CLASSES VI-VIII (2021-22)
With the onset of the summer vacation, Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram organised ‘Chillax- It is Summer Vacation Time’, a series of enriching activities for the students of Classes VI-VIII. The aim of these activities was to allow the students to de-stress while remaining mentally productive. Focusing on the unique hobbies and interests of the students, different kinds of activities were organized to let the students unwind during the summer break. These hobby-based activities were divided into three categories:
- A Better You: Activities to develop Physical and Mental health
- Symphony and Grace: Music and Dance Activities
- Embellish Me: Activities for Skill Development and Enrichment
A BETTER YOU
Activities included in ‘A Better You’ focused on developing the physical and mental health of the students wherein they participated in a number of sports and fitness activities that not only helped to engage them but also helped them to understand the importance of health and fitness, especially during the current scenario. The following activities were conducted regularly under this category:
FITNESS EXERCISES:
The aim of these activity classes was to enable the students to use simple methods to work on their fitness that can be easily done at home. The students were encouraged to work on their endurance, reflexes, footwork and balance movement patterns along with learning the importance of a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet.
The students of Class VI were introduced to various fitness exercises in daily life and then they practised exercises that required full body movements. The sessions focused on exercises based on speed, endurance, reflexes, lower body flexibility, stamina and core building, upper body strength along with many cardiovascular exercises. The students of Class VII were introduced to fitness along with a discussion on how to deal with stress and anxiety through exercises. They also practised general exercises and strength training without using any equipment along with many cardiovascular and core strength exercises. The students of Class VIII were encouraged to discuss planning for general fitness and taking care of their health through exercises/healthy diet plans. In the different sessions through the month, they practised workouts based on upper body strength, plyometric exercises, cardiovascular exercises for heart and lungs, and reflex exercises for body movements along with exercises that focused on speed endurance and core strength.
CALISTHENICS EXERCISES:
Calisthenics refers to exercises that are done in a rhythmic, systematic way using the bodyweight for resistance. The purpose of calisthenics is to help one build strength, endurance and flexibility without the use of any equipment. The students of Classes VI-VIII were introduced to calisthenics exercises and they were encouraged to practice a variety of exercises such as core exercises, lower and full body calisthenic exercises, resistance calisthenics exercises, etc. The teachers also demonstrated upper and core calisthenics exercises with a bottle and a towel and full body calisthenics exercises with a small ball that were thoroughly enjoyed by the students.
YOGA AND MEDITATION:
The students of Classes VI-VIII enjoyed participating in the Yoga and Meditation sessions wherein they learnt the importance of yoga and how it makes us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy, thereby improving our focus and calming our mind. The teacher demonstrated different yoga asanas and the students were encouraged to practise them. The sessions also focused on different types of yoga such as yoga for upper and middle body, yoga for diabetes, yoga for strengthening the hands, neck and shoulders, yoga for digestion and fitness, facial yoga along with yoga, pranayama and meditation for stress management.
AEROBICS AND ZUMBA:
The objective of the Aerobics and Zumba sessions was not only to engage the students but also increase their levels of physical fitness, which helped them to feel more positive emotionally and mentally. The sessions also helped the students to overcome their inhibitions and build their confidence. During the different sessions, the students of Classes VI-VIII enjoyed participating and performing a wide array of stretching and cardio exercises for warming up, movement and rhythmic exercises, abdominal exercises, core workouts that included lunges, squats, planks, jumping jacks, etc. and balancing exercises to develop their strength and muscle endurance, along with exercises that focused on building the lower body strength. The students were also encouraged to practice different full body aerobic exercises of varying intensities.
SYMPHONY AND GRACE
The category of ‘Symphony and Grace’ included a wide variety of music and dance activities that were thoroughly enjoyed by the students. These activity classes helped them not only to learn new skills but also proved to be a great way to alleviate stress during the current anxiety-ridden times. The following activities were conducted regularly under this category:
INDIAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:
The sessions of Indian Instrumental Music were a great way for the students of Classes VI-VIII to understand the nuances of playing the tabla whereby they learnt how to play a qaayda in teen taal based on western rhythmic patterns, a tukda in teen taal and how it can be accompanied with patriotic songs along with one special qaayda of the Delhi Gharana with a western beat on the left tabla. The students thoroughly enjoyed these sessions and the last few minutes of every class were devoted to working on the minute details of the presentation.
INDIAN VOCAL MUSIC:
The students were introduced to a variety of songs, vocal exercises and techniques in the activity classes of Indian Vocal Music. They were provided with a platform to showcase their talents and sing in front of their classmates, thereby enhancing their skills and building their confidence levels. These sessions not only helped the students to become better singers as individuals but also helped them to work together in group environments.
WESTERN DANCE:
The activity classes on Western Dance provided an excellent opportunity for the students to be introduced to multifarious dance forms and dance exercises which were taught in a fun, joyful and challenging environment. The students learnt how to start working on developing body flexibility and following the beats of different songs, thereby enabling them to co-relate the body and the mind within dance moves. The teachers demonstrated how to take basic dance counts comfortably, pick up new steps quickly and understand various instructions like left, right, tilt, bend, jump, etc. These sessions helped the students to overcome their stage fright and build their confidence level by providing them with a platform to dance in front of their classmates.
