Support the holistic development of a child by Purkal Youth Development Society

Total number of beneficiaries impacted was 530 out of which 67% were females, in Dehradun

The school hosted an �Innovative-Thinking-Workshop� for Tinkering Facilitators of Uttarakhand Cluster, for 25 teachers from 11 schools during this period. Sports' Fortnight was also organized during this period. The 10th Annual Day was held on the 24th & 25th Nov '22. All students of classes VI, VII and VIII were taken on a four-day educational trip to Delhi in the months of September, November and December respectively. Last year, insulated puffer jackets were provided for all students. This year in November, they were given insulated track jackets to go with their Sports Uniform. 2 students accomplished the Gold Level and twenty one completed the Bronze level for International Awards for Young People. PYDS Students won 3 awards in national level competitions held by tGELF. They won the 1st position in the art competition named, �Magic with Colors�. �Sunta Hun�, the film bagged the award for �Best Editing�. Project, �Shubharambh�, received the �Encouragement Award� in the Youth Leader category. We believe that all of this possible because the students get nutritious and healthy meals at the PYDS school.

Vinay lives with his parents and two sisters in �Sapera Basti�, Thani Gaon, Dehradun. His father, Amar, works as a laborer on daily wages. On Saturdays he goes around asking for alms as �Shani Dev�. His total earnings are around 5 to 7 thousand rupees per month. They live in a single room house. They have few utensils and belongings. Since he was frequently absent from school, his parents were asked about it during PTM. They said he often hid his clothes and shoes and was slow in the morning just to miss the bus. Teachers then befriended him and he confided to them that he did not want to attend school as he had no friends. The teachers then paid special attention to him and made him participate in group activities and games. Gradually he made friends and started coming to school regularly. He enjoys food served in school as he does not get such food at home. Vinay wants to become a soldier when he grows up.

Holistic development of a child comprises his physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual growth in a comprehensive manner.

The mission of PYDS is to dispense holistic education. Our efforts are not limited to textbook education alone and we strive ceaselessly to help our students to: i) Develop a balanced physical, mental and social personality. ii) Secure admission in a college course (after completing school) of their choice that will enable them to get adequate employment. iii) Become responsible citizens of India and the World.

In order to achieve the above objectives we have the following programs in place:

PYDS Nutrition Program: In order to provide a balanced diet for the holistic development of children, everyday nutritional breakfast, fruit and lunch are provided to all 501 students. The 117 residential students are given evening snacks and dinner. Additionally, hostel residents and students of classes I to III are provided with a glass of milk everyday at breakfast.

Day School: PYDS is a CBSE affiliated education centre from class I to XII where 501 students attend school from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. During school time students are taught the CBSE curriculam through books, audio-video aids and Art Integrated Learning. The pedagogical strategies followed are - theme based, cross curricular connect, experiential and project based learning across all classes. Sports activities are an integral part of the daily timetable for all classes, with an additional ninety minutes for residential students after school. Yoga classes are compulsory for students of class IV and above. We have a fully functional and well equipped Tinkering Lab on campus for our students of class IV onwards to explore and enhance their Tinkering abilities. Well stocked Junior and Senior Libraries are in place with 25 tablets to enable students to read digitally. Well equipped Computer Lab and an E-Lab are in place in order to provide digital training and experience to students. An Indian and a western music room, an Art Lab and the Physics, Chemistry and Biology Labs too are well equipped and fully functional to provide the required learning experiences to our students.

