The Pinnacle School newsletterfor the period July to August 2012

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P I N P O I N T

Principal: Ms. Gail DeMonte Editor: Ms. Rose Ann Braganza

LOOKING FOR HEROES

Quite often we hear the word “hero” being bandied around like a stone on a slingshot. Aim is taken at whomsoever gets the maximum publicity, for whatever reason.

If it is a national figure, or a filmstar or anyone the media chooses to anoint as their flavour of the moment, “the spin doctors” come rushing out, pushing the cause of their favourites to be bestowed with this title.

The 26th of August, 2012 brought into focus two individuals who were remembered for their heroic deeds. The first was Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon. That event was not just a triumph for his country or himself, but for all humanity.

A shy genius, he was a fighter pilot, a test pilot and an astronaut. After the Apollo XI moon landing, he retired gracefully into the life of a University Professor and rarely boasted of his achievements. We were saddened by the news of his death.

He “carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all” said the media in a tribute to this great hero.

The other hero who captured our imagination the same

“The next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

day was the captain of India’s triumphant Under-19 World Cup team. Unmukt Chand’s unbeaten 111 runs was brilliant and exciting to watch, even on TV .He showed immense courage and determination against an unrelenting foe to hit six sixes, that too in a world cup final against a powerful Australian team.

Shy and yet mischievous as most teenagers are, the praise he heaped on his support team and players was exemplary. He proved he was a true leader by leading from the front, with dignity and grace .

So, let’s honour the achievements of these true heroes and here’s hoping that we see more of them in our lifetime.

Do you have a hero of your own? Please write to the Editor of Pinpoint. If your article is chosen, we will publish it in the next edition.

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The good old house sparrow, which is becoming rarer by the day, has been declared the “State Bird of Delhi” by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as part of a new campaign to save the species and enhance awareness about their life and habitat.Launching “Rise for the Sparrows”, India’s largest conservation programme for these birds, Ms. Dikshit said the decision to declare them the “State Bird’’ would help in raising awareness about them and drawing attention to the species.

Sparrows are a very friendly species and have been associated with humans for years. House sparrows are an indicator of the environment according to Neeraj Khera, a technical expert and ecological researcher.The Delhi Government is also now thinking of incorporating common bird monitoring in the school curriculum to make schools and other organizations sparrow and bird friendly. As part of the drive, bird-boxes

will be arranged in schools and offices where birds can set up home.Ms. Dikshit also urged the citizens to register on the Common Bird Monitoring of India website, www.cbmi.in, to monitor the sparrows and other common birds in and around their places of residence and work.What followed was an elaborate explanation of the natural association of the house sparrow with the word ‘bird’.

“When you say chiriya (bird), the first image that comes to mind is a sparrow. We have seen in all parts of Delhi, including my own residence, this common bird is suddenly seen no more,” Dikshit said.Sparrows do not have an expensive and elaborate lifestyle — just feeding them with small grains and worms would be of great help. These sparrows have reached an uncertain future and it is our duty to protect them no matter how big or small. Abha Bhargava

As soon as the month of July arrives, everybody gears up for the elections

of the new Student Council. Students from Class XI and XII prepare their speeches, start counting their achievements, and are all prepared to prove themselves worthy of that post. For me, it was no different. It being my last year in school, I knew it was my last chance to do something big, and prove myself to be worthy of that prestigious badge.

announced the Student Council for the year 2012-13. Divij Kashyap was elected as the Head Boy, and I was elected as the Head Girl. A new post was created in the form of Assistant School Captain, and Jellybean Singh was appointed for the same. The time has come to take The Pinnacle to new heights. From now on every one is a leader in his own way and in The Pinnacle, a new leader is born every day! Meenakshi Kukreja

Various interactive sessions, speeches, and interviews finally led to the selection and then the disclosure of the new Student Council. The short listed candidates could be seen biting their nails, praying for the best . The atmosphere was tense, yet exciting. The heartbeats were almost audible. Finally, the moment came when our Principal

With that the new Council of 2012 -2013 came into effect with a motivating speech by the Principal, and the short but sweet ceremony came to an end with a lot of hugging and congratulations being exchanged and a random photo shoot which generated many giggles and blushes. Stephanie Ellis (House Mistress)

