Let's listen to our founder, Ms. Sreeja Iyer, give us a sneak peak into our culture.
SM's holistic approach to learning and life cannot be complete without our parents. But what is the role of parents at Sparkling Mindz? How do we continue to keep child in the centre, keeping the caregivers in mind? What are the expectations from our parents? Let's listen to our founder, Ms. Sreeja Iyer, give us a sneak peak into our culture. Children at Sparkling Mindz Global School have been having conversations on what freedom means, since the beginning of this academic year. In the context of India's freedom, they explored cultural colonisation and what it means for cultures and choices to be free. Against the backdrop of exploring India's relationship with the world and our own local and global identities, Archita Anish, our 7th grader created this Republic Day greeting. Archita has been inspired to write her own poems since the dawn of the Poetic Soiree (our annual celebration on Children’s Day; many children choose to write their own poems which they receive feedback on and iterate). Archita co-wrote a poem along with her classmate early on this year and the seed that was sown at that time grew on. Since then, Archita has been writing more poems and also started attempting to write poems impromptu. She even wrote her reflections at the end of our Open House (space where SMzians (our Founder, facilitators, children and parents) and prospective parents and their children share for them to have a peak into what our SM culture is all about) in the form of a poem! Archita has been learning to use the very many of the poetic devices and iterate her poems in the process. In this poem, she uses symbolism to represent various nations and their relationship with India. She has also used a ‘refrain’ - the purpose and use of which she learned during her journey of writing poems over the last few months. Most importantly, she has also taken feedback and tried to empathize with the reader to decide how much to explain and how much to leave to interpretation… As you, our reader, read the poem, we invite you to wonder, interpret, connect and explore with us. We, the Sparkling Mindz Global family, wishes each and everyone of you a very 72nd Happy Republic Day! #sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners #covid19learning #72ndrepublicday #childrenled #pregressiveschooling #poetryshowcase As the title goes, no event at SM is ever complete without extending gratitude for all the support and love that was present and received. So post the Poetic Soiree event, the house representatives from all the four houses (Sphinx, Phoenix, Pegasus and Griffins) came together, along with their facilitators to express the same, that made the event possible, along with their experiences of the event. The 'Thank-You' note also touches upon all the effort that was put into making it all happen, in just the right amounts to end the event with the perfect amount of joy and appreciation! Let's sit back and soak in all the love and joy. Have fun. :) This is our SM's way of expressing gratitude. How about you? Do leave a comment below on how you show your appreciation, love and gratitude. #sparklingmindzglobalschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #poeticsoiree #covid19 #21stcenturylearning #socialemotionallearning #learningforkeeps PART 4/4 "Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost.' We have all read/ learned/ wrote poems as kids, in our teens...a lot of which followed well into our adulthood. Poetry to some is an inflow/ outflow of expressionism while to some it is an appreciation of art. Well, you get the idea. Our children, at SM, found themselves living, breathing, consuming poems and the process of poetry, creating their own, channelling the ones they connected with; pretty sure that this inspiration and love will be life-long. And during our annual Poetic Soiree event, they came together in their houses (Griffins, Pegasus, Phoenix, Sphinx) to express themselves through poems. As our pandemic motto, 'No-Virus Can Stop Our Learning!', they marched through with might and grit, fun and laughter, love and play, and a little bit of 'Learning Never Stops!'. So here they are, showcasing their poems to you. Sit back and enjoy the show! #sparklingmindzglobalschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #deeplearning #poetryshowcase #covid19 #socialemotionallearning #21stcenturylearning #everychildcan PART 2/4 "Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost.' We have all read/ learned/ wrote poems as kids, in our teens...a lot of which followed well into our adulthood. Poetry to some is an inflow/ outflow of expressionism while to some it is an appreciation of art. Well, you get the idea. Our children, at SM, found themselves living, breathing, consuming poems and the process of poetry, creating their own, channelling the ones they connected with; pretty sure that this inspiration and love will be life-long. And during our annual Poetic Soiree event, they came together in their houses (Griffins, Pegasus, Phoenix, Sphinx) to express themselves through poems. As our pandemic motto, 'No-Virus Can Stop Our Learning!', they marched through with might and grit, fun and laughter, love and play, and a little bit of 'Learning Never Stops!'. So here they are, showcasing their poems to you. Sit back and enjoy the show! #sparklingmindzglobalschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #deeplearning #poetryshowcase #covid19 #socialemotionallearning #21stcenturylearning #everychildcan "Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost.' We have all read/ learned/ wrote poems as kids, in our teens...a lot of which followed well into our adulthood. Poetry to some is an inflow/ outflow of expressionism while to some it is an appreciation of art. Well, you get the idea. Our children, at SM, found themselves living, breathing, consuming poems and the process of poetry, creating their own, channelling the ones they connected with; pretty sure that this inspiration and love will be life-long. And during our annual Poetic Soiree event, they came together in their houses (Griffins, Pegasus, Phoenix, Sphinx) to express themselves through poems. As our pandemic motto, 'No-Virus Can Stop Our Learning!', they marched through with might and grit, fun and laughter, love and play, and a little bit of 'Learning Never Stops!'