Rushil Mohan- a Silver Award Participant shares his thoughts on GD Goenka World School becoming a Youth Engaging Society (YES) Centre

A little silver bird can mean so much...

 

3rd February marked the day us silver Award IAYP candidates were given our reward for a year of dedication, persistence and, most importantly, self realization. The unanimous feeling of IAYP was that it had helped each individual push themselves beyond their personal boundaries and helped develop the ability to balance cocurricular and academic pursuits.

As this was one of the largest batches to receive the Award, Mr. Sandeep Dutt, the IAYP National Director and Ms. Rekha Dey from the IAYP national office visited our school to give the candidates the Award. The ceremony began in its usual manner with our principal Mrs. Neeta Bali, who deserves to be thanked for her support in the IAYP initiative, introducing our guests and then proceeding to light the lamp. This was followed by a short video on what IAYP is around the world and subsequently the distribution of the certificates and badges to the candidates. However, sandwiched between these two events was the monumental occasion of our school being officially declared as an IAYP YES center. This means that our school is now equipped to handle IAYP candidates from other schools in the region.

As we dispersed, there was not only an immense feeling of accomplishment for having persisted for the past year, but also an overwhelming pride in being part of a school that has developed the IAYP programme to such a great extent in just a little over two years. And none of this would have been imaginable had it not been for our always-accessible school IAYP Coordinator, Mrs. Vijayashree Pahal. No amount of plaudits can express our gratefulness to her.

 

Rushil Mohan

- A very proud silver awardee from GD Goenka World School, Gurgaon

Goenkan Awardees celebrate Earth Day

"Save the Earth, it’s the only one we have." Year after year, students update their facebook status, and send group SMSes creating awareness about the significance of 22nd April. But rarely ever do people actually take the initiative to carry out even the simplest of ecologically beneficial activities in an attempt to make at least the society around them a better place to live. This year was different, the IAYP participants at G.D. Goenka World School decorated brown paper bags with earth slogans and messages for the retail store in their school to use as an eco - friendly alternative to plastic bags. Interestingly, not only was the environment made a slightly better place, but the students that made the bags also developed a better understanding of the deterioration of the environment and the importance of conservation.

The other activity was perhaps more fun filled, but had the same intent. Planting saplings and decorating the pots was a great initiative by Aarushi. IAYP Silver participants planted seasonal flower saplings and painted them so that they could be donated to the NGO, ADAA. Not only does planting a sapling help a little more oxygen enter the environment, but the painted pots act as the ideal decoration for a recently established organization.

Earth day was a huge success for the school's IAYP group but the end of Earth Day surely doesn't signify the end of environmentally friendly actions, because everyday deserves to be Earth Day, and the Earth deserves a little help to bounce back from the deterioration that man has caused.