Social Interaction: To implement a broad spectrum of experience and to expose them to various cultures, students are regularly taken out for exhibitions and sporting plus educational activities & competitions. Groups of students from other schools too are invited to participate in activities and competitions organized by PYDS. To provide a comprehensive experience and fully understand the importance of travelling out of one's own city, students are taken to other cities for educational excursions. Cleaning drives and projects based on local interaction are encouraged for students to go out of campus and interact with local communities. One movie is screened on campus every Saturday for residential students to give them a comprehensive experience of the society. Various workshops were organized on campus to enhance holistic education to our students. Activities: All major festivals and special days are celebrated on campus and in March Holi and Women’s Day were celebrated with gusto. Offline final examinations were conducted between 15th and 25th March on campus. The end-of-term Parent Teacher Meeting was held in order to strengthen parental engagement with emphasis on parental support to students regarding punctuality, regularity, uniform, academic performance and conduct. A fortnight of activities was held between 26th March and 8th April. Several excursions and indoor activities like treks, cleanliness drives, picnics, visit to the zoo and swimming in our nearby river were organized. Student Council elections were held at PYDS in April and students cast their votes through Google forms. The newly elected Council took up its responsibilities after the swearing-in-ceremony on 18th April 2022. 'Harry Potter’, was entirely a student-driven theatrical spectacle staged on April 30. The script, auditions, and rehearsals were managed by mentor students committed to create more such vibrant experiences for our students in future, so as to promote teamwork and enhance verbal and non-verbal expressions.

Hobby Clubs Our clubs aim to provide deeper extracurricular exposure to our students, simultaneously encouraging them to explore new interests and acquire better skills. Saturdays are entirely dedicated to hobby clubs. Students participate enthusiastically in two clubs of their choice. Art, Biodiversity, Creative Writing, Dance & Fitness, Debate, General Knowledge, Music, Sports, Tinkering and Yoga are some of the ongoing hobby clubs. While students of classes IV-XII participate in these clubs, the primary classes I-III participate in the Clay Modeling Club.

Navjeevan 4.0 Navjeevan is an accelerated learning program for underprivileged children of Uttarakhand who have suffered a gap in primary education. They are introduced to a specially designed accelerated learning program that enables them to join the mainstream students in a period of twelve to eighteen months. Admissions for the fourth batch have recently been accomplished. This time 16 students between the ages of 10-12 were selected from beyond Nathuakhan, a village in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, 330 kms away from PYDS. One of the biggest challenges in admitting these students was to convince their families to send their children, especially their daughters, away from home. After learning about our history, impact and methodology, the parents gained confidence and paid a visit to Purkal. A full day of orientation was organized to make them and the children familiar and comfortable in school. It took another day for the onboarding process, before the children could attend their first formal learning session on April 25.

New Experiences While most of our students went home for a weeklong inter-session break, some of our students who could not visit their homes were taken for a trip to the city of Nagpur. Accompanied by teachers, they learned about the rich heritage and culture of Nagpur.

Investing in Our Planet Earth Day was celebrated on campus to strengthen awareness about climate change and environmental protection. It was an honor to have Dr. Bikram Singh, Director-IMD (Dehradun) & Chairman-IMS (Dehradun Chapter), deliver an insightful talk on ‘Mausam and Climate’. He was accompanied by his team who conducted a Quiz Competition for our students who fared very well and won several prizes. A planet-restoration-themed painting competition was also held where several paintings were displayed. All the activities observed the official theme for the year 2022 which was ‘Invest in Our Planet’.

Career Options As part of our efforts to familiarize our students of Class XII with multiple career options available, Mrs. Seema Shukla (Assistant Professor - Journalism & Mass Communication - IMS Unison University, Dehradun) delivered a talk on Careers in Media Literacy and Mass Communication. She also educated the students on how to distinguish fake news from real news and urged them to be mindful before sharing any news on social platforms. Several students wanted to know more and were glad to have their questions answered by Ms. Shukla. This productive session helped enhance student’s interest in journalism.

Climbing the Vocabulary Ladder Pocket dictionaries were distributed to all the students from classes VI to XII. How helpful are these dictionaries turning out to be? Let’s find out from one of our students. “In the library session, we used to share a dictionary among ourselves. While reading novels, I had to wait for my chance in order to look up a difficult word in the dictionary. This affected my flow of reading but now having a personal dictionary makes things easy for me. It is accessible anytime and this has enhanced my vocabulary.” -Diksha Chaudhry, Class XII.

No challenges faced.

