Mad About Creativity!!! Just over 24 hours to go!

                                                          Mad About Creativity!!!

Every corner of the school is abuzz with excitement as the exhilarating spirit of  Creativity is pacing ahead toward the grand finale on Saturday, 9th December 2017. What you see below are just a few glimpses of our children exploring creativity in various spheres in the run up to our mega event - the Mad About Creativity fair. 

From our curious toddlers in Koshika and Ankur right up to our young adolescents and young adults in Middle and Senior School, creativity has imbued each child, teacher and parent with its magical, stimulating essence more than ever in this past one month. 


Come, be a part of the thrilling experience on Saturday, 9th December, 2017.  For this is...

...a day when every TSMS child blossoms in the loving care 
    of  Teacher and of Parent, she finds a space to share 
                  the new lessons learnt in fun, different ways,
                   through happiness and excitement in gloriously joyful days!

      

FORM VIII - EXPLORING CREATIVITY IN WRITING

FORM VII - EXPLORING CREATIVITY IN COOKING

FORM IX EXPLORING CREATIVITY THROUGH ABSTRACT ART

Happy Constitution Day!

Dear Children,

 Did you know,  today is Constitution Day in India?  It is celebrated every year on 26th of November as the constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th of November in the year 1949 and came into force on 26th of January in 1950.

These are the opening words of the preamble to the Indian Constitution:

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

You may watch the story of how the Constitution of India was made, here.

And, if you want to know more about the Constitution , you can read the book ' We the Children of India ' beautifully written by Justice Leila Seth.

Let us celebrate this day with a feeling of pride for we belong to a wonderful nation which has been built with a lot of sacrifice, love and care.


Do find out more about the Constitution of the country you belong to and share with your friends, parents and teachers all that you learnt .

Computer Programming

Dear Children,

Welcome to the world of programming!!

When you learn computer programming, you start seeing problems in the light of solutions. Your brain starts functioning like that. When you encounter a problem after learning to program, you start envisioning the possible ways to solve it. ... Computer programming is powerful. 

Go through the link given below to know why programming is important for everyone!! Happy reading.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289248

The Merchant of Venice

  

 Dear Students,

Here is the movie, The Merchant of Venice. Listen carefully to the tone and voice modulation. Even verse seems like effortless conversation. Let us share our opinions on the clip when we meet in the classroom.

Best wishes,

Rita Ma'am

 

 

Beyond your Hindi lesson - Class IX

Dear Children ( Class IX),

Here is a clip related to the lesson we are studying titled, 'Bhed aur Bhediye' . Let's discuss your inputs on this in class.

 

Best wishes,

Rakhi Ma'am

History of Special Olympics (for Class IX)

Dear Students of Class IX,

Here is a video to help you understand the history of Special Olympics. Hope you will enjoy it.

Best wishes,
Rita Ma'am

More Than Just Maths

Dear Children,

Here are a few articles for you to read about why Mathematics can't contend for the Nobel Prize and about a Vietnamese Fields medal winner.

Article in Hindustan Times

A Vietnamese Fields medal winner

Hope you enjoy them.

Regards,
Tanvi Ma'am

STORYTIME!

             SHORT STORIES this SUMMER!

Hey Kids!

It's Summer!!! 

Time to yourself. Time for some leisure. Time for doing the things you enjoy.  For some of us who love reading, summer vacations are the best time to curl up in some corner with a book.

Well,  at times we do not have time for a full-fledged book, even if we want to.  Do we have any other option, apart from the same old newspapers and magazines? Of course, no prizes for the right guess, it's the ubiquitous short story that keeps our hunger for reading satiated! 

Short stories have been around for ages. In fact, if you study English Literature, there'll be a special bit that deals with the art of short story writing. That's no joke. It's infinitely more difficult to write a short story than a novel, only because it packs the punch in very few words. One sentence is equivalent to a paragraph, sometimes,  and a paragraph? A chapter!!! The charming craft of a short story writer is probably why right from Edgar Allan Poe to Maupassant, O'Henry, Saki, James Joyce, Anton Chekov, H.E.Bates,  Henry James or our very own Munshi Premchand or Rabindranath Tagore or even Ruskin Bond, the short stories have stayed with us for a long time after we have read it. People who have read 'The Necklace' or 'The Gift of the Magi' or ' The Open Window' once will doubtlessly perk up at the mere mention of these names.