THE INVESTITURE CEREMONYfor the new Student Council took place on the 27th July, 2012 in the central courtyard.It was attended by Classes VIII-XII. Sitting among the children were the many hopefuls who had butterflies in their stomachs and a prayer in their hearts. The proceedings began with a simple prayer for leaders by Divij, the outgoing Head Boy of the School. This was followed by a poem for leaders, which was read out by Meenakshi. The Principal was invited to the podium and badges were given out beginning with the Monitors. The teachers read out the names of the various categories of badge holders from envelopes. This was very exciting for one and all.As each category was called, there was plenty of hooting and clapping as the spectators expressed their joy and approval of the names called. It was even greater fun trying to place the badge holders on the steps. Finally the new Head Boy was announced in the final round. Divij had earned himself the title yet again for a second year running. Meenakshi was the new Head Girl and a surprise element came in the form of Jellybean Singh being named as the Assistant Head Girl.

RISE FOR THE SPARROWS

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The relaxing summer vacations gave

way to a flurry of activities once school

reopened in July and continued through

August. Just take a look at how many

activities were packed into these two months !

• First off the block were Classes IX and X

showing their prowess in Poster Making

on “Save Wildlife” and Classes X and XI

participating in a Cartoon Competition.

• INTACH Essay Writing was held for Classes

V and VI while their Technical workshop at

Lodi Estate, was attended by a few selected

students.

• Young scientists of Classes IV to VII got the

opportunity to showcase their scientific bent

of mind in the Science Exhibition, while Class

XII had a lively round of English debating.

• The hard work put in by students of

Classes IV and V in their Holiday homework

projects was on display in the centre

courtyard. Classes VIII to X participated

in Slogan writing on ‘Preservation of the

Ozone layer’, and their junior schoolmates

of Classes II to VII enjoyed a Talk and Film

screening conducted by a team from Yakult.

• The Investiture Ceremony for Classes IX to

XII had deserving candidates being appointed

and entrusted with responsibility.

• Special assemblies were held on the

occasion of Independence Day and Id ul

Fitr. Hindi Elocution of patriotic songs by

Class VIII and a melody of songs by Classes

IV and V had everyone tapping their feet.

• A Tree Plantation Day was observed

by Class XII while Classes XI and XII

were engaged in the Commerce Debate.

• ‘Just a Minute’ for Classes VI to VIII and the

Mental Maths Quiz for Classes IV and V had

the students participating enthusiastically

and enjoying the mental exercise.

• Students of the Special Project group

participated in the NDTV Annual

Tigerthon Drawing Competition, Mask

Making and Clay Modelling, held at

National Museum of Natural History.

• The FORCE FEST 2012, Cyber Combat

(Gaming) at Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai

was attended by four students of Classes V,

XI and XII, while their Slide Dot Presentation

and Cine Flux Movie Making had six selected

students of Classes VIII and XI in attendance.

• The India International Centre,

Gandhi Peace Foundation and Working

Group held a ‘Nelson Mandela

International Day’ which was attended

by twelve students of Classes XI and XII.

• Karan Uppal of Class VI C was the school

topper in the International Olympiad of

Science 2011.

• Students of Classes VI and VII went for a

Heritage Walk to Dadi Poti Ka Maqbara in

Hauz Khas Village.

• The Inter S chool ‘on the spot’ Art

competition at Delhi Police Public School,

had budding artists of Classes II to XII

participating.

• A few students attended the International

Youth Day held at the UN Complex at Lodhi

Estate.

• There was action on the sports field, with

a Basketball match between the school team

(of Classes XI and XII) and ex-students, with

the school team emerging winners.

• Pritika Bali of Class VI C and Anchal

Sabharwal of Class VII C participated in the

National Jump Rope Championship held at

Rohtak.

• Sarthak Dureja of Class XI and Satwik

Sharma of Class IX A were the Runners up

in the Zone 25 Badminton Championship

held at Gargi Kanya Vidhalaya, Green Park

Splash

• Sr. Anita conducted a workshop for

Class monitors and House monitors.

