Welcome to the very first event of Chrysalis 2020-21. A shout-out to the Zoom application, which let the school defeat the pandemic and the nation wide lockdown by successfully organising cultural events.The Junior competition (classes 6-8) took place on the 20th of July 2020 and the Senior one (classes 9-12) on the 28th of July 2020. The events began with beautiful narration in our mother tongue by Shourya, Mulishree and Shruti for the junior event and Ira and Ritvika for the senior.The judging panel constituted of, Ms. Shibani Sahni who has vast experience in teaching Hatha Yoga in India and overseas.Being a trained counsellor and a yoga instructor, Shibani ma’am excels in effectively aligning the two to equip her clients with effective strategies thus enabling them to better deal with life challenges at an emotional, mental and behavioural level. The other judges were Mr. Utpal Mishra, the Director of Study Hall College who is a yoga enthusiast himself and Study Hall’s Swimming Instructor Mr. Arun Solomon sir who is a remarkable sports person.

There were 4 participants, 2 girls and 2 boys, from all the houses which were renamed as groups 1-4 to ensure candid results. The marking scheme had 10 marks each for flexibility, posture, holding and overall performance. The individual videos were of 2-3 minutes in which the participants had to perform 4 asanas each for 15 seconds (junior) and 30 seconds (senior) from a given list.

The story behind these videos had started a week before, when the students had self-nominated themselves, they were then shortlisted and they then perfected their postures with Rajesh Sir’s help, the Yoga expert of Study Hall.

The participants performed various asanas with grace and mind blowing skill.

Some of them being, Ekpada Chakrasana,

Matsyasana, Akarna Dhanurasana, Purna Bhujangasana and several other mesmerizing postures which left everyone in awe.

Junior Competition

The musical scores chosen by each house were very soothing and made the whole virtual experience spiritually rewarding.

While network glitches did create trouble initially, judges were full of praise for our ‘Young Yogis’. The panellists left us with words of wisdom to ponder upon and cherish forever. Shibani ma’am urged everyone to find themselves and their purpose in life so that they can work to be better and capable individuals, Utpal sir talked about the magic of Yoga which balances our lives while Arun sir taught us how putting our best efforts into our bodies (pain) leads us to victory(gain).

Senior Competition

The events ended with a thank-you note by our respected Principal, Mrs. Meenaskhi Bahadur.

We hope that yoga will become a beautiful part of everyone’s lives.

The following participants managed to ace the competition and emerged victorious,

Junior:

1^st place- Prabhav Singh
2^nd place- Shambhavi Singh
3^rd place- Bhavya Shukla and Raghav Sinha

House positions:

1^st place – Silveroak
2^nd place – Jacaranda
3^rd place – Cypress
4^th place – Fire flame

Senior:

1^st place- Ishita Shail Pathak and Divyansh Chandra
2^nd place- Bhavya Singh
3^rd place-Insha Amir

House positions:

1^st place – Fire Flame
2^nd place – Jacaranda
3^rd place – Silver Oak
4^th place – Cypress

A Virtual Orientation Programme, organized for the parents of class XII students, was organized on Friday, July 24, 2020, with the active participation of the Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur, the Vice-Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Shah, the class teachers and the parents. The programme commenced at 9:30 a.m with a warm welcome of the parents by the honourable Principal. Thereafter, all four class teachers formally introduced themselves to the parents.

This interactive session began on a cheerful and inspiring note wherein the Principal shared the outstanding class XII board result of the session 2019-20. Parents were also briefed about the e-assessment policy, planned for the holistic development of students while assessing their competence and skills throughout the session. The other highlights of the programme included a discussion on the detailed semester structure and the evaluation criteria as decided by the board along with a special emphasis on 100% student attendance in online classes and the use of Zoom App for the morning assemblies.

Towards the end, the Vice-Principal proposed a vote of thanks and expressed her gratitude towards the parents for sparing their precious time for attending this virtual meet. The programme ended with a hope that with mutual understanding and co-operation, all will sail through this critical situation.

A virtual orientation programme for the parents of Class X students was organized on Wednesday, the 22^nd of July 2020, at 0930 hrs. The Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur, formally welcomed the parents and introduced the class teachers of the students to the parents.

The orientation began with a brief introduction by the class teachers. The Principal then gave a detailed description of the virtual school system being followed. She shared her vision on the virtual pedagogy. The parents were briefed about required assessment programmes planned to develop competencies in the approach to the First Virtual Semester. The detailed Semester structure and evaluation criteria were explained to the parents. The Principal advised them to be focussed on their child’s academics and devise ways to monitor them. She also emphasized on the use of ZOOM for the school assembly. She highlighted the fact that it was a service which has been paid for by the school and there should be no hesitation in its use. She impressed upon compulsory attendance and described how oral assessment was being made every day along with project work, mind map and flip class room methodology.

She announced the dates for the First Unit Test and also mentioned about the PTM. She again shared her vision on Virtual Classes till the First Semester Assessment as per new norms as advised by the Board.

The Orientation concluded with a Vote of Thanks by the Vice Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Shah who thanked the parents for their participation and sparing their valuable time for this Programme.

The meeting ended with the hope of continued love and support between the parents and the school in this pandemic situation where the children need help to continue their studies in a Virtual Enviornment on Microsoft Teams.

As we all know that the foundation of a good parent teacher relationship is frequent and open communication between the two. Keeping this in mind, Study Hall organises a Parent Orientation Program for each class in the beginning of the session every year.

The Virtual Orientation Program for grade 9 was held on 21st July, 2020. The Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur, enlightened the gathering by talking about the vision and philosophy of the school. The Vice Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Shah, and the four class teachers also introduced themselves and expressed their gratitude to the parents for their support.