So it does make good sense to read a few short stories when you have the time, doesn't it? Especially since many of them have earned their names as classics. 

This summery June afternoon, we bring to you, a beautifully poignant story told through the voice of a little boy, Franz, who walks into his French class only to find that it is a day like no other. Read this exceptionally crafted little story and let Franz charm you with the tale. 

...........................................................................................................................................

The Last Lesson by Alphonse Daudet

I started for school very late that morning and was in great dread of a scolding, especially because M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles, and I did not know the first word about them. For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the sawmill the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.

When I passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board. For the last two years all our bad news had come from there—the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the commanding officer—and I thought to myself, without stopping:“What can be the matter now?”

Then, as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the blacksmith, Wachter, who was there, with his apprentice, reading the bulletin, called after me:

“Don’t go so fast, bub; you’ll get to your school in plenty of time!”

I thought he was making fun of me, and reached M. Hamel’s little garden all out of breath.Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better, and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was.

But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly:

“Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.”

I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt, and the little black silk cap, all embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and prize days. Besides, the whole school seemed so strange and solemn. But the thing that surprised me most was to see, on the back benches that were always empty, the village people sitting quietly like ourselves; old Hauser, with his three-cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several others besides. Everybody looked sad; and Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edges, and he held it open on his knees with his great spectacles lying across the pages.

While I was wondering about it all, M. Hamel mounted his chair, and, in the same grave and gentle tone which he had used to me, said:

“My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes to-morrow. This is your last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive.”

What a thunderclap these words were to me! Oh, the wretches; that was what they had put up at the town-hall! My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’ eggs, or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn’t give up. And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.Poor man! It was in honor of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.

While I was thinking of all this, I heard my name called. It was my turn to recite. What would I not have given to be able to say that dreadful rule for the participle all through, very loud and clear, and without one mistake? But I got mixed up on the first words and stood there, holding on to my desk, my heart beating, and not daring to look up. I heard M. Hamel say to me:

“I won’t scold you, little Franz; you must feel bad enough. See how it is! Every day we have said to ourselves: ‘Bah! I’ve plenty of time. I’ll learn it to-morrow.’ And now you see where we’ve come out. Ah, that’s the great trouble with Alsace; she puts off learning till to-morrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you: ‘How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language?’ But you are not the worst, poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with. Your parents were not anxious enough to have you learn. They preferred to put you to work on a farm or at the mills, so as to have a little more money. And I? I’ve been to blame also. Have I not often sent you to water my flowers instead of learning your lessons? And when I wanted to go fishing, did I not just give you a holiday?”

Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world—the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison. 

Then he opened a grammar book and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All he said seemed so easy, so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so carefully, and that he had never explained everything with so much patience. It seemed almost as if the poor man wanted to give us all he knew before going away, and to put it all into our heads at one stroke.After the grammar, we had a lesson in writing. 

That day M. Hamel had new copies for us, written in a beautiful round hand: France, Alsace, France, Alsace. They looked like little flags floating everywhere in the school-room, hung from the rod at the top of our desks. You ought to have seen how every one set to work, and how quiet it was! The only sound was the scratching of the pens over the paper. Once some beetles flew in; but nobody paid any attention to them, not even the littlest ones, who worked right on tracing their fish-hooks, as if that was French, too. On the roof the pigeons cooed very low, and I thought to myself:

“Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?”

Whenever I looked up from my writing I saw M. Hamel sitting motionless in his chair and gazing first at one thing, then at another, as if he wanted to fix in his mind just how everything looked in that little school-room. Fancy! For forty years he had been there in the same place, with his garden outside the window and his class in front of him, just like that. Only the desks and benches had been worn smooth; the walnut-trees in the garden were taller, and the hopvine that he had planted himself twined about the windows to the roof. How it must have broken his heart to leave it all, poor man; to hear his sister moving about in the room above, packing their trunks! For they must leave the country next day.But he had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last. After the writing, we had a lesson in history, and then the babies chanted their ba, be bi, bo, bu. Down there at the back of the room old Hauser had put on his spectacles and, holding his primer in both hands, spelled the letters with them. You could see that he, too, was crying; his voice trembled with emotion, and it was so funny to hear him that we all wanted to laugh and cry. Ah, how well I remember it, that last lesson!

