SRCS TRAIL

Issue 7 | November 2014

From the Editor’s Desk: – Tanya Bedi

I believe there has been a change, a delightful one, a change within the students of SRCS! We now have clear views and opinions and have learnt not to look at everything from the same point of view as the rest. For which I am thankful to our morning assemblies in school. Our assembly themes started off pretty mild and gentle which are now much more VIVID and ENERGETIC! Just this morning Mrs. Natascha Bathla talked

about 'gratitude'. To be grateful to all who are there for us, to the people who help us through the day, without whom we wouldn't be where we are today, whether it's your parents, your teachers, friends or anyone.

Coming to school, and learning something new every morning is exceedingly refreshing! Every talk throughout the week is like an alarm clock which wakes us up to an inspiring message which, believe me, is much better and effective than an annoying alarm on your phone, going off right next to your ear! All the talks have positively affected our thinking and have helped us to introspect. Some talks make us laugh, some leave us speechless but all of them leave us in deep thought! In fact, the morning assemblies have inspired me to write poems as well!The fresh, morning airOur rst morning prayer,The breezy air and the walkWe can barely wait for the talk!

Can feel the mist and the dew,Every day something new! The blue sky, a new dayLet us all have a lovely morning, okay?

So, I hope you have a fun time reading this issue of our school's newsletter! Happy Read to all!

Inside this Issue:

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­ Challenging Young People

­ We are Grilled

­ Talking to Hills

­ Book Review

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­ A Day full of Surprises

­ A Children’s Day Surprise

­ A Fruitful Experience

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­ Bobby Cash, The Indian Cowboy

­ Our Budding Scientists

­ Set It Up

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­ Bobby Cash Talks to Us

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­ A Burst of Melodies

­ Formal Inauguration of the SRCS

Challenging Young People – Utkarsh Gupta

All students who have turned 14 joined the IAYP programme. My experience so far has been amazing. Every week we put in an hour each of social service, playing a sport of our choice and developing a skill of our choice. Thanks to IAYP, my Table Tennis game has now improved immensely. I have taken drums as my skill. Every week Mr. Mehta teaches me “beats and basics.” It is very nice to sit and spend time learning more about your hobby with your teacher.

Our social service programme, so far, has been very fullling. In the rst two occasions we went to clean a local ground near our school. We cleared plastic materials and other garbage. On numerous occasions we also went to Hope Home to teach underprivileged children. I came to know that they are actually very intelligent. They are also very sporty and play soccer really well! I realized that it is the will rather than money or inuential background that helps in achieving.

This program has made a difference in me and all the other students who have joined the IAYP

programme. It is great to be with your friends and at the same time get the opportunity to do some productive work.

We are Grilled – Saksham Khanduri

The Inter-House Science Quiz was held on November 3rd, 2014. A week prior to the competition, the participants of all the houses got into the act of cramming as much knowledge about science as possible. The quiz was organized and conducted by our science teacher, Mrs. Usha Dhoundiyal. The participants showed a lot of enthusiasm, condence and energy during the competition. After battling really hard, Phoenix House emerged the winner.

Talking to the Hills – Nagawang Chime

On November 16th, we, the boarders, went for a trek to Mussoorie. We left school at 7:30 am and the bus took us to Shansai Ashram from where our trek was to begin. On the way we sang and listened to music till we stopped at Rajpur Road where our guide, Mr. Gandhi, joined us. In the next ve minutes we reached Shansai Ashram and then we started the trek after a short but necessary brieng.

Mr. Gandhi divided us into three groups – Uday, Divyam and Sarvfateh were the group leaders. We started our trek by crossing a small stream. We continued to walk up the hill where we saw a waterfall which was partly green and partly blue. Our photography enthusiasts, Kabeera and Utkarsh, clicked pictures of owers and everything they could capture of the surrounding beauty. Our next stop was somewhere near a waterfall.

We all were so hungry after the trek that we couldn't go beyond Kalsang Friend's Corner. The waiter, Soma, got us momos. After sometime he got us noodles and coke. Soon our tummies were full. Despite this we happily managed to squeeze in an ice cream without a whimper.

Soon it was time to head back to school. We all thanked Mr. Lobsang, Mr.Kranti Azad and Ms. Ruchi for making our Sunday rejuvenating and exciting.