Impact Story

Parvati Shah Parvati, a resident of Guptkashi village lived in an independent house with her parents, elder sister and brother. Her mother suffered from the chronic ailment of stones in the gallbladder. Due to insufficient funds for adequate treatment, she lost her mother. The father, an alcoholic, did not support the family in any way. The father compounded the trauma of Parvati and her siblings by sexually exploiting her elder sister. The family lost their house and all possessions in the flash floods disaster of 2013. The father abandoned Parvati and her siblings. These three children were virtually orphaned. They went around places, filled their stomachs by eating leftovers from garbage and slept on the roadside. They were found by a social worker, who with the help of the District Magistrate, contacted our school to support them.

Going through so much, Parvati and her siblings required constant emotional, physical and mental counseling. They were shifted to the school’s residential premises. Parvati was given remedial training for a year and then was mainstreamed to class III. Her siblings have received vocational training and are now earning and managing their own expenses. Presently, Parvati is in class X. She is a quiet hard-working child who aspires to be a doctor. She lives in the school hostel and all her requirements are looked after by PYDS. She is very fond of Science and Tinkering. She with Riya Chauhan and Riya Sharma won the Global Innovation Challenge, organized by The Global Education Leadership Foundation (tGELF). Their project, Smart Medicine Access Reminder Tool (S.M.A.R.T), was among 300+ entries worldwide.

Fortunately, Parvati and her siblings reached PYDS in time and their lives have turned around since then.

In August 2021, after 18 months of online education with virtual classes, the state government issued orders to reopen schools physically in a phased manner. By the end of September, as part of our two-phased strategy, we had welcomed all students from Class VI to Class XII back on campus under strict Covid-19 protocols. Till December 1, 2021, as per government guidelines, class timetables were reduced to 4 hours. The rest of the time was used by teachers to identify learning gaps, modify lesson plans, implement assessment of any knowledge and skill erosion that took place during the lockdown, and work on students’ verbal articulation and conceptual understanding. As of December 1, 2021, the school resumed its normal schedule of scholastic and co-scholastic activities, as a consequence of which all students from classes 4 to 12 were in school from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Upgrade of STEM Labs Thanks to our generous donors, we are in the process of upgrading our Science Laboratories and Tinkering Laboratory with new equipment, including a 3D Scanner, a 3D Printer, and a Laser Cutter/Engraver. The procurement, in compliance with our procurement policy, will be completed by March 2022. This much-needed upgrade will provide a significant boost to our tinkering-related projects.

Half-Yearly Examination We conducted half-yearly examinations for classes VI-XII in school. The half-yearly results are reflective of the adjustment problems that students faced in the transition from traditional classroom learning to distance education and back, namely loss of conceptual clarity, focus on practical experiments and timely assignment submissions, and verbal and articulation problems. With the return of children to school and the resumption of classes, these examinations have given critical insights to our teachers, who are working hard to identify and address learning gaps and skill erosion that happened during the lockdown in students individually and at the group level.

Distribution of winter clothing amongst students Dehradun is one of the frostiest cities in India, with an average minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius. As the yearly bone-chilling winter covers the whole city in its canopy, we initiated the distribution of puffer jackets to all our students. These jackets come with an insulated section stitched inside to protect them from the cold.

Installation of Sanitary Napkin Incinerators With the support of a generous donor, three sanitary napkin incinerators have been procured and placed in the girls' hostel, staff washroom, and girls' student washroom. These have been operational since November 8, 2021, enabling us to dispose of sanitary napkins in a more hygienic and eco-friendly way.

Skill building with Dandiya celebration Our students lose no opportunity to hone and fine-tune their skills. PYDS hosted a Dandiya Night on October 9th, 2021. For this occasion, the Tinkering team, working in collaboration with students from our Navjeevan program and Art department, designed and prepared 100 dandiya sticks on the lathe machine. Their skills and technical proficiency in the endeavor were appreciated by all the attendees.