All at once the church-clock struck twelve. Then the Angelus. At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sounded under our windows. M. Hamel stood up, very pale, in his chair. I never saw him look so tall.

“My friends,” said he, “I—I—” But something choked him. He could not go on.Then he turned to the blackboard, took a piece of chalk, and, bearing on with all his might, he wrote as large as he could:“Vive La France!”

Then he stopped and leaned his head against the wall, and, without a word, he made a gesture to us with his hand:

“School is dismissed—you may go.”

 

Thank you www.world-english.org for the resource!

Hope you enjoyed this story !!!

Till you turn the next page , then, have fun, and read a lot!

Link for Math Summer Project - Class X

Dear Students,
Hope you are enjoying your vacations and also taking out time to complete your homework and revise.

While making your Math project on snowflakes, you may use the link given below for help/guidance.

http://mathforum.org/mathimages/index.php/Koch_Snowflake

But make sure you do not copy directly from there, show your own creativity. That's what this project is about.
Have a great time!

Looking forward to seeing you all refreshed and poised for further learning after the vacations.

Regards
Renu Ma’am

Mathematics - VIII

Dear Children,

Find below the link to the world of Mathematics which will give you insight of the vastness and versatility of the subject. For the start, download the March 2016 edition of "AT RIGHT ANGLES', you will find your project theme - 'Centres of Triangle' being covered in it.

http://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/resources-at-right-angles.aspx

 

Read, Enjoy and Mathematise your Summer Vacations!

Tanvi Ma'am

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth is a favourite with many. It is not difficult to fathom why. The simple language, lilting rhythm and vivid imagery that takes us immediately to that Lake District Wordsworth was so fond of , all of this and more make 'Daffodils' a classic.

So much so that the mention of Wordsworth instantly brings to mind the vibrant Daffodils 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze'. 

Here is what is written by the Wordsworth Trust about how the poem came to be written.

"The most famous poem in the English language was composed in 1804, two years after Wordsworth saw the flowers while walking by Ullswater on a stormy day with Dorothy, his sister. His inspiration for the poem came from an account written by Dorothy.

In her journal entry for 15 April 1802 she describes how the daffodils 'tossed and reeled and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, that blew upon them over the lake.' Wordsworth published his poem, I wandered lonely as a Cloud, in 1807. He altered it several times, and the final version, published in 1815, is simply a revision of the original. "

The poem was actually untitled when it was written in 1804 and was known by its first line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud". Here in this video is the authentic story of how the original poem was inspired and written in Dove Cottage in the English Lake District.

This is how the original poem looked in the poet's own handwriting

Do you want to take a peek into Dove Cottage where Wordworth and his sister Dorothy lived? Here's a video that gives you just that. A good look inside and so much more!

Now for some fun with daffodils.

Do you want to learn how to make an origami daffodil?

Well here are two videos that teach you how to do so. One is easy and the other is slightly difficult. Choose which one you'd like to try out and surprise your friends or family with a daffodil!

                                                                            EASY 

DIFFICULT

Hope you enjoyed learning all about Wordsworth and his poem 'Daffodils'! Do share what you now know about him with your class.

Love

Your teachers

Math - Class XI

Dear Children,

This link is for the students of Math - Class XI. Check it out and let me know how useful it has been to you.

https://www.mathsisfun.com/sets/function.html

Tanvi Ma'am

Biology - Class VIII- Adventitious Roots

Dear Children,
The Sundarbans is a cluster of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, spread across India and Bangladesh, famous for its unique mangrove forests. This active delta region is among the largest in the world,measuring about 40,000 sq km. 

Here are a few snapshots I took in the Sundarbans of India on my recent visit there.

