Blog

The Northstar School recognizes the importance of a learner's physical and academic development. With the aim to honour sports and wellness, we began our wellness week adventure, by hosting a variety of activities throughout the week. Sports and wellness activities have an important role in the development of social skills, critical thinking, and teamwork. Learners gain discipline, fair play, unity, and teamwork skills on Northstar's extensive grounds. Our skilled coaches worked with learners to help them improve athletic skills as well as life skills that are essential for a successful life.

On day 1, learners in grades 6 through 12 participated in a Mini Marathon as well as a few other wellness activities including Surya Namaskar and Meditation. Volleyball Quarter-Finals were held on day 2 of Northstar Wellness Week. On day 3, the learners' eagerness and passion to be a part of the football game added to the day's beauty. On day 4, learners participated in the final matches of football and volleyball. Our fantastic Wellness Week came to a close with that.

The audience was overjoyed to witness truly competitive matches.

Sharing some glimpses of the wonderful event.

The Northstar Nest campus hosted a wonderful Christmas event for learners in grades 1 through 4

Educators had prepared a variety of activities for the children. To educate the learners, they also performed a play on the birth of Jesus Christ. For the learners, a fantasy world was developed with toy land, snow world, and candy land.

The majority of learners were the happiest when they saw Santa and received a present.

The joyous festival of Diwali brings along with it the celebration of the victory of good over evil and of knowledge over ignorance. Celebrants around the world decorate their homes with diyas to ‘light’ the way to enlightenment. The Northstar family came together as a community to set alight the campus in their own special way. Brief details of the event are mentioned below.

GROUP 1

The graders welcomed the ‘New Year’ by indulging in Diwali festivities - they prepared sweets and savouries, following the age-old tradition of greeting friends and family. The making of Oreo Mousse added a delicious flavour to the celebration. These sweets, prepared in groups, were shared with the entire community.

The graders also prepared churmur, a special dish for the entire Northstar family. From its onomatopoeic name that recalls the sound (‘chur-mur’) of a crisp ‘papri’ made when crushed to its vibrant amalgamation of flavours and textures, there was nothing about this dish that was not delightful.

GROUP 2

Cards and letters have been the most common means of expressing ourselves, our greetings, all the human emotions, joy, thanks, sympathy, humour, love and admiration. It allows us to connect on an emotional level with the people and can offer a touch of being together.

To spread light and the message of good things to come, the Northstarians prepared the ‘New Year’ cards which ere sent along with the pen pal letters to a school in Lutry, Switzerland. The fragrance of India and the love was shared through handmade cards which also shared the significance of “Diwali”, a win of good over evil and a banishment of all that is bad, with the learners in Switzerland.

GROUP 3

Diwali - the festival of lights, when families light up their abode, set up decorations, art-work and wall hanging as is traditional in Indian households during festive occasions. Our learners also prepared art-pieces (decorated pairs of ‘shubh’ and ‘labh’). Which were then gifted across grades so that its decorations and best wishes enhance the festive mood and also add to the decor of the house.

Online celebrations for Pre-School & Primary

Fun and frolic abounds as the entire school celebrated the festival of Diwali. The school retained the celebratory spirit online through fun, engaging and festive activities. Learners made various sweets and decorations that added colour and sweetness to this term.

The lights of Diwali signify a time to destroy all our dark desires and thoughts, eradicate dark shadows and evils, and give us the strength and the zeal to carry on with our goodwill for the rest of the year. This message was shared by the Northstarians to the entire community.

Community Gatherings at Northstar are for our learners to share their understanding, knowledge & skills beyond their domain with their peers and the community.

After a long period, 3 beautiful consecutive physical community gatherings were presented by our senior learners. The learners of grade 12 presented 3 mindful skits, addressing the challenges faced while transitioning from online learning to offline learning, with fruitful solutions for the juniors to overcome these problems.

An extremely mindful community gathering, was presented by the learners of grade 11. The tale of Daedalus and Icarus, one of the best in Greek Mythology, was presented in the form of a beautiful drama. Learners also talked about how stories are beneficial in dealing with life challenges, finding solutions, understanding situations, learning empathy, and a form of recreation.

Grade 10 learners, performed a short play on the story "Pandora's Box" to show that humankind will always face adversities, but one must keep hope alive to survive and fight life issues.

"Pandora's box" is a metaphor in our modern languages, and the proverbial phrase refers to a source of endless complications or trouble arising from a single, simple miscalculation. Pandora's story comes to us from ancient Greek mythology, the story shows how the gods came to create Pandora and how the gift Zeus gave her ultimately ends the Golden Age of humankind.

Our school community was extremely happy to be a part of all the CG’s after such a long time.