Diwali Celebrations On the occasion of Diwali, we organized rangoli, diya decoration, and a painting competition on campus. Some students made Rangoli, Diya, and paintings for their classrooms, while some of them performed dances and sang festive songs. All students enjoyed Diwali with their teachers and staff by sharing pastries and vadas sponsored by a generous donor. We are happy to share these heart-warming moments.

Children’s Day with SPICMACAY After nearly two years of absence from a physical campus, the children of PYDS celebrated their return to school with a great celebration on Children’s Day. The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) organized a cultural program for students on campus in which Shri Dhruv Bedi, recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar, enthralled the audience with a Sitar recital, accompanied by Shri Shankar Shakya on Tabla.

Christmas Celebrations With inspiring enthusiasm, our students made beautiful Christmas decorations for the festive season from waste cardboard. What made it even more special was that the celebration featured children from our Navjeevan Program, who have recently joined mainstream education and are still being assimilated into our community. Students and staff sang Christmas carols, had merry times, and captured lots of photographs.

Menstrual Hygiene Workshop In November, we arranged a special hygiene workshop that focused primarily on menstrual complications among young girls. The workshop was led by Dr. Manju Sacchan (Retired Gynecologist at Max Hospital). Our in-house nurse, Sonam, assisted Dr. Manju in getting acquainted with the problems our teenage girls were facing. She helped in familiarizing children with the proper aspects of feminine hygiene and the physical changes their bodies go through during puberty. She also inculcated positive harmony among students, which boosted their self-confidence. The students had a comprehensive Q&A with Dr. Manju, and it was an informative workshop overall.

A Workshop on Mental Health in Adults and Children On November 20th, PYDS staff attended a workshop on addressing mental health in adults and children by Dr. Veena Krishnan, a Senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES). Dr. Krishnan is a Senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES) and has over three decades of experience as a clinical psychologist and in training and capacity building. She has worked for causes like gender sensitivity, children's and women's welfare, and human trafficking, and is actively committed to spreading awareness of the significance of mental health. Our children and staff returned to physical school after a gap of 18 months with a range of experiences: personal loss, conflict, depression, and also some measure of joy. Our staff has been struggling with tools and techniques to handle changing student behavior. So, this workshop was eagerly awaited and provided tools, techniques, and resources for identifying, managing, and supporting the emotional needs of the adults and children on our campus.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, students were confined to their houses, which put enormous pressure on them to adapt and produce good results. As all our students come from deeply needy and underprivileged backgrounds, the challenges they face are compounded severely. PYDS was in constant touch with our students and provided them with basic study aids for online learning, i.e., mobile devices, phone recharges, textbooks, etc. Even as teachers and students tried their best, online classes lacked a significant amount of classroom ethics. These challenges not only took a toll on students’ creativity levels but also led to learning loss and attitude erosion. In August 2021, after 18 months of online education with virtual classes, the state government issued orders to reopen schools physically in a phased manner. By the end of September, as part of our two-phased strategy, we had welcomed all students from Class VI to Class XII back on campus under strict Covid-19 protocols. Till December 1, 2021, as per government guidelines, class timetables were reduced to 4 hours. The rest of the time was used by teachers to identify learning gaps, modify lesson plans, implement assessment of any knowledge and skill erosion that took place during the lockdown, and work on students’ verbal articulation and conceptual understanding. As of December 1, 2021, the school resumed its normal schedule of scholastic and co-scholastic activities, as a consequence of which all students from classes 4 to 12 were in school from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. With the government again announcing the closure of schools in January 2022 due to the rising number of Corona infections in the state, our strategies to achieve our goals will be undergoing another iteration of reflection and adaption. As we continue to strengthen ways to maintain the quality of our attention and focus on the holistic development of every child, we are grateful for the lessons we have learnt and the competencies we have developed during the last lockdown. We are confident that we can build on these to make our model more effective and sustainable.