The first three photos are of pneumatophores- respiratory roots, an adaptation in plants growing near seas or estuaries where the soil has high saline content, limited oxygen andthe place receives heavy rainfall as well as intense sunlight . The Sundarbans is one such place in India where such mangrove forests are dense. In order to respire, the roots apart from its usual function of drawing water and minerals from the soil , breathe by taking in oxygen from the air above the soil.

The last photo is of an handmade boat ( called ' launch' in local language) which is a substitute of an indigenous cruise, adventurous nonetheless where you can be merry spending the whole day eating,sleeping and enjoying a lazy ride on the five rivers meeting the sea- The Bay of Bengal. The only word of caution is that it doesn't catch the fancy of the Panthera tigris!

Hope you enjoyed catching a glimpse of the Sundarbans!
Regards,
Megha Ma'am

Making Sense of Matrices in the Real World (Class IX)

Dear Children,

We are studying Matrices. But do we know what its relevance is in the real world? Here is a link to some information for you that I am sure you will enjoy.

Matrices

Do tell me how you found this. Interesting or mind-boggling?

Regards
Renu Ma'am

The Terrible Trio

Dear Children,

It is delightful to see your curiosity in many areas of Science, especially health and diseases.  Many of your queries cannot be answered in class due to various factors, either it's time constraint or sometimes the discussion takes an entirely different path as the queries are so varied.

Now, just the other day we had an animated discussion on the function of the ear. Below is a link to an article that can tell you a lot about the Ear, Nose and Throat connection.  Some people even call it the Terrible Trio!

Now, as for the link,here you go!

Ear, Nose And Throat Connection | alive

Do let me know whether you found some answers to the questions you had.

Regards
Megha Ma'am

An Explanation of Kapi Kari- Class 8

Dear Children,

In the images below,you will find an explanation to the lesson Kapi Kari..

Hope this is helpful.

Regards
Your Hindi teachers

Namak Ka Daroga and a Little about Munshi Premchand

Dear Children,
Here are a few videos that will surely help you enjoy Hindi as a subject. These are related to the lesson 'Namak Ka Daroga' being taught at school.

These are for Class 7 students and is related to the lesson 'Namak ka Daroga'.





Fun watching them, isn't it?

If you want to read the English translation of the story you could do so here.

This Shakespeare of Hindi literature has not earned so much fame for nothing. Do you know these facts about Premchand?


1. Premchand’s real name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastav. He started writing under the pen name ‘Nawab Rai’ but switched to ‘Premchand’ after the British found his work Soz-e-Watan seditious.
2. Premchand applied for college education but was turned down by institutions for mainly two reasons. A second class matriculation certificate and poor arithmetic skills. Premchand obtained a BA degree much later.
3. Premchand married a child widow. It was nothing short of revolutionary in those times. Needless to say he faced a lot of opposition for doing it but he persevered and wrote a book on the topic that mirrors his experience.
4. Premchand began his education at a Madarsa and learnt Urdu and Persian from a Maulvi. He wrote in Hindustani which is a mix of Urdu and Hindi.
5. When Mahatma Gandhi asked people to quit government jobs as part of the Non Cooperation Movement, Premchand quit his well paying government job of Deputy Inspectors of Schools. He took the decision in-spite of his ill health and with a pregnant wife to take care of and two children. He faced financial difficulties because of this decision which plagued him till his death but he never gave up support to the Nationalist cause.

While we celebrate foreign authors – and rightly so – lets not forget our own. Premchand is considered the “Upanyas Samrat” (“Emperor among Novelists”). We salute his revolutionary writing and his remarkable life. ( information courtesy www.lovehindustan.com)

Regards,

Your Hindi Teachers 

News in Focus- Siachen - Contemporary Studies Hour

Dear Children,

On Tuesday, 9th of February, 2016- we are beginning our first Contemporary Studies Hour during the zero period. During the Contemporary Studies Hour we will be discussing curent affairs topics with our classmates.  This Tuesday it is going to be about the recent tragic mishap at Siachen where many soldiers lost their lives. We will talk about different aspects of this news item - the conditions at Siachen , what kind of challenging conditions the army works under, why is it difficult to patrol, why people take up a profession that poses so many challenges, what makes army men brave all these conditions, what is an avalanche, what is a glacier..well, there are so many things we could talk about!

