DECEMBER 2016 Volume I Issue 8
C O N T E N T S 04 05 06 08 09 10 11 16 17 18
Readers’ Column
Big Question
Editorial
Travel
This Month At A Glance
Career
News
Space
Current Affairs
Story
Art & Culture Bygone Luminaries
December
Picture Story Language Study
Interesting Facts
British Council
Tribute
Students’ Column
Sports
Quiz
19 20 21 36 37 38 39 40
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Eureka
Mind Mine
42 43 44 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54
Cover Story
Phobia Write Right Counselling
TECHNOLOGY: ITS IN
KEY ROLE
EDUCATION
Kudos Learn English Technology
39 43
Innovation
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Readers’ Column
Listen, Watch and
Arjun Vajpai’s Feat
Enjoy
Arjun Vajpai’s determination towards his goal is indeed a great motivation for the students. It was interesting to know about his experiences at Cho Oyu through his words. Even though he was paralyzed at the same mountain in 2012, his determination made him to achieve his feat by reaching the same peak. I wish Arjun all the very best for his future. Prathik Tiwari, Mumbai, Maharashtra
LISTEN
WATCH
Now you can read as well as listen to your favourite article and also watch videos on education, career, sports, skill building, entertainment and a lot more. Brainfeed magazine started presenting a new concept – that is you can listen to your favourite article being read by experts while you go through the article. And also watch videos of your interest from the list of videos given in the magazine. This is how it works • A QR code sign will be given along with the article or the video. • All you need is a QR code scanner or QR code reader app on your Smartphone.
The Art of Pottery The skill of making pottery began from ancient days in our country. We can still find this potters in the rural areas who continue this art for their livelihood. It is true that there are lots of health benefits when we use the earthen pots for cooking and storing water. Today’s children should know about this traditional art and should also visit a potter to see their skills. Niharika Pillai, Kochi, Kerala
Hot Springs Every month I eagerly wait for the Brainfeed High magazine. I wait not only for the interesting articles but mainly for the centre spread. The centre spread in the November issue featuring ‘Hot Springs’ not only carried good pictures but also provided interesting details about them. Muskaan Pahade, New Delhi
• Download the app from Google play store or Apple app store.
Inviting reports from schools
• Open the application, focus and hold the camera on the QR code of the article or the video you want to listen to or watch.
REPORTERS
• Then the QR code will lead you to the audio file of an educational expert, read the article for you or to the video that you wanted to watch. Don’t you think this is cool – so go on, read like an expert reader by just listening to an expert reader, read an article for you or watch a video to learn about an issue or topic or to learn a new skill.
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Dear children, Brainfeed High is opening a new column exclusively for young student reporters. Interesting events/ activities/programmes/incidents happening in your school may be sent in lucid simple English not exceeding 150 words. The writing should be of students’ own and creative! The best selected report will be published in the Brainfeed High magazine and it could win the Best Journalist Award! So what are you waiting for? Hurry Up! Be the early bird! Students may email their reports with a photo to info@brainfeedhigh.com
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Editorial
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ecember, the twelfth and the last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, is filled with love, humanity and gifts-giving celebrations Christmas and New Year eve. The visual art and the art of intelligence – Sculpture – reflect ancient Indian Art and Culture. ‘Bygone Luminaries’ takes you to the past era of Guru Gobind Singh the tenth Sikh Guru whose 350th birth anniversary is celebrated in December and Leonid Brezhnev the erstwhile leader of the united USSR. The ‘Cover Story’, ‘Technology and its key role in education’ tells that students must make use of technology but should not be totally dependent upon it. ‘Tribute’ is about the National Mathematics Day in commemoration with the 125th birth anniversary of the mathematical prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan. ‘Under water Hockey’, a supreme aerobic game takes you to a totally new world of sport and ‘Eureka’ tells you the art of beautiful smile and the story of toothpaste! ‘Phobia’ is an anxiety disorder and the article explores the ways to overcome it. ‘Handwriting in Digital Era’ informs how writing is altogether a forgotten skill.
