ms Meenakshi Dixit-Geography
6. Ms.Ranjana Pathak-Social Studies
7. Ms.Richa Bapna-French

The new students
The new students of class XI and IX joined SKV on 11 July. We welcome them into our family.Examination fever

The first unit tests for classes V to X started from 14th July .We wish all the students the best of luck.
Prefects Council Meeting
The Prefects Council met on 15 July. Various topics related to the school and hostels were discussed.

Shoalin Masters -
Mr Deepak Dubey held a 15-day workshop for the residential students from 23 July to  August. Students learnt how to defend themselves through Shaolin Martial arts and Jujitsu.

Workshops
From 18-21 June Ms Alka Bhargava (HOD Geography) attended a workshop in Delhi conducted by CBSE.
From 22-26 July Ms Pramod Sharma (HOD History) attended a workshop in Delhi which was conducted by the CBSE. Issues like teaching beyond textbooks and the aims of education were discussed in these workshops.

Captains-
The voting for the House Captains took place on 24 July. The following students have been appointed House captains for the year 2007-08

Gajra:-
  1. Yatika Gulati
  2. Shruti Agarwal
Kamla:-
  1. Kriti
  2. Aditi Gupta
Madhavi:-
  1. Lovely Agarwal
  2. Dimple Surrey
Padma:-
  1. Apoorva Sanganaria
  2. Aashi Gupta
Usha:-
  1. Nandini Sahani
  2. Surabhi Jain
Vasundhara:-
  1. Nidhi Singh Rathore
  2. Alisha Kalra
Vijaya:-
  1. Krutika Neelak
  2. Shivika Jain
Yashodhara:-
  1. Shubhi Goyal
  2. Y.Robita Devi

Workshop for Teachers
From 23 to 27 July a workshop was organized for the teachers in SKV on how to handle adolescents. This was in lieu of The Govt. of India’s decision to upscale the National School AIDS Education Programme (NSAEP) and implement the adolescence education programme in all secondary and higher secondary schools.

Book Fair
Scholastic put up a book fair in SKV on 2-3 August. Students got a chance to pick up a nmber of interesting books.

Asset test
From 5-10 august an asset test was conducted for classes 7-9.

School News
On the 7 August, a group of senior girls left for the 14 All India Inter School Art competition organized by Vidya Devi Jindal School,Hissar.

Congratulations
Mrs.Meghna Shandilya is blessed with a son. Heartiest congratulations to her.

IPSC Literary fest
The school hosted IPSC Literary fest from 10-11 August. It comprised of both English and Hindi literary activities. In all 12 schools had participated, in 11 competitive and 2 non- competitive events. The results are as follows:-

Spelling bee	I- Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School II- Mayo College Girls’ School
English cum Hindi literary quiz	I- Scindia Kanya VIdyalaya II- Mayo College Girls’ School
Turncoat	I-Mayo College Girls’ School II-Daly   College
English declamation	I-Mayo College Girls’ Schoo II-Welham’s Girls’ School
Hindi Extempore	I- II- Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya
Hindi Hasya Kavita	I- Welham’s Girls’ School II- Vidya Devi Jindal School
JAM	I- Daly College II- The Scindia School
Hindi cum English Jingles	I- Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School II- Mayo College Girls’ School
What’s The Good Word	I- Welham’s Girls’ School II- Sindia Kanya Vidyalaya
Dramatization of Poetry	I- Mody School II-Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya
Hindi Shabd Antakshri	I- Birla  Public School II- Daly College

Independence Day
Independence day was celebrated with great enthusiasm in SKV. The chief guest for the program was Brigadier Pramod Kumar Bakshi. Students of class IX and X performed a number of patriotic songs and the 8 houses put up a march-past display.

IT Fest
On 18 August a group of 7 girls, escorted by Ms.M.Inamdar left for the Mayo College Girls School to take part I the IT fest which is jointly hosted by the Mayo college and the Mayo College Girls School.