Here are some links that are about this piece of news.

News...

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/army-captain-dies-in-avalanche-in-siachen-glacier-15-soldiers-rescued-1164462.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2126425/Pakistan-avalanche-Siachen-Glacier-buries-130-soldiers-Kashmir-worlds-highest-battlefield.html
http://tribune.com.pk/story/361436/siachen-glacier-tragedy-hits-worlds-highest-battlefield/
http://www.firstpost.com/india/siachen-avalanche-all-ten-missing-army-personnel-declared-dead-pm-modi-condoles-demise-2612762.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35494112

General facts about Siachen

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/key-facts-about-siachen-glacier/story-8xTgsxKlOHryMpadqeYxnO.html
http://topyaps.com/know-about-indian-soldiers-in-siachen# A really nice one!!!
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/244273/facts-siachen.html


Interesting facts about the Indian Army

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-amazing-facts-about-Indian-army-4

Let this be the beginning of many rounds of thought-provoking discussions
Regards
Your teachers

Small Pain in My Chest

Dear Children,


Hope you all enjoyed reading the poem 'Small Pain in My Chest' by Michael Mack with me. Here's the poem itself and a few notes on it .


Small Pain In My Chest
by Michael Mack


The soldier boy was sitting calmly underneath that tree.
As I approached it, I could see him beckoning to me.
The battle had been long and hard and lasted through the night
And scores of figures on the ground lay still by morning's light.


"I wonder if you'd help me, sir", he smiled as best he could.
"A sip of water on this morn would surely do me good.
We fought all day and fought all night with scarcely any rest -

A sip of water for I have a small pain in my chest."
As I looked at him, I could see the large stain on his shirt
All reddish-brown from his warm blood mixed in with Asian dirt.

"Not much", said he. "I count myself more lucky than the rest.
They're all gone while I just have a small pain in my chest."
"Must be fatigue", he weakly smiled. "I must be getting old.
I see the sun is shining bright and yet I'm feeling cold.

We climbed the hill, two hundred strong, but as we cleared the crest,
The night exploded and I felt this small pain in my chest."
"I looked around to get some aid - the only things I found
Were big, deep craters in the earth - bodies on the ground.

I kept on firing at them, sir. I tried to do my best,
But finally sat down with this small pain in my chest."
"I'm grateful, sir", he whispered, as I handed my canteen
And smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I've seen.

"Seems silly that a man my size so full of vim and zest,
Could find himself defeated by a small pain in his chest."
"What would my wife be thinking of her man so strong and grown,
If she could see me sitting here, too weak to stand alone?

Could my mother have imagined, as she held me to her breast,
That I'd be sitting HERE one day with this pain in my chest?"
"Can it be getting dark so soon?" He winced up at the sun.
"It's growing dim and I thought that the day had just begun.

I think, before I travel on, I'll get a little rest ..........
And, quietly, the boy died from that small pain in his chest.
I don't recall what happened then. I think I must have cried;
I put my arms around him and I pulled him to my side
And, as I held him to me, I could feel our wounds were pressed
The large one in my heart against the small one in his chest.


[Poem Courtesy : http://www.netpoets.com/poems/life/1504001.htm]

Here's a little about the poem in these links:- ( There is , in fact, a lot of material here!)

http://writetoscore.com/2015/08/06/icse-english-poem-small-pain-in-my-chest/

http://www.gooutpace.com/2015/01/analysis-of-small-pain-in-my-chest-icse.html

http://web.jns.ac.in/worksheet/A%20small%20pain%20in%20my%20chest.pdf

https://beamingnotes.com/2013/08/07/summary-of-small-pain-in-my-chest-by-michael-mack/

Read them with care ...use your discretion . I am sure you will find a lot of this helpful.
Annapurna Ma'am

सूर के पद (Class IX)

Dear Children (of Class IX),

We have studied the verses of the great poet Sur Das . Here are some clips. I am sure you will enjoy these musical verses written by Sur Das Ji. The first ,in fact,is a very popular one.

Regards,
Rakhi Ma'am