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl (A Book Review) – Shreshtha Mehta

A few days ago, I borrowed a book from the library and found it unputdownable. The book was, “Anne Frank: Diary of a young girl.” The book is an autobiographical account of a young Jewish girl, Anne Frank, in the form of a diary. Anne Frank started writing it at the age of 13 during the Second World War. The book describes the sufferings and the horrors faced by the people during the War. Anne writes how she had lots of friends in school and enjoyed her life, but had to go hiding for the sake of her family. The Van Daan family, a friend of Franks, joined them in the hiding. She describes everyone in the hiding as well as the people who helped them. They hid in her father's ofce. When Anne Frank was 15 the hiding place was discovered and all the people there were arrested. The only person to survive the war was Anne's father, Otto. H. Frank. He edited Anne's diary and published it. There is a lot to learn from this book, and I would really like all of you to read it. 2

A Day Full Of Surprises – Sarvfateh Singh

This 14th November, the school celebrated its very rst Children's day! We came to school very excited about the football match that was to take place between the staff and the students. We were supposed to have normal classes in the morning and were kind of prepared for that. To our amazement all the teachers conducted a special assembly for us and surprised us further as they had interchanged their subject. Our rst school was Hindi and we were surprised to see that our English teacher, Mrs. Bathla, walk in to teach us Hindi. We were all taken by surprise at the

excellent Hindi she spoke. Our next school was English, and this time it was our Hindi teacher, Mrs. Joshi, who took centre stage. We were all just so fascinated by it all. Our Computer school was taken by our Music teacher, Mrs. Bali. We didn't know what to expect next. The students of the other classes too were facing similar surprises.

As we headed to the dining area for our snack we soon realized that a tug of war was organised. After keeping everyone on tenterhooks in the battle of

'The girl versus the lady teachers' the winners were the girls . The boys versus the gentlemen was unfortunately won by the latter, but I must make a mention that it was only after the boys made them realize that their youth was gradually slipping away. The soccer match ended in a 1-1 draw in a match where both sides made some wonderful moves to the applause of the cheering crowd.

Soon after the match everyone was asked to head upstairs to the library. We thought we were going to watch a movie but what happened minutes later was beyond our limited imagination. Mr. Bathla called upon the teachers saying they would conduct a 'workshop' but it was songs, dances, poetry recitations and numerous acts that ooded the afternoon. All of which were superb and entertaining and it kept us wondering as to when they could have got so much time to prepare so much for us. The teachers had planned the day really well and made us feel special. It ended on a yum note with a special lunch. So far, it is the best children's day ever!

A Children's Day Surprise – Yashika Malhotra

On Children's Day there was a surprise for us, Rainbows. After the assembly and snack, all of us boarded buses and were taken to the Buddha Temple in Clement Town.

We found a nice shady spot and sat down with our teachers. We played a lot of games. The School had organized packed lunch which we ate there. It was very delicious. We met a Buddhist monk and clicked many pictures with him! Although we could not enter the temple, because they were preparing for the prayers, we still had a lot of fun. Thank you, teachers, for this pleasant surprise.

A Fruitful Experience

– Urvi Agarwal

On 21st November 2014, the Rainbows went to the fruit market that is close to our school. We went in groups with our teachers. The green grocer was an old man. He showed us many kinds of fruits and vegetables. We also learnt about the weighing scale and the different types of weights. We got two slices of guavas each to eat. It was fun and a great learning experience.

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On 22nd November, 3 teams from SRCS went for The National Robotics Olympiad held at Seven Oaks School. On the rst day we had to qualify by making a circuit according to the instructions given by the teacher. Though we came 7th, we successfully qualied for the next round. Out of the three teams from our school, two qualied. The schools that had qualied had to choose the category in which they wanted to compete. The categories were Humanoid, Programming, Terrestrial and Aqua. One of our teams chose Aqua while the other chose Humanoid.

We returned the next day and had a 3 hour boot camp in which we were taught about robots. In the evening we competed with other schools and managed to achieve 2nd position in the Humanoid category and 3rd position in the Aqua category. We were ecstatic by the result and congratulated each other. It was fun to understand robotics and make new friends there! We would like to take this opportunity to thank our science teacher, Mrs. Usha Dhoundiyal and our STEM lab teachers Mr.KD and Mr. Nikhil for their constant guidance and support.