A Workshop on Mental Health in Adults and Children On November 20th, PYDS staff attended a workshop on addressing mental health in adults and children by Dr. Veena Krishnan, a Senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES). Dr. Krishnan is a Senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES) and has over three decades of experience as a clinical psychologist and in training and capacity building. She has worked for causes like gender sensitivity, children's and women's welfare, and human trafficking, and is actively committed to spreading awareness of the significance of mental health. Our children and staff returned to physical school after a gap of 18 months with a range of experiences: personal loss, conflict, depression, and also some measure of joy. Our staff has been struggling with tools and techniques to handle changing student behavior. So, this workshop was eagerly awaited and provided tools, techniques, and resources for identifying, managing, and supporting the emotional needs of the adults and children on our campus.

KHUSHI ADHIKARI Khushi is a hard-working girl. Her father is a driver, and during the second wave of COVID, her father was working, so they did not face any problems in managing the household expenses. But due to the lockdown, she faced challenges in attending online classes as she has 2 siblings and all of them used to share the same device for distance learning. Nonetheless, she managed to maintain her attendance well and did well in her exams. In half-yearly examinations, she scored 30 and 31 out of 40 in business studies and economics, respectively. Khushi is appreciative of the school’s support during the lockdown. She is also grateful for the teacher’s continuous guidance and mentorship. She has a very caring nature, and she acknowledges her father’s strenuous efforts in earning the livelihood of the family. His father also has to manage the school fees of Khushi’s brother, who studies at Moravian School, Dehradun. Khushi shows an interest in painting and she has created some geometrical designs. She wants to become an IAS officer and is very dedicated to her career. She is determined to achieve her goal so that she can serve the community well. It’s her father’s dream, and he always supports her and motivates her. She is happy to come back to school and is enjoying her time at school. She also participated in the Rangoli competition and won the first prize.

This program benefits the students of PYDS Learning Academy situated in village Purkal on the outskirts of Dehradun.We can confidently point to the significant improvement in the attendance and engagement levels of our students as we keep building momentum with our distance-learning initiatives. For the first quarter of this academic term, the average attendance from April to June is 83.5%. The positive consequence of this has been enhanced by the increased levels of engagement that we have been witnessing. The students’ learning curve has steepened as they participated in several curricular and cocurricular activities conducted online. It was gratifying for us and students to learn the government directives on the reopening of schools as they were patiently waiting to meet their teachers and friends in person. Several sessions, organized from 30th April to 1st March 2021, ended the long wait for on-campus activities. These multifaceted activities conducted by the co-scholastic department served as a respite after the examinations and helped instil a sense of true belonging in them. Activities like trekking and sports were for recreation and skill development, while gardening, cleaning, and nature painting involved students observing nature and painting what impressed them the most. This exercise was to enhance their observation skills. All these nature-specific activities helped us strengthen a bond between them and nature. Inculcating these values is an inseparable part of our value system.Extending these activities further, several student-led groups provided a helping hand to our kitchen staff in preparing meals and cleaning utensils, resulting in students rediscovering the camaraderie which is preexisting but always unspoken. An art competition, ‘Sadak-Suraksha’, was held in February to spread Road Safety awareness. Many students enthusiastically participated in this competition and drew beautiful illustrations.Recycling and reusing the waste material can result in the development of fantastic and usable products. Keeping that in mind, Art Department organized the ‘Best Out of Waste Competition’ on 29th May. Students made beautiful decorations like wall hanging, dream-catcher and others.To know how illustration artists create drawing from a story and how to draw frame by frame. Students have done illustrations on the English chapter of Television, helping them understand the chapter well. As we were continuing distance learning, we were unable to take on-campus practical sessions for students. In addition, there has been a lack of resources (especially laptops/desktops) with the students at home. Keeping in mind these shortcomings, our tinkering team set up the PYDS Tinkering Lab website. The website tells students about different tools and equipment suchlike Breadboard, LED, and Circuits of the Tinkering Laboratory. (Tinkering Lab is for Developing modern-technology skills in our children. Children using 3D Printer, designing software, learning coding, electronics, circuits.)Mrs Shefali Ray, an English Language Teaching consultant, children’s writer and Patron of the Society, hosted a webinar on the topic, ‘Understanding What We Read’. It was a great learning experience for our teachers and students. When the government allowed schools to conduct on-campus learning for some time, we did a general medical check-up of all our students who were allowed on campus.

