An Experience of Heart, Purpose, and Gratitude - My Good School Retreat 2025

Sunbeam School Ballia

Coming to Khan Farm for the My Good School Retreat 2025 began as a step into the unknown. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but within just three days, the purpose of this journey became clear to me. This retreat was thoughtfully designed around the four pillars of holistic development—Service, Skill, Sports, and Study—and it offered a transformative experience that I will carry with me for a long time.

I had the privilege of attending the retreat along with my Activity in-charge, Ms. Neha Srivastava. One of the most impactful parts of our visit was spending time at The Arthur Foot Academy, a school located on the quiet, green outskirts of Haridwar, near Rajaji National Park. The place itself is breathtaking, surrounded by rolling hills, fresh mountain air, and endless greenery. The area around the school is serene and pollution-free, a perfect setting for young minds to grow. Arthur Foot Academy, established just ten years ago, serves the children of the Gujar community with limited resources but unlimited potential.

Walking through the school, I was struck by the stark contrast to what we often take for granted. I have always been part of schools blessed with strong infrastructure, qualified educators, digitally enabled classrooms, and supportive parents. But here, at Arthur Foot Academy, the scenario was quite the opposite. Yet, in this difference, I saw something powerful: hope.

The students were full of curiosity and energy. The teachers were passionate, striving to do their best with what they had. Being there made me truly grateful for the opportunities we enjoy at our school, for the systems that support us, and for the kind of environment we often overlook. This experience awakened a sense of responsibility in me. I feel compelled to support this school in whatever way I can. One immediate way I can contribute is by helping their teachers with simple and effective ways to create lesson plans, making learning more structured and engaging.

We plan to return for another retreat in November, and our next visit brings new steps toward growth for us and for them.

I am sincerely thankful to Mr. Sandeep Dutt and his team for giving us such a phenomenal opportunity to work with them. 

I am also thankful to my Director, Sir, Dr. Kunwar Arun Singh, and our Principal, Dr. Arpita Singh, for believing in me and giving me this excellent opportunity to be part of such a meaningful journey. Your guidance and vision make us strive for a better tomorrow, not just for ourselves, but for others too.

This retreat was not just a visit—it was a calling. A reminder to give, to grow, and to be grateful.

Shahar Banu 

Dean of Academics and Global Coordinator 

Sunbeam School Ballia

Giving and Entitlement: Kusum Sharma

In this modern world, where all the multimedia and communication facilities are available. Most of the parents want to provide their children with all the good facilities to bring them up in this competitive world. Because parents are aware of the tough competitions in education. 

Every parent wants to provide facilities to their children beyond their economic status because most of the families are living as nuclear families where very few members are there in the family and parents can provide all the facilities easily for their children. 

Sometimes children also feel that they deserve for and entitle to certain privileges because since their childhood they were getting all the facilities and things which they needed. Parents also feel that giving all the facilities for education is one of the best investment. But as a parent, we need to be very deliberate about the requirement of our child. We have to be careful about what kind of resources is useful for children. 

There are plenty of examples of the students those who did wonders without any resources. Sometimes children do not need multimedia facilities and internet connection because in their school libraries are full of resource books and actually they do not need any such facilities as it is also a source of distraction. In this situation children use these internet facilities for personal chatting and unwanted knowledge, as a result, they waste a lot of time. This is why it is so important for a child's development that parents and teachers work together for their requirements, their needs and foundation for their good education.

Kusum Sharma

ksa4fab@gmail.com

The Fabindia School, Bali

Privilege - A Misfortune: Bharti Rao

What does a child need to grow? A child needs grit, resilience and conscientiousness to grow and develop. But what are the parents doing today? They try to give all the privileges to their child to make his life comfortable in all means.  

Parents try to give the best to their child to make them happy and successful. But do you think is this correct? No, a parent by giving privileges is spoiling his child by giving this bait of worldly pleasures.

If we remove all obstacles and barriers from the child’s path, then how is he going to develop? We are robbing away all the opportunities by doing this. The need of the hour is not to give a child privilege, but to offer challenges to them which help them to grow and develop.

A privileged child as he grows up becomes egoist, arrogant and helplessness for no one likes such behaviour. The parents and educators need to collaborate to help a child to grow. School is the place which helps it to grow. We need the child to learn that they do not need the material possessions at their age.  Boarding schools are the best places where they learn the value of money, to be self-dependent, etc.

Exchange programs, trekking, night camps are some of the activities in which a child learns to lead a normal life, life with fewer resources, leadership qualities. They also learn to take up challenges and remove the obstacles that come in their way.  School is where the child inculcates to be empathetic and responsible. Children learn what is right or wrong for them.  Children should learn to think and explore on their own. We as Educators and parents should encourage the students to know themselves. When a child learns the sense of self then he will take up challenges, explore himself and be successful.

Bharti Rao

bro@fabindiaschools.in

The Fabindia School, Bali