Sports News

Taekwondo
Devyani Singh of 11th standard won silver medal in 21st M.P. State Taekwondo Championship in junior girls’ heavy weight category.

TT Champs
On 14 and 15 July, a team of seven girls participated in the Gwalior district level TT championship held at LNIPE.
Results are
Y Robita devi      I (under 17)
Akshada Mujvar I (under 14)
Parul Tulsyan      II (Women’s category)

Interhouse dodge ball competition
Inter house dodge ball competition was held on 25 July and the results are as follows: -

I Madhavi House
II Kamla House

Basketees
Inter house basketball tournament
Seniors:-
  I Vijaya House 
  II Kamla House
  III Usha House
Juniors:-
  I Madhavi House
  II Vijaya House
  III Yashodhara House

Chess Champions
On 31 July and 1 August a  group of students escorted by Ms.S.Santra took part in the Inter School chess competition held at Little Angels High School.

Campus news
Fresher’s eve
On 21st July the freshers of the year 2007-08 put up a great show in which they portrayed their talents by presenting a variety of dances and plays. Hats off to them!

Jam Session
On 22 July, a dance party was organized on the basketball court for the girls to unwind after a hectic week.

Kamla House Eve
Kamla House put up their House Evening on 30 July.The theme of the show was ‘the Blue Isle’.The programme began with the Saraswati Vandana followed by the Solo Kathak  and the group dance in which the students put up a Gidda.The solo Bharatnatyam performance was a memorable one.The Hindi Skit focused on female infanticide and the English Skit “Dreams come true” was a huge hit.

A run up to the House eve
The mad world of House eve preparations
Practice, practice, practice…
The house prefect shouting her lungs out
The music teachers running after students with sticks in there hands…
This was what the scene was like until 23 July, the day, when Gajra House finally put up their house evening show, whose theme was ‘Wish upon a star’. The auditorium was tastefully done up with glittering stars and moons abound. The show started of with the Saraswati Vandana, which was followed by a Bengali Solo Song and Solo Kathak performance. The English skit “Once upon a time” which was a laugh riot featured fairy tale characters like Snow White and Thumbelina and it proved to be a great success. The Bengali group dance was beautifully choreographed. This was followed by the poetry recitation and the orchestra which was the highlight of the evening. The show ended with the humorous Hindi Skit with which the evening ended on a very enjoyable note.

Shreya Gulati

 

Woodbridge Exchange Programme

My vacation comprised of two major milestones – My X STD results and my sojourn at Woodbridge School, Suffolk. Both were a wondrous mix of apprehension and excitement! Well…the biggest thrill came when the 27th of April arrived and I met up with Arunima Singh to start my journey to Woodbridge!  Ater a long arduous journey we arrived in the evening. Then all at once I felt as if I had been thrown into an alien surrounding with no familiar face around.
After a few minutes, our housemistress- Mrs. Lubbock came to welcome us.  She took us around the schoolhouses, which wore a deserted look and seemed uninhabited.
Next morning we had our breakfast in the Tuckwell hall and were soon introduced to the whole school in the assembly. We were then allotted our classes, as we had to start experiencing the “new” school! To tell the truth, the first day was a complete nightmare but eventually we learnt to adjust. Our room had a homely feel to it and we had morning routine lessons and were given worksheets.We had our evenings free as we did not have any prep to do. We relaxed by watching movies in the TV lounge and taking long walks in the campus. Visiting the library was a part of our daily curriculum. On weekends we were taken to nearby counties for a tour and in London we visited the Trinity College, Madame Tussauds and went shopping at Oxford Street.
             Woodbridge traces its existence back to Saxon times and the school is 150 yrs old. What impressed me most was the atmosphere of the school. The students are stress-free and studies are not their only concern. They explore their own selves and their surroundings. Food was the huge problem for us but once when we were back in India I found that my palette missed it quite a lot. All the people we met were very hospitable and made us feel at home.
       The township of Woodbridge is typically English and it was nice to see old couples enjoying the countryside view. Time flew and we bonded with the place and it was hard saying goodbye. We returned to India with enough memories to last for a lifetime.