In November 2020, the Government of Uttarakhand issued an order to allow schools to bring back Class X and XII for On-Site learning. In February 2021, the Government issued another order to allow Classes VI, VII, VII, IX and XI to join the others on campus with parental consent. It required a lot of planning as we had to contact parents, rearrange hostels and create a timetable that would conform to social distancing protocols prescribed. We observed a severe drop in attitude towards academics from the students. Teachers had to spend a lot of time working with them to get them focused on their studies. The learning loss was very evident, and the teachers reworked their teaching strategies to better prepare students regardless of the mode of learning.For the next 6 months, we plan to reopen the school systematically. We would also further strengthen our distance learning infrastructure to have sufficient options to conduct uninterrupted and effective learning.We would also focus more on extracurricular activities, as such activities were somehow negatively impacted during distance learning.We would also continue to run staff development programs - (personal and professional goals) so that they, in turn, can impart effective values, learning, and support to students required for their holistic development).

Cover Story:Name - Nikhil ThapliMother’s Name - Mrs Sangeeta Devi Father’s Name - Late Jaswant SinghClass - XIBackground of the familyNikhil lives with his family in Shigally village, on the outskirts of Dehradun. There are 4 members in the family; Nikhil, his mother, uncle and his brother. His father, Jaswant, was a daily wage earner but met with an unexpected death in May 2021 due to COVID-19. This unexpected loss has shattered the family morally and financially. His widow, Sangeeta is a homemaker and now has the responsibility to raise her two kids solely. Status of the house The house in which they stay is divided among Nikhil’s family and his 3 uncle’s families. They have 2 rooms and a room cum kitchen for his younger uncle who lives with them. They have a common toilet and bathroom for the combined family. The house they have is concrete construction, inner walls and ceilings are painted. Some portions of the walls are dampened and the floor is made of marble. The belongings they have are a double bed, a dressing table, a television set, a refrigerator, a Sofa set, a wooden table, 3 plastic chairs, a couple of trunks, and other items. They use an LPG connection and have a BPL card.As Mentors met Nikhil to counsel and motivate him, they concluded that Nikhil is a strong-headed child and is now more eager to work hard and support his family.Nikhil is a very sharp student and performed well throughout the entire academic year, he also topped the school in Class X examinations with an aggregate of 95.8%. He also received additional monetary support from GiveIndia for which he and his family are very grateful.

We have been able to function reasonably well despite the severe constraints imposed on us (as on everyone else) by the pandemic. We have been able to keep our scholastic, co-scholastic and administrative pursuits going and credit these to our timely planning and focused execution and sheer enthusiasm for learning amongst our children.
During this lockdown, students utilized their time to develop new skills or explore hidden talents; be it crafting earrings with rice grains, baking or learning calligraphy. This crisis has given an opportunity to our children to learn new skills, develop compassion and resilience while working to build a safer and more caring community. Our students designed Protective Face Shield and Foot Operated Hand Sanitizer Dispenser – designed by Dev Verma class 8(A) using PVC pipe.
One of our students built Running Toy Horse using a syringe and cardboard. The toy-horse uses the principles of fluid pressure (hydraulics). It was part of a school project assigned to her.
In order to brace our students for one of the chapters, on the life of the Shehnai Maestro Bismillah Khan, students of class IX were given the task to produce music at their homes with anything at their disposal.
One of our students of class IX exercised her mind on how to use waste wood at her home and came up with a brilliant idea of making a Wooden Badminton Racket out of it. We constantly try to develop the habit of ‘reusing waste resources’ in our children. Learning about her effort was a satisfactory and proud moment for us.
Few of our students are on their way to be recognised by International Award for Young People (IAYP), in their chosen skillsets.
We feel proud to raise students which fulfil the ultimate mission of our organisation: grow the underprivileged children of Uttarakhand into sensitive, healthy, intelligent and contributing members of society.