Further, our Principal apprised the parents about virtual teaching and testing methodology to be adopted by the school in the upcoming session. She also informed them about how the school is trying to conduct even the co-curricular activities through virtual medium.

By the end of the session, the Parents were quite sure and confident that the studies of their children will go unaffected even in this Corona period and the Study Hall teachers are trying their level best to reach out to each child in every possible way and maintain continuity in his/ her learning process. The orientation concluded with a Vote of Thanks by the Vice Principal Mrs. Meenakshi Shah who thanked the parents for their participation and their continued support.

In keeping with the philosophy and traditions of the Study Hall Educational Foundation, an orientation was organized on the 14th of July, 2020 to welcome the parents and children of class VIII. Amidst the atmosphere of the pandemic Covid 19, an online orientation session was organized. The honorable Principal Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur welcomed the parents and the students. The class teachers followed, introducing themselves. An informative session was successfully conducted by Mrs Bahadur, apprising the enthusiastic Parents regarding the modus operandi of the online classes. The virtual world being absolutely new, the Parents and children were informed about the online Assessment pattern. The new students and their Parents were extended a warm welcome. With a vote of thanks and gratitude Mrs. Meenakshi Shah ended the one hour session.

The sixth edition of the Study Hall Model United Nations was held on 18th-19th July 2020. Adapting to changing times, the conference was held completely on Zoom. Prior to the conference , close to 10 MUN and research oriented training sessions were conducted under the guidance of Study Hall alumni who had previously made their mark in the Model UN circuits of Lucknow and Delhi. Pertinent to the present global scenario, 2 of our committees had agendas directly connected to the Covid-19 Pandemic, with the Futuristic United Nations General Assembly deliberating upon “Post-Pandemic Reconstruction Efforts” and the All India Political Parties Meet addressing the need for “Reforms in the Indian Healthcare system”. Our third committee, United Nations Security Council was debating upon another relevant topic- “ Artificial Intelligence and its role in Global Security”. The International Press at SHMUN 2020, a vital component of any MUN, was brimming with work and ended up drafting an exceptionally elaborate Newsletter. With over 55 students participating as delegates of various countries and International Press reporters, the event turned out to be an extremely intellectually enriching experience for all involved. 

A virtual orientation meeting of class 6^th & 7^th, was held on 7, July, 2020. The meeting began with a welcome note by the Principal (Study Hall). The parents were taken on a virtual tour of the Senior building where their wards would be seated when the school reopens. Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur, then informed the parents about the principles that the school abides by. She reinforced the pedagogy of the school. A further note on how on-line correction of work, assessments and grading will be held. Thereafter the class teachers of the four sections of class 6, were called upon to introduce themselves to the parents. A thankyou note was given by the Vice-Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Shah. The Orientation lasted for 1 hour in which the parents were very happy to know about Study Hall school and its functioning especially in Covid times. They were appreciative of the measures taken by us.

Taking into account these unprecedented times, we at Study Hall Junior School held our very first ‘virtual’ orientation of the parents. The parent body of the class 5 students and the school team met on the 11th of July 2020 at 9:30 am.

The meeting was presided over by the Principal Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur. The school team comprised of the Vice-Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Shah and the four class teachers, Mrs. Anju Singh (CT 5A), Mrs. Rachna Yadav (CT 5B), Mrs. Nupur Bajpai (CT 5C) and Mrs. Uttara Saran (CT 5D). Unfortunately, the Headmistress of Study Hall Junior, Mrs. Bani Malhotra, was unable to join due to some unavoidable personal reasons.

The number of parents who attended the meeting was almost 148. The class 5 virtual orientation was almost a full quorum.

The Principal Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur spoke about the vision and philosophy of the school and reassured the anxious parents how this would, without a doubt, continue, in spite of the “Virtual School”. She reinstated the fact that Study Hall was and will always remain a ‘universe of care’ where the children were always encouraged to be their own curious selves! Here the children are motivated to think for themselves and to think, as she put it, “Out of the box,”.  That being said, in order to be successful in school and at studies, the children must not miss any ‘virtual class time’. And for that we, the teachers, depended upon the parents.

Mrs. Bahadur, then thanked our CEO and President Ms. Urvashi Sahni for her encouraging and exemplary mentorship.

The four class teachers introduced themselves and their subjects. The teachers also extended their welcome to the parents and the children and added that they were looking forward to the day when the children would come back to school and classrooms.

A vote of thanks was given by the Vice- Principal, Mrs Meenakshi Shah. She assured the parents that Study Hall was always open for suggestions and would welcome any & all feedback from the parents.

The’ virtual class 5 orientation’ lasted for almost 1 hour. And ended on a mutually satisfied and happy note.

The much awaited Orientation of Class 4 of the Study Hall Junior School was held on Friday, 10^th July, 2020. Due to the Lockdown, the session was conducted online through Zoom. It was well attended by a large number of parents. The Principal, Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur welcomed the parents very warmly and shared the policies of the school with the parents. She reassured them that even though the school was closed due to the pandemic, her entire team was working relentlessly and had left no stone unturned to deliver its best to the children. The children along with their parents, were delighted to watch a video that took them around the school, finally leading to their classroom.  

The Principal invited the Class Teachers to introduce themselves to the parents. They spoke about the subjects they were teaching and shared some valuable tips with the parents. This was followed by a speech by the Head Mistress of Junior School, Mrs Bani Malhotra. The parents were full of praise for the school authorities for conducting the Online Classes in a well organized manner. The others were asked to share their thoughts via mail.

The Orientation Programme came to an end with the Vote of Thanks delivered by Mrs. Meenakshi Shah, the Vice Principal.