Chief Editor Brahmam K V Editor Seshubabu P V Sub Editors Vanalatha Reddy T Karuna Raj Art & Design Lakshmi D
Director-Sales SreeNivas R B +91 85018 26497 Circulation Hemachandra Rao S +91 91777 74851 +91 85018 26317 Printed, Published and Owned by Kakani Veera Brahmam
Wildlife Comic Photography Awards 2016 adorns the ‘Centre Spread’ for you to see and enjoy! ‘Counselling’ advises how to develop positive attitude in life. ‘Kudos’ introduces you to elevenyear old Anvita Prashant Telang the winner of ‘Doodle for Google Contest 2016. Technology has driven students away from pleasures of reading and robbed them of achieving proficiency in English. The innovative science research of Bhardwaj brothers is really ‘From Science Fiction to Real life’. Know from the ‘Big Question’ why chameleons change their colour. Travel will take you to enchanting group of Fiji islands in the South-Pacific archipelago. ‘Career’ provides the job opportunities open in the Handloom Sector. Finally, see and enjoy the ‘supermoon’ the nature’s gift for mankind! Happy Reading!
Brahmam K V Chief Editor
Printed at Sphoorthi Printers Pvt. Ltd. 11-5-439, Red Hills, Lakdikapul Hyderabad - 500 004 Telangana, India
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Calendar
launched Yutu or Jade Rabbit, 01 China as part of the Chang’e 3 lunar exploration mission. 2013 World Aids Day
02 Tennis star Monica Seles was born
02
01
in Yugoslavia. 1973
03
05
World Pollution Prevention Day
03 A leakage from a Union Carbide
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plant in Bhopal occurred. 1984 World Disability Day
Trident: The Indian 04 Operation Navy attacked the Pakistan Navy. 1971
Indian Navy Day
Indian nationalist and spiritual 05 guru, Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, death anniversary. 1950
06
NASA revealed photographs taken
06 by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting
the presence of liquid water on Mars. 2006 Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton
07 became the first player to score
centuries in four consecutive Test innings. 1936
08 The Flag of Europe was adopted by Council of Europe. 1955
09
07
Indian Armed Force Flag Day
08
10
09 The Constituent Assembly of India met for the first time to write the Constitution of India. 1946
10 The first Nobel Prizes were awarded. 1901
11 13
Human Rights Day
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The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was born in Bengal. 1935
12 Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh was born in Chandigarh. 1981
12
International Mountain Day
Sansad Bhavan, housing the
13 Indian Parliament, was attacked by terrorists. 2001
Wright brothers made their 14 The first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1903 National Energy Conservation Day
Walter Mittelholzer, a Swiss aviation
15 pioneer became the first person to fly over Mt. Kilimanjaro. 1929
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14
15
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in
16 Bombay first opened its doors to the
Activity
guests. 1903 Vijay Diwas
16 17
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Do you know the important days of this month…. Yes, have a look and acquire knowledge?
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Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element Uranium. 1938
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Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched. 1958
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Three Indian revolutionaries, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan were executed by the British Empire. 1927
Activity for students
20 Elizabeth II became the oldest
monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria. 2007
19 21
21
20
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre. 1937
• Photographs
22 India’s first freight train was
• PPT or
operated in Roorkee, India. 1851
23 The transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. 1947 National Farmer’s Day
24 India’s famous playback
• Video related to the activity to info@brainfeedhigh.com
singer, Mohammed Rafi, was born. 1924
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Now, as you have gone through the important days of this month, select any one topic, present it in the assembly, or make any activity related to it. Send -
on or before 15th of every month.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tenth
25 Prime Minister of India was born in Gwalior. 1924
23 24
25
Christmas
Nissan Car Company was started in 26 Japan, it began by selling its cars under the name Datsun. 1933 “Jana Gana Mana”, was first sung in
27 the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. 1911
Galileo Galilei became the first
28 astronomer to observe the planet 26
The best entry will grab the opportunity to
Neptune. 1612
27
win a prize.
cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar made 29 Indian the highest Test Cricket score 236* vs WI. 1983
30 Mercedes-Benz paid $20.2 million fine 29
as it failed to meet government fuel standard. 1988
28 30 31
31
Marie Curie received her second Nobel Prize for Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity. 1911
Note: Teachers can guide the students to select the topic for their performance.
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NEWS
Enjoyable ICSE English Curriculum from 2017-18
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CSE students will get to study some of the most popular books including Harry Potter, The Hobbit, The Adventures of Tin Tin, Agatha Christie, Noddy as part of their English Syllabus along with the inspiring biographies of APJ Abdul Kalam, Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai set to be part of the curriculum from the upcoming academic session 2017-2018. The new curriculum was released in Lucknow at the 59th Annual Conference of the
Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate (ISC) at City Montessori School, Lucknow. “The curriculum caters to a varied and diverse range of individual differences, intelligences and abilities and provides a plethora of opportunities to enjoy the learning experience through integration of generic skills, values and attitude in key learning
TO WATCH areas,” said Gerry Arathoon, CISCE Chief Executive and Secretary. If some schools fail to introduce the recommended texts in the coming academic session, they would be granted a year’s extension, he added.