Anubhuti Gupta
XI A

Fresher’s Eve
This year’s freshers eve was celebrated on the 21st of July 2007 – a musical evening and yet another opportunity for the freshers to show their talents.
To begin with the show we had the little champs of class 5 who performed on the song ‘It’s’ rocking’. In the line, we had some very talented dancers who put up a number of fun-filled performances.Along with this; we had some amazing poetesses, singers and some very talented actors. To sum it all up, we had the 11thies who performed a medley of dances which included all the popular hits of the year. They increased the tempo of the evening and had everyone on their feet. The show on a whole was very enjoyable and filled with masti! What I liked about the show was that it was entirely put up by the students and it truly gave us a break from the hectic schedule that we follow each day.
As everyone was still in the ‘fun’ mood, the teachers decided to treat us with a dance party that made our weekend a memorable one.

Aishwariya Shrivastav

Your Story
Who wins and who doesn’t? Read on
“This is it”Swati thought. Her school Manikchand Cooper had finally managed to get a gold which made the scores draw. Summoning up her last reserves of energy she ran forward with the ball neatly bypassing two defenders. With her eyes on the goal Swati kicked the ball hard…….For a moment the entire world froze. Her heart pumping Swati stared blankly, as she saw the opponent goal keeper lunge to grab the ball. The goal keeper missed ...and the ball fell onto the net.”Brring” the bell for time went. “We have the new champions of the Interschool foot ball tournament. It is Manikchand cooper school!!”announced the commentator. Cheers rang all around the stadium and Swati found herself engulfed in a team hug. She looked over to her right and saw her coach surreptitiously wipe away a tear.
  After a long celebratory party Swati reached her house in the evening. There was no one at home. “Dad’s probably working late again” she figured and sauntered off into the kitchen to fix her dinner. As she busied herself at the counter a note stuck onto the refrigerator caught her eye. The note simply said “Darling, I have been posted to some other city due to some professional reasons. We are leaving this town. We’re moving to Delhi and I have found a school for you-It is Gill high School and I’m sure you will love it.”Swati gasped and suddenly her world came collapsing all around her.
Suvriti Bansal
Shubham Mehrotra
Harry Potter-The beginning and the end
The long started saga of the ‘HARRY POTTER’ series has ended and with heavy hearts we have to bid adieu to one of the greatest stories ever told. The book which took all its readers to the world of witchcraft, wizards and absolute magic which left everyone spell bounded has ended and forced us back to our mortal selves.
   ‘HARRY POTTER’ depicted a character of extreme courage and some one who stood firm on his decisions. We learned the art of dedication from ‘ALBUS DUMBLEDORE.’ His dedication towards HARRY and HOGWARTS, and most of all towards the annihilation of EVIL (Lord Voldemort) was something which showed us what true strength of character meant. The true friendship and loyalty that RON and HERMIONE had shown towards Harry was truly inspiring.
  Well ……… now the 7th part has finally hit the stores .Even though the saga of the’ Boy who lived’ has ended I am sure that it will continue to inspire and uplift generations to come

The Gazette: - Tell us something about yourself.
Ma’am: - You know about me more than I do.(Laughs)I did my schooling in Sophia. I was the director of education in Mayo College Girls School and the rest you know.
The Gazette: - Which other schools have you taught in?
Ma’am: - In Mayo College Girls School and in Kendra Vidyalaya briefly.
The Gazette: - What memories of Mayo Collage Girls School have you carried with you?
Ma’am: -Very fond memories (smiles).We was the founder staff. It started with only one small office and four classrooms.
From then to now we have two swimming pools, we’ve a beautiful Swaraswati Mandir constructed last year for five crore . We’ve a basketball court, a squash court and a gym and our school campus is really beautiful.
The Gazette: -What was your 1st impression of S.K.V.?
Ma’am: - Lots to do. (Laughs)
The Gazette: - What changes would you wish to introduce in the school?
Ma’am: - First and foremost I’d like to create a good academic environment here.
The Gazette: -Where do you see S.K.V. ten years from now?
Ma’am: - Way beyond Mayo. (Smiles)
The Gazette: -What is your motto in life.
Ma’am: - Keep working.
The Gazette: -Any messages you’d like to give to the students?
Ma’am: - I wish them luck and to not get bothered when I yell because I really don’t mean it.
Compiled by
Swarnima Singh
Shievani Singh