Our holistic care goes much beyond holistic care

Apart from academic growth, our support extends to the physical, emotional, social and intellectual care of the child. In January, our girls won the Khel Mahakumbh U-17 State Level Volleyball Tournament. One of our students played the U-14 State Level Volleyball Tournament where her team won the Silver Medal. Ashita Penouli from class 8(A) has been selected for the National under 14 team. She would be going shortly to Lucknow to play in the finals. Our boys’ and girls’ Basketball team competed in the under 14 Basketball Competition. Our girls’ team was the runner up team while the boys’ team secured 3rd position. Lots of activities were undertaken in the Tinkering Lab, a learner's space where our students love to spend their time. They've been working on something or the other since its commencement in 2018. During the last quarter, some teams were assigned a task of creating Robo-Cars which pitted against each other. Our comprehensive medical care ensured the well being of every student. Medical clubs were weekly held for preventive health measures. Some volunteers from Griffith University took a session on oral hygiene. Like the medical club, several other hobby-specific-clubs were also held. These clubs help students hone the skills for which they have a flair. This New Year 2020 began with a memorable trip to Gujarat where a group of 56 (50 students and 6 teachers) experienced the rich Gujarati history, heritage, and culture. The Pushkin Chandra Memorial Competition was organised on 17th February. This competition entails Story Narration and Poem Recitation in both English and Hindi by the students of classes 1-5. It was instituted by Mr. Anil Chandra in the memory of his son Pushkin and has been held every year since 2012.

Program Update

This quarter children participated in off-campus activities which included visit to places like Science Park, FRI, Asan Barrage, and Agricultural farms.
Tinkering lab increased innovation and creation in students. Students had made several projects where they achieved many prices. Three students of class 9 won the Enhanced Level First Prize in IMPACT Project of the Year 2019 competition held by SRJNA, Delhi, in the project - Campus Map for the Blind.
New equipment were added in tinkering lab. The students even participated in several competitions conducted in different schools for essay, quiz, and sports competitions where students even achieved medals.
Students received certificate and trophy in All India Essay Writing Competition. The Pushkin Chandra Memorial Competition conducted on 19 & 21st Feb. witnessed heart-warming participation in story-telling and poetry-recitation from classes 1 to 5.
Many more such activities are planned for students in their new session.

Story from the field

In January 2019, Riya is at the Mary Kom Boxing Academy, Imphal, Manipur, watching with tears in her eyes, her code number come up among the selected for training at the prestigious institute built by the National Sports Development Fund.
Riya’s mother’s journey to hell ended when she decided that domestic violence should not win. Married to an abusive drunkard man, she walked out of the relationship and struggled to bring up the three children.
Riya, being the youngest, enjoyed sports at Children’s Academy. Playing at the Parade Ground, Dehradun, she built her positive mental attitude, social skills, healthy living habits and physical trait of coordination and strength.

Fun of Judo and the martial arts, experimenting with their techniques, different grips, grappling styles and the judo sparing enthralled her.
Mentorship of Mr. Patwal, her sports teacher at PYDS did wonders for her. A boxer himself, inspired and motivated her, planted the seed of a boxing career in her and helped her grow her dream.
She excelled in Volleyball and Basketball, apart from using her Saturday club time to learn the nuances of Body punches, hook, jab and the knock out. Knowing that there are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going and that education is the key to success, she is a good student as well.

Her Silver Medal for the Boxing at the Maha Kumbh was the final spur to her decision to pursue boxing. To choose Mary Kom was her Principal Harwant Singh who proposed it.

Selections for the National trials at Maharana Pratap Sports College in Raipur, Dehradun, representing Uttarakhand and winning two rounds, were the stimuli that propelled her into the competition for admission. Arvind of the placement cell, the financial support garnered by PYDS from its friends made the rest happen. She joined the academy on 6th April, 2019 and is training hard to achieve her dreams.