Class X Board exam for CBSE schools from 2017-18
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nion HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said that the government will reintroduce compulsory class X Board examination for CBSE schools from 2017-18. He also said that the State governments will be given authority to reintroduce class V and VIII Board examinations.”The decision to conduct class V and VIII Board examinations will be left with the state,” Javadekar said.
The main focus of HRD Ministry is on improving the quality of school education, specifically of government schools, he said.
he Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will launch the first ever certificate course on Sand Art. Noted Sand Artist Sudarsan Patnaik from Odisha will help the university to design and develop the programme for a one-month sand art certificate course for enthusiastic art students. This course will be available under the university’s massive
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online open course (MOOC) programme, which offers students an opportunity to learn online. IGNOU has developed more than 300 MOOC courses. These courses will be offered on the government’s own internet platform called ‘Swayam’. The programme on Sand Art will also come on this platform. Students can access
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http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-01 The Savior – Akbar and Birbal Stories
http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-02 Transportation Prepositions – Learn English
The minister also said that Narendra Modi-led government is working to improve academic standard and wants the curiosity among students to grow with education.
Certificate Course on Sand Art
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VIDEOS
the website and learn the art through videos. Both theory and practical model of the courses will be prepared for the programme. In theory, students will be taught about selection of sand, use of water, measurement of sand and use of props while in practical students will learn making the art, carving, how to form pyramid shape and the whole process of making a sculpture on sand.
http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-03 Our Campaign to Ban Plastic Bags in Bali Ted Talks
http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-04 Srinivasa Ramanujan’s Magic Square
Current Affairs One more feather in Sindhu’s cap
IGNITE Awards
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lympic silver medallist PV Sindhu battled past Chinese Sun Yu to win her first BWF (Badminton World Federation) Super Series Premier title at the China Open badminton tournament in Fuzhou. The Indian seventh seed won the first game 21-11, but lost the next 17-21 before registering a 21-11 triumph in the final game to clinch the title.
The final lasted an hour and nine minutes. The latest win, with which Sindhu became the third non-Chinese player to win the title in 30 years, has helped India maintain its firm footing in the tournament. The Hyderabad girl has now added a fresh feather into her cap with a sparkling win to claim her maiden China Super Series Title.
r. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards are presented for a national competition of original technological ideas and innovations by students upto class 12 or those out of school up to the age of 17 years. President Pranab Mukherjee on November 7, 2016 presented the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards to the winning children at Rashtrapati Bhavan. IGNITE competition was organised by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). This year, a total of 31 students have been awarded for their ideas/
innovations. Overall, 55,089 submissions of students from 458 districts of all the states and Union Territories of India were received during the IGNITE 16 competition, which ran from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Award is an effort to focus primarily on the creativity of the children and promote inclusive and compassionate thinking among them.
HARVEST: Energy Harvesting Device
M First World Tsunami Awareness Day
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he First World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across the world on November 5, 2016. The theme for the year was ‘Effective Education and Evacuation Drills’. The observance of the day helped to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami. It also stressed on the importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the often devastating natural hazard. Awareness raising activities was organised throughout the Conference through thematic events, exhibitions, and distribution of awareness materials.
aanasa Mendu, a 13-year-old IndoAmerican girl from Ohio, recently won the 2016 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for creating a $5 energy harvesting device. She has been named America’s Top Young Scientist and won $25,000. She created an innovative device called HARVEST that converts sunlight, wind, and rain into renewable energy. Inspired by a trip to India, where she saw many people without electricity or clean water, Mendu decided to design an affordable device capable of generating clean energy. Discovery Education CEO Bill Goodwyn said in a statement, “Each year, the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge reminds us of the inspiring ingenuity that results when we empower our youngest generation to apply science, critical thinking, and creativity to solve real-world problems.” december 16
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Art & Culture
Karuna Raj
INDIAN SCULPTURE Sculpture, a branch of visual art or the art of intelligence, is the most enduring and the greatest form of fine art known to man. It is also known as “plastic art.” ‘
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culpture’ played a major role in the evolution of culture. It is a key indicator of cultural achievements of classical antiquity and highly respected medium for artists. In contemporary usage statue refers to an embodiment, manifestation, incarnation, personification, appearance and best source of social, mythological, cultural and political expressions of events, source of information for the present and future generations. Sculpture is bold and noticeable. Statues or idols become identical to the deities. This is significant as images grow delight, faith, steadfast devotion and higher understanding. Without images, the mind of the devotee may go astray with wrong imaginations.