 

 Zenith-The expedition to Stok Kangri
A group of 18 girls escorted by Ms S Santra and Mr A Virmani (the Scindia School) left for the expedition to scale the peak Stok Kangri which stands at 6153 metres above sea level.
  Our first destination was the cold desert of India - Leh which is in Ladakh. We visited the Stok palace and went for long treks and spent our time acclimatizing. We also met the famous Bollywood actor Bobby Deol.
  Next we went to the Khardungla Pass which is the highest motor able path in India which is at 18500 ft.
Finally came the day we all had been waiting for 23 July, the day when we finally began our long trek towards the peak. We were fitted with equipment which weighed about 6 Kilos and with our gear firmly in place we reached the Intermediate Base Camp which is at the height of 14500 feet followed by the Base camp(1600 feet).After that we went on to the Advanced Base Camp for acclimatization and height gain. This proved to be no meant feat as walking in snow shoes is a really cumbersome process. We returned to the base camp after a few hours and 6 girls stayed back due to medical reasons.
We spent our next few days climbing the mountain, taking in the beautiful scenery and just enjoying our pristine surroundings. On 29 June, at 1 Am the rigorous ascent towards the peak finally began. As we walked our legs felt as if they had been made of lead. At around 8.30 in the morning, our school flag finally flew over the Stok Kangri.
On 4 July we finally returned to Delhi with memories of the wonderful time we had there etched firmly in our hearts.
Shurti Vig

 

Save our environment-A plea... (This has been edited in the pendrive)
Since time immemorial humans have disrupted the natural balance of the earth due to their activities. But, slowly people have started realizing that if the destruction of natural habitats goes on very soon humans will die out too.
 So we urge you all to have mercy on our beautiful gift from nature and put a step forward to help them....This beautiful gift of nature is the wide variety of Fauna present on our planet Earth to enrich its beauty!!!!! They are also living beings and they have equal rights to live .Due to our actions and thoughtlessness we humans have made their life miserable and their habitat a hell Imagine yourself as an Animal and you are undergoing all the pains which they all do....You are also taken away from your home and are all alone, also there is no chance of meeting your beloved parents again ever in your life and having no information about how they have been all this while when you were away...!!! The only way left for you is either live or die. How tough it is....!!?????We can at least express our feelings as we have a way to spread our views and troubles to others and can even get some. But have we ever thought about these innocent beings????? They have no power to express them and are forced to do what we make them do. They are helpless. All animals want freedom like us......We also don’t like being captives or slaves of someone, so, how can we expect it from them??? Not every animal can adapt itself as per our requirements. Being kept as slaves or even as pets they may get frustrated or upset and start loosing their appetite..... We dominate over this world because of our intelligence but nature treats all its creatures equally. We are here to share this Earth with our fellow earthlings not to rule their lives. Nature’s fury is nothing but the revenge of all our misdemeanor towards it. Keeping this in mind we at SKV have taken our step forward to correct our wrong deeds towards our environment. In S.K.V. we have a perfect blend of infrastructure and greenery. Let each one of us contribute our bit to save environment .With this we put forward first environment column in the newsletter....."S.K.V. goes green". I now hope this will urge you to take out sometime to think and work for the nature of which we are a part...

Surbhi Mittal
Isha Jain