Our Budding Scientists – Jasjot Singh and Utkarsh Gupta

Bobby Cash, The Indian Cowboy – Prabhav Agarwal

On 21st November, Bobby Cash, popularly known as the Indian Cowboy came to SRCS to spend an afternoon with the students. He arrived at 12:00pm and there was a roar of excitement in SRCS. The previous day, we were told that he'll be visiting us and from that time onwards we couldn't contain our excitement. He is called “THE INDIAN COWBOY” as he was the rst Indian to promote Country music in India.

He was in a cowboy jacket, jeans, cowboy hat and boots looking

like a true cowboy. He was interviewed by the student editors in the Principal's ofce after which he moved to the Kund where the entire school was seated, waiting to watch him perform. After tuning his guitar, he spoke about himself and the genre of music he performs.

First he played a mesmerizing Spanish tune, after which he set the rhythm to one of my personal favourites - Country Roads. He sang many songs and kept each one of us enthralled. He even showed us some wonderful ways of playing the guitar and we also heard some acoustic and cowboy tunes. We learnt that he places a microphone near his left foot, the tapping of which acts as drum beats. This makes his songs sound even better.

Although he only plays a guitar while he sings, it seems like an entire orchestra is accompanying him. It was, altogether, an amazing experience to have him sit right there and watch this live performance. He ended the show with some country music and one Hindi number. Sadly, as everything good must come to an end, so did this. The students were ready with their guitars, autograph books, slam books and anything they could get hold of, to take his autograph. His songs will remain in our hearts forever.

For many days, we kept practicing for the Inter House Dance Competition. We had prepared dances based on various social issues. Each house selected a theme. Sphinx House chose 'Save the girl child,' Phoenix chose, 'Child Labour,' Unicorn chose 'Women empowerment,' and Grifn chose 'Gender discrimination. ' The students performed enthusiastically. They danced to the beat with grace and gaiety. The show was highly applauded and was a total success!

Step It Up – Lavanya Rana

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Bobby Cash Talks To Us – Tanya Bedi, Shreshtha Mehta, Adit Dhoundiyal

On the 21st of November SRCS had the opportunity to meet a country music legend, Bobby Cash. He answered a few of our students’ questions

SRCS: What did you do before you hit the limelight?Bobby Cash: I taught kids. I was a teacher. I taught for 8 years, and I love being with kids. It has obviously been a long time! Since I was in school I played the guitar. I never planned on being a professional musician. I would play in the Army Club and everyone would ask me to play something for them. As I grew up I kept playing. Those days we used to listen to records and then there were cassettes. I believe in excellence and when you spend time with something, to be good at it, it always pays off. When I was young I used to spend a lot of time with my guitar and I wasn't a bad student either and always got decent marks. I grew up in Dehradun, which is a beautiful place, and I would play my guitar in most of the parties, and there my friends would always push me and nudge me to come and play. I didn't really want to. But I am very thankful to those people who forced me to come and play.

SRCS: Did your family support you? Could you tell us something about your initial days as a performer?Bobby Cash: Yes, my family supported me all the way. It was not that I was playing for money or fame; it was just that I loved it. Even in school, my teachers would ask me to play! I started teaching in Hilton School and, soon after, got married. All along my family was a constant source of support. It isn't easy to be a professional musician. The rst few months as a country music artist wasn't easy. There being demand for Indi pop musicians like Daler Mehndi, I too got into Indi pop, because my friends asked me to try it out.I did it because it was music. I performed with Shaan, Daler Mehndi and Kay Kay. Shortly after this my rst Indi pop Album was ready. I was roaming the world, I was different. In 2003, I got into the international market. Although I am not very fond of travelling, I was on the road travelling. I wanted to be closer to home and I based myself in Delhi because it was closer to Dehradun. Immediately following this I went to Australia and was on the road for 3 days, playing on the streets. On the fourth day, the organizers, who were impressed, moved me to the main stage. It is just one of those things that happen you know. People loved the way I played, and started asking who I was. A couple of months later I went back to Australia and released my rst international CD. It made it to the country music charts. For the next 7 years I kept touring around the world. In US I stayed on the ranches with cowboys, rodeos.