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“Sculpture” is no longer a fixed, but an ever-expanding art, constantly evolving and redefining itself with new technology, tools and materials. It depicts the history of its own. Traditional sculpture had four characteristics – three dimensional, representational, solid forms, carving or modelling. India is boastful of finest sculptures with rich, history, culture and heritage, which reflect contemporary social themes and religious expressions. India owes her first sculpture to Indus Valley Civilization. An early surviving masterpiece is “The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro “. Circular stone pillars and carved lions of the Maurya period. Ajanta’s finest Buddhist iconography and intricate images of animals, warriors, and deities. Events from Ramayana, Mahabharata
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Elephanta Caves have rock – cut sculptures of Shiva, Vishnu, Parvati, Brahma, Ravana, Ganesha and Trimurti. The Pallava stone temples Kanchipuram, Kailasanatha and Mahabalipuram, Khajuraho temples by Chandelles are under UNESCO world heritage. The Ellora Caves has thirty-four structures of “Ten Avatars”, and the Kailasha Temple. and The Chola sculpture has Puranas were expressed elegance, grace, facial through sculptures. expression, Maurya sculptures The Gandhara posture and illustrate scenes School has movement. from Hinduism, GrecoMughals Jainism and Roman style introduced Buddhism. The of Buddhist marble 60 feet high sculptures, sculpture; Jain statue of the Mathura with blend of Bahubali at Persian and Shravanabelagola, school Hindu art. Karnataka is a fine native Indian Christian Jain sculpture. traditionssculptures
from the of IndoAshoka spread Gothic styles yakhsa figures. Buddhism through flourished 85,000 stupas, ‘The during British rule. Sikh Great Sanchi Stupa‘. sculpture emerged with The most famous amalgamation of Hindu lion-capital and Muslim styles. - consisting Times have changed but of four the religious sentiments lions, bulls are the same. (Rampurva) Besides the brilliance, and perfection and opulence elephant at what is remarkable is Sarnath. the love and devotion The ‘Lion with which the Indian capital ‘is sculptures and taken as architecture have been the National built and preserved for information of future Emblem of generation. India.
Bygone Luminaries
P. V. Seshubabu
Guru Gobind Singh Born: December 22, 1666 Died: October 7, 1708
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uru Gobind Singh, born Gobind Rai , was the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam, Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at nine. His four sons died during his lifetime in Muslim-Sikh wars – two in battle, two executed by the Mughal army. Among his notable contributions to Sikhism are: founding the Sikh warrior community called Khalsa in 1699 and introducing the Five Ks, the five articles of faith that Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times. Guru Gobind Singh wrote important Sikh texts and enshrined the scripture the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism’s eternal Guru. Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Five K’s tradition of the Khalsa and announced a code of discipline for Khalsa warriors. Guru Gobind Singh is credited in the Sikh tradition with finalising the Kartarpur Pothi into the Guru Granth Sahib in Bathinda and releasing it in 1706. Gobind Singh composed other texts, particularly the Dasam Granth which many Sikhs consider to be a scripture next in importance after the Guru Kanga, Kara and Kirpan – Granth Sahib. three of the five Ks The Dasam Granth is largely versions of Hindu mythology from the Puranas and secular stories. The Government of India will be celebrating 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh on a large scale.