WESTERN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:
The sessions of Western Instrumental Music were quite interactive whereby the students were encouraged to relax and understand the impact of music in one’s life. They were guided to improve and hone their skills by understanding the nuances of the different musical instruments that they had chosen. The students also learnt some basic music theories along with learning how to play their respective instruments for songs. These activity classes helped them to clear their doubts and misconceptions about music through question-answer sessions as well as provided a fun-filled environment with practical demonstrations of different musical instruments.
WESTERN VOCAL MUSIC:
The primary objective of the Western Vocal Music sessions was to create a stress-buster environment that would let the students have fun while simultaneously learning different songs, vocal exercises and techniques. The students were provided various opportunities to identify and showcase their talents, thereby enhancing their skills and building their confidence levels to become better singers.
EMBELLISH ME
A variety of activities were included in the category ‘Embellish Me’ that focused on the development and enrichment of diverse skills of the students of Classes VI-VIII. The students enthusiastically participated in these sessions, and brought their own unique perspective to the different activities that were thoroughly enjoyed by them. The following activities were conducted under this category:
ART AND CRAFT:
The activity classes for Art and Craft were much appreciated by the students who were taught a variety of art and craft techniques that helped to enhance their skills. The students learnt to make 3D art sculptures with newspapers through which they learnt how to reuse and recycle old material into new products. Object study in pencil shading was also taught along with techniques of drawing and shading of basic forms. Using different media of colours was demonstrated through flower painting in watercolors that helped the students understand the process of colour mixing and application. The students were also introduced to the history of Indian folk art, Madhubani Painting after which they showcased their skills through their own spectacular paintings.
ENGLISH THEATRE:
The activity sessions for English Theatre were quite interactive in nature and a number of activities were conducted throughout their duration that helped the students to frame a comprehensive understanding of the history of English Theatre as well as enriched their skills in the different aspects of theatre. The students of Class VI were motivated to participate in different activities such as enactment of their favourite cartoon and fictional characters, mimicry, reading out the Infamy Speech, reading out specific stanzas of poems using different emotions, acting as different inanimate objects, pair dramatization of different situations, etc. The students of Class VII participated in voice and speech exercises and were acquainted with a variety of performances such as presenting a choral piece, short skits and monologues. The movie ‘Snack Time’ was shown to the students of Class VIII and they were encouraged to participate in a discussion based on the topic ‘Misunderstandings in Life and How to Resolve Them’. They prepared monologues and character presentation.They also shared information about their favourite plays and presented their favourite speech from English plays.
HINDI THEATRE:
The Hindi Theatre activity classes were very interesting and the students enjoyed participating in the various activities. In Class VI, the students were introduced to रंगमंच (theatre) whereby they beautifully presented different roles and situations according to their interests. The students of Class VII learnt how to introduce themselves in poetic ways and discussed the different काव्य-रस which they also enacted. They were also shown a short monologue titled ‘कोरोना का कहर’ and learnt how to stage two short poems written by Dr Sudha Sharma titled ‘जल है, तो आज और कल है’ and ‘जब जागो,तभी सवेरा’. In Class VIII, the students enhanced their creativity and artistic skills by presenting different aspects of theatre and drama.
INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY:
The activity classes for Information and Technology introduced the students of Classes VI and VII to the basics of programming logic and techniques with the help of Code.Org activities. The children learnt how to make objects move around the screen and control their activities at various levels. The students of Class VII were also introduced to a brief history of computers and learnt the importance of designing and developing algorithms. On the other hand, the students of Class VIII were introduced to web design and they learnt how to create web pages using HTML. Commands related to formatting pages using formatting tags, different heading level tags, inserting images, changing background and foreground colors were taught to the students who also enjoyed learning how to design web pages using HTML.
ROBOTICS:
As an exciting and upcoming field, the activity classes of Robotics thoroughly engaged and excited
the students of Classes VI-VIII. The students were introduced to the field of robotics and enlist the uses of robots. They were also introduced to the components of a robot and to identify the different tools and instruments that are used in the field of robotics along with the basic terminology used in electronics. Apart from the theoretical knowledge, the students also gained
practical skills by learning the processes of soldering and the construction of the bridge rectifier project, the DPDT Switch for controlling PMDC motor and a toy car robot through the different hands-on sessions. Live discussions and demonstrations were a regular occurrence in these sessions which enriched the skills of the students.
THINK LAB:
The activity classes of Think Lab motivated the students to think of out-of-the-box solutions for the myriad of everyday problems that we face every day. In Class VI, the students prepared idea sheets and had interactive sessions on how to solve a few of the everyday problems. They presented their project designs with the help of presentations. The students of Class VII learnt how to process their innovative ideas and prepare a business plan of the same. For Class VIII, these activity sessions provided the students with a platform to share their creative thoughts and ideas that were well-versed with the approach of creative thinking. The students were able to understand the fact that in an increasingly global world, broader horizons and an ability to think differently is a necessity, that will not only improve their problem-solving abilities but also help them to see others’ perspectives.
Thus, all the hobby-based activities were a great success that were enjoyed by both the students and the teachers.