SRCS: What made you choose this genre of music?Bobby Cash: I don't really know. It is like country music chose me. Country music is not very common in India, not many people are into it! Country music was always something special to me. Ever since I was a kid, I would watch country and western movies and I loved watching them. I love reading books too, I still do. If you gave me a choice between books or a music system, I would choose books because I have music playing inside me already. I do a lot of reading and most of all I love reading western books. Country music is a music that came from cowboys . I like the lyrics and the way it works. It is not like I cannot connect with Hindi music. I had an aunt who went to the States to Nashville, Tenesse, which is the home of country music. She would send lots of records home. So, music was there, guitars were there and I just loved country singers, their deep voices. When I was a kid I would listen to country music but I didn't know whether my voice would get that natural depth. But it just went toward it and I could just sing like them. I'd play the records and sing and people would say, 'You do sound like them!'

SRCS: What is country music all about?Bobby Cash: Even though Country music is not that popular in India but I was brought up with country music and being a true Indian, I've never wanted to travel far away from here. Country music is probably one form of western music which is very close to our Indian way of life, the way we are. We Indians are sentimental people and we are really connected to our roots. We are sentimental about our families, our hometowns, there's respect for elders, that is one thing we are brought up with and country music is all about roots. You can sing about your hometown, your grandfather, your grandmother or about a broken heart. Whereas a lot of western music is about rebellion, it's about breaking away but country music is all about the stories, which is why people actually listen to country music. There have been many times when people asked me overseas if there was any such thing called country music in India? There are genres of music like ghazals and su which are again a very rare form of music. Then the greatest kind is folk music in which again we connect with the real us.

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A Burst of Melodies – Kabeera Panchhi

After putting in hours of regular hard work for a few weeks we were nally ready for the Inter-House Music Competition which was held on the 26th of November.

Grifn House sang a beautiful Bengali song 'O re bhai, phagun legeche bone bone.' I couldn't understand much but the melody was lovely. The next was Unicorn House. They sang a Hindi song 'Aa chalke tujhe, mein leke chalu,. Sphinx House sang an English song, 'Somewhere over the rainbow,' which was really good! The last house to perform was Phoenix House, they too sang a Hindi song, ' Mera Jahan'. It was amazing!Phoenix House were the winners. I enjoyed a lot and took many pictures of everyone! Every song was different yet very pleasant and soothing!

Formal Inauguration of the SRCS – Utkarsh Gupta

On 30th November, 2014, Shri Ram Centennial School was formally inaugurated by Mr. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia. The day was brimming with enthusiasm and excitement. Mr. Scindia cut the ribbon and lit the ceremonial lamp. Mr.Jayant Hari Har Lal, senior executive director, Mr. Ajay Sharma, managing trustee, Mr.Anil Garg, chairman SRCS and Mr. Gaurav Garg, director SRCS also graced the occasion.

To begin the programme the Principal said a prayer which was followed by our school choir singing, 'Anand Loke' and 'Imagine'. The principal introduced the chief guest and spoke about how grateful he was to the SRCS team. Mr. Jayant Hari Har Lal spoke about the four pillars of knowledge. His speech was truly inspirational. Mr. Ajay Sharma told us about Lala Shri Ram and his vision of an educated Indian society. Mr. Gaurav Garg proposed the vote of thanks.

Our chief guest, Mr.Scindia, spoke about how students aren't just vessels that need to be lled with mere facts but they are souls that

need to be stretched with perception. He also put forth the thought that the education in this country should emphasize on what to learn rather than how to learn. We were very fortunate to see the inauguration of our Knowledge Village, SRCS.

Publication Team:Editor-In-Chief : Tanya Bedi (VIII - A)Staff Editor : Mrs. Qadr Afza Ali RizviStudent Correspondent : Tanya Bedi, Saksham Khanduri, Nagawang Chime, Shreshtha

Mehta, Urvi Agarwal, Yashika Malhotra, Prabhav Agarwal, Jasjot Singh, Lavanya Rana, Adit Dhoundiyal and Kabeera Panchi

Design & Layout : Miss. Prabhjot KaurPhoto Credits : Photography Club

KNOWLEDGE VILLAGEDEHRADUN

Knowledge Village, Sherpur, Shimla Road, Dehradun - 248197Ph. : +91-8979958111 , 8979959111Email : info@srcsdoon.comwww.srcsdoon.com* SRCS Trail will be an online publication to save paper.