• Neeta Rastogi held a CCE Workshop

for teachers of Classes VI to XII.

• The Commerce Teachers’ Association

Workshop held at DAV Public School,

was attended by Ms. Ashima whereas

the workshop on English Language

Teaching for Classes IX and XI held at

Navy Children’s School, Chanakyapuri

was attended by Ms. Madhu and Ms.

Sumita. Ms. Michelle and Ms. Delphine

participated in the Katha Story Workshop.

Poonam Ghai

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SCHOOL CAPTAINS Meenakshi Kukreja XII Divij Kashyap XII ASSISTANT SCHOOL CAPTAIN Jellybean Singh XI CAPTAIN VICE CAPTAIN PREFECT MONITOR GANDHI HOUSE Maryam Raja XII Dilmeet Kaur X B Kritika Kaur XI Shivani Virdi IX B NEHRU HOUSE Kajal Kathpalia XI Tufail Bhat XI Jasar Khan X A Saloni Rana X B TERESA HOUSE Sarthak Dureja XI Madhulika Handoo X B Kanishka Besoya IX A Sanya Maggu X A TAGORE HOUSE Yoshita Malhotra XII Manleen Bawa XI Sheen Kaul X B Vinayak Mehta IX A SPORTS Sanya Maggu X A Sarthak Dureja XI TEAM LEADER ASSISTANT TEAM LEADERS

SPECIAL PROJECTS Pawandeep Singh XII Manmeet Singh IX A Navmi Arora IX B ECO CLUB Tayyab Qasmi XI Hafsah Masood XI Kajal Kathpalia XI HERITAGE CLUB Saloni Rana X B Twarit Taneja XI Pallavi Verma X A

HEAD PREFECT Ateeb Khan XI HEAD PREFECT Sonakshi Pundhir X A

C M M U N I Q U EO

STEPHANIE ELLIS“All things are wrought by prayer, than this world dreams of.”Aunty Stephanie, as she is fondly called, has been with The Pinnacle for 25 years. She is a jack and master of all trades who excelled at everything she did, be it athletics, academics, theatre, or creative arts. From St. Francis Convent School she went on to study at Bundelkhand University. Her most memorable moment at college was running with P.T Usha. Her other talents run to hair designing and make-up, International Ballroom dancing, Kathak, dance instruction and theatre. She also runs three forums - one for a charitable trust, another for an orphanage and one for La Martiniere, Lucknow, in memory of her late husband. Being an English teacher, she obviously

loves to read. Enid Blyton and the “Fountain Head” by Ayn Rand are her favourites and she loves comedies and documentaries. She reminisces how her husband and herself won an All India Valentine’s Competition and got to fly in the First Bell Helicopter. They were flown to the Maurya Sheraton in Agra where they stayed in the Presidential Suite!

The ever-so-humble Stephanie Ma’am is also publishing her own book of poems. Way to go, Aunty Stephanie! Interviewed by Zarmina Khan & Meenakshi Kukreja

ABHA BHARGAVAChildren are filled with terror by the mere word “Chemistry”, but leave it to Abha Ma’am to make everything seem easy and interesting. She shares her birthday with

Shahrukh Khan and still believes that she is sweet 16 ! Born in Kanpur, she was a diligent student of Loreto Convent, Lucknow. She has wonderful memories of her college days spent at Isabella Thoburn College. She topped in Chemistry and completed her M.Sc.at Lucknow University. With teaching experience of over twenty years, she has been a part of The Pinnacle family for 8 years.

An all-rounder, she is also a jack of all trades. An aficionado of sports, she played Basketball and Baseball in her school days. She loves to do oil painting, fabric painting, and machine embroidery in her leisure time. Cooking (she loves South Indian cuisine) and reading science articles are her favourite pastime. Listening to Indian, classical and western music refreshes her mind and soul. Her dream destination is the city of snow-capped mountains-Switzerland, whilst her lovely daughter –Aishani, is the apple of her eye.Her philosophy of life “Honesty is the best policy” is reflected in her teaching practice. Interviewed by Dilmeet Kaur and Sonakshi Pundir

THE PINNACLE STUDENT COUNCIL