Learning by doing has a powerful impact on a child’s life. At Northstar, we have project-based learning, learning through role-playing & simulations, and learning by doing an internship which allows learners to make real-life connections.

Home Kits:

This academic year, The Northstar School had come up with new ways to equip our learners in the virtual learning space in these prevailing difficult times. We had prepared Home Kits to allow hands-on learning as well as to supplement the learners in their online learning experience at home which consisted of useful age-appropriate resources such as manipulatives, flashcards, academic games, art & craft kits, experiments, and other materials.

Our educators and designers have spent hundreds of hours preparing grade-appropriate learning materials and resources, which will help learners get more connected with their learning. Home Kit resources are in complete sync with the online curriculum of the learners. We intend to add further resources to the Home Kits and make them accessible to parents/learners periodically.

At Northstar, we firmly believe that the essence of Experiential Learning is that students explore and learn from real-life experiences and scenarios.

Time is elusive. Despite its elusiveness, we can measure time exceptionally well. Timekeeping, however, is fundamentally different and more challenging than other measurements because it requires continuity. Clocks are instruments that measure and showtime. For millennia, humans have been measuring time in various ways, such as tracking the movements of the sun with sundials, the use of water clocks, candle clocks, and hourglasses.

Our learners of grades 5 & 6 dived deeper into the topic, 'A Chronicle of Timekeeping' to understand the history, evolution, types of timekeeping devices, and it’s importance. They learned how many components came together overtime to give us the modern-day timekeeping pieces of today through a timeline of timekeeping devices.

Learners made 'Sundials' and explored activities around it. Sundials were developed in ancient times as a timekeeping device, they provided a good estimate for the hour of the day - at least when it was sunny. Sundials have their origin in shadow clocks, which were the first devices used for measuring the parts of a day. They also learned about various other timekeeping devices used in ancient times and their drawbacks that lead to the development and evolution of modern-day timekeeping devices.

Furthermore, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" a story of a man who is born old and ages backward was analysed and evaluated by learners. Movie and videos were shown, various quizzes and open discussions led learners to understand the importance of timekeeping devices. Creative writing on time and timekeeping devices was done by the learners.

Learners and educators enjoyed the exploration of time. Learners understood the true value of time and timekeeping devices more than ever before.

Film, also called motion picture or movie, is a series of still photographs on film, projected in rapid succession onto a screen using light. Since motion pictures were invented, audiences have loved how they tell stories. Movies are one of the most accessible and beloved forms of entertainment in the world. Our learners of grades 7 & 8 explored the world of motion pictures.

Learners understood the meaning of motion pictures and still pictures. The “Compare and contrast” activity was conducted to further distinguish between the two through a Venn diagram, and it was displayed in the classroom. Furthermore, learners analyzed the history of motion pictures and evaluated how it has frequently changed over the period.

Learners explored various types of films and also learned their importance. They also were asked to do a film analysis on the movie “Social Dilemma”.

Industry expert Jay Chotalia, Digital Content Creator at RKU was invited to share his insights on the technical aspect of recording a film. He, with his experience, talked about various video editing software programs, and their technical usage in the modern day. Learners used various software programs such as Lightworks, Blender, Shotcut, etc., and created a short film which eventually made them aware of the important aspects of the filmmaking process.

Various movies, discussions, quizzes were shared with learners for better understanding. Learners and educators enjoyed the journey of motion pictures together.

We are all aware that a camera helps to create and preserve memories. A camera is an instrument used to take, or record, pictures of people and objects. Some cameras record single, still pictures called photographs. Movie cameras and video cameras record moving pictures. Our learners of grades 3 & 4 explored the history, evolution, and importance of a camera in their exploration of the topic 'Camera Technica'.

Initially, learners explored the camera's ability to see everything, capture moments, and freeze them for later enjoyment. These devices revolutionized the way people perceived the world. They learned that the instrument has come a long way in its relatively short history. Learners were also acquainted with the fact that the camera was developed from a plain box that took blurry photos to the high-tech DSLRs and smartphones they use today.

We were pleased to have Mr. Siddharth Kaneria, who humbly likes to be known as an Indian photographer, camera maker, and an avid collector of cameras, amassing a collection of around 200 old & new ones. Siddharth Sir, with his years of experience, discussed the topic of Evolution of the Camera. The timeline of the camera was extremely fascinating for the learners.

For better understanding, learners were explained the usage of a pinhole camera. They made a pinhole camera through a shoebox and wafer tin. Discussions were conducted on camera - a medium of photography and different genres of photography were explored such as wildlife photography, architectural photography, still life photography, landscape photography, etc. As a part of the assessment, learners created their photo albums/journals of different types of photography.

It was great learning for both the learners and the educators.