. So here they are, showcasing their poems to you. Sit back and enjoy the show! #sparklingmindzglobalschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #everychildcan #21stcenturylearning #deeplearning #creativethinking #socialemotionalearning It's been a very different year for all of us collectively, this year. But that has not stopped us from exploring, especially during this Independence Day! Explore what? You may ask. Well, we explored our culture, identities, and much more. And we would like to share it with all of you through this video. #sparklingmindzglobalpreschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #everychildcan #21stcenturyleanrning #reggioemiliainspired #socialemotionallearning #independenceday One of the biggest crises of our times is the inability to see another's perspective, see the other as human, in fact. So, in our endeavor to teach empathy to children we used a modified ‘Step Inside’ thinking routine. We have also created a 'step out' tool such that it helps people step out of the others' shoes and use the perspective gained to creatively resolve emotionally charged situations. Inspired to implement this? Here's how... 1. Gather Facts 1. If you are an involved party then share things from your perspective as well as what the other person said, did etc. clearly (without distortion) 2. If you are a teacher/parent, then ask questions to gather as many facts as you can for you to get a clear picture of the involved parties and the situation 3. If you are an involved party or not, express how you are feeling and acknowledge your emotional state. This is to ensure this does not carry into your next step. 4. Also clearly state any beliefs or values you have about the issue/situation/behaviour you are dealing with so that it is easier for you and others to acknowledge this and ensure it does not affect your next step. 2. Step In Step In Routine Involves the following. I'm the other now (assume that is X). So, I'm X (I step into the situation as X and answer the following prompts): I see: I feel: I care about: -------------- You can ensure you are not projecting at this stage by asking yourself, "Would X say that about themselves?" 3. Step out You physically step into a different space and do this part of the routine. Knowing what I know because of my Step In what can I do differently? Was the "I see" objective and wide in perspective? If not, how might we see/show objectivity and a wider perspective? Was the "I feel" resourceful? If not, how might we bring/show awareness and help shift state to something more resourceful? Was the "I care about" expressed resourcefully? If not, how might we encourage a more resourceful way to express the care about? 4. Iterate At this stage, you check if the solutions you had found are working or not . If yes, you have just now resolved something with empathy and creativity. Time to celebrate! If not, you iterate back to the leverages in the "step out" stage and see if you have exhausted all your options. If not, use them. If you have, then you iterate through the "step in" stage. Maybe you missed something there. A different see, feel or care about that given this new information of what didn't work can reveal itself and you find yourself with multiple solutions again to work with. No two situations, the underlying intentions or the resolutions are the same. The only thing that really works is remaining creative, resourceful and empathetic.
Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, Founder & CEO of Sparkling Mindz Global School & Preschool.
#sparklingmindzglobalschool #sparklingmindzglobalpreschool #inspiringconfidentlearners #21stcenturylearning #empathyroutine #socialemotionallearning A level 3 Young Achievers Academy Class. A game is laid out and a discussion ensues just prior to it. N is a 12 year old who doesn't like rules. N: I don't like rules, rules are bad. F: When you are at a traffic signal do you tell your mom to keep going even if it is red light because rules are bad? N: No! F: What about in Nikhalasia (his fantasy land), what will you do there? N: I'll build a bridge for people to walk above vehicles. So no traffic signals. F: So then people have to walk above and vehicles have to go below - aren't they rules too? N: Yes F: Are they bad? N: Well, no they keep people safe and moving happily. Not all rules are bad :) "Children tend to take a generic stand towards a few aspects of their lives. It helps them simplify decisions, not necessarily comply because they disagree and is generally resourceful in many ways. " -Sreeja Iyer Children tend to take a generic stand towards a few aspects of their lives. It helps them simplify decisions, not necessarily comply because they disagree and is generally resourceful in many ways. Changing that stance even to mild flexibility is a success because it means they have started to see some perspective beyond self-protection, they have started to understand logic beyond their own imagined fantasy. That's enough. Sometimes significant shifts come from very small cracks and the first crack is key. #youngachieversacademy #inspiringconfidentlearners #sparklingmindzglobalschool Written by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Founder of Sparkling Mindz Global School & Preschool (as narrated to her by Anita Ashok, Facilitator, Young Achievers Academy) The word 'education' arouses a lot of emotions and feelings within all of us. To some, it is 'bookish' knowledge while to some, it is broadening the walls of their mind. To some, it is going beyond the industrial life, learning to respect each other and changing lives. How about you? What do you think of when you hear this word - education? To us, at Sparkling Mindz Global, education is nothing but inspiring confident learners. And last year, Sparkling Mindz Global was awarded Top 50 Educational Organizations by GFEL in 2019 for an innovative approach to learning and empowering children. And that's exactly what we do here, inspire and empower, to prepare our children for the future, to raise a generation of confident leaders. Get to know us a little through this video of our CEO, Sreeja Iyer, where she touches upon what it is that we do at SM. What is the kind of school you would like your child to go to? Contact us at contact@sparklingmindz.in for more information. #sparklingmindzglobalschool #sparklingmindzglobalpreschool #21stcenturylearning #inspiringconfidentlearners #youngachieversacademy #reggioemiliainspired #gfel |
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December 2023
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