Leonid Brezhnev
LISTEN
Born: December 19, 1906 Died: November 10, 1982
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eonid Brezhnev, born in Kamenskoye (Ukraine) into a Russian worker’s family, graduated in Metallurgical Technicum. Being active in CPSU, he was drafted into immediate military During service during World War II and Brezhnev’s left the army in 1946 with the rule, the global rank of Major General. influence of Brezhnev became a member the Soviet of Central Committee in 1952. Union grew dramatically, In 1964 he succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary because of and Alexei Kosygin as Soviet the expansion Premier. His eighteen-year of the Soviet term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph military during this time. Stalin in duration. During Brezhnev’s rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time. His tenure as leader was marked by the beginning of an era of economic and social stagnation in the Soviet Union. As a leader, Brezhnev took care to consult his colleagues before acting, but his attempt to govern without meaningful economic reforms led to a national decline by the mid-1970s - a period referred to as the Era of Stagnation, stood at 12.5% of the country’s GNP. An aging and ineffective leadership set the stage for a dwindling GNP compared to Western nations. While at the helm of the USSR, Brezhnev pushed for détente between the Eastern and Western countries. He presided over the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to stop the Prague Spring, and he sent the Soviet military to Afghanistan in an attempt to save the fragile regime. However, in December 1981 he decided not to militarily intervene in Poland, instead allowing the country’s government to impose martial law and effectively marking the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine. december 16
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Cover Story
Vanalatha
Technology:
ITS KEY ROLE IN
EDUCATION Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. – Bill Gates
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echnology doesn’t make man. Man makes technology. The world has become so dependent on technology that even students now prefer to use technology in their educational life in various ways.
In the 21st century technological advances has exploded. It all started with smart classes and now classroom technology has become increasingly more popular. Technology can be considered to be a blessing to all the students but not in all aspects. Technology has increased the power of education. It has increased the literacy ratio in the world. In today’s world, every person has access to quality education. It has provided the framework for the establishment of education in the real sense. Inclusion of technology in the educational field has changed the way we learn in the most convenient ways and therefore, it is a boon. Technology contributes much to the improvement of the teaching-learning process. It is indeed a blessing. But as every coin has two sides, technology when not used properly or overused becomes a detriment to learning and development. While technological achievements deserve accolades, we forget the loss of human touch. How often do we socially interact? At one side we feel happy to get connected with our friends through technology but at the same time we have lost the face to face interaction with them. Technology has just combined innovation with tension. The choice is with the user to make it a bane or boon.
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In some cases technology can replace a teacher since we can learn a few concepts much better and faster. The explanation of the teacher may not be as effective as the videos, which may give us better understanding. But this does not mean that technology should totally replace a teacher because a machine cannot teach us basic things like discipline.
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Yes, in this modern world technology can be introduced right from pre-primary classes because the young children are never too young to adapt to the developing new technologies. But the use of machines from such a tender age can have serious implications on their health.
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That depends on the way it is used. It is a boon as communication has become much faster through the growing technology. It is a bane because it has a lot of health effects on the students. We are heading towards cultural decadence ever since technology has become a part of our lives. Faiza Fathima, Class X KRM Public School, Chennai
What do teachers and students feel about technology…Please read on….
1 2 Can technology replace a teacher?
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Certainly not, technology only makes learning interesting. It cannot differentiate between a high ranking and a low ranking student but a teacher can. Technology cannot teach human skills. Teachers are not only facilitators but an inspiration for students which cannot be replaced by technology.
Should technology be introduced right from pre primary classes?
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Technology has replaced bullocks with tractors and pigeons with cellphones but how can it replace the nurture and love that a human teacher gives? Teachers play an important part in shaping the overall personality of an individual and not just in educating. A computer can define the words ‘love’ , ‘encourage’ and ‘bullying’ but could definitely not react to them.
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In an era where a newborn’s first words are ‘google’ and ‘apple’, it is essential to understand that technology has taken over their lives and should be wiped out from their system. Children should be free from these burdens as it takes away children’s play time.
Of course not because the children will be addicted to it, but because it can lead to ill effects both physically and mentally. Students need more physical exercise and activities for the brain which will make their future better rather than introducing technology to them in pre-primary classes. Well, everything depends on how we use it, the same goes for technology. If students don’t exceed their limit then of course technology is a boon. Computers and internet offer lots of opportunity for them to improve their skills by offering online courses and tuitions. It also offers opportunities for special children. We should always use technology to a limit and technology will only be a boon not a bane. K.B. Maithry shree, VIII KRM Public School, Chennai
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Is technology a boon or bane for students?
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While technology can serve as an useful aide to the process of teaching, it can never replace a teacher. Both can impart information but…a great teacher can also inspire. Technology needs to be constantly updated by humans whereas a teacher teaches through his lifetime experiences. This personal touch makes all the difference.
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During pre-primary classes, children are not learning Rocket Science but simple yet essential life skills. In today’s society, children are already excessively exposed to TV and mobile phones at home. Introducing technology so early is unnecessary. This may lead to technological addiction and dependence.
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The War continues between man and machine; and unfortunately we are not in a position to win. Technology has far greater banes than boons. The internet spoils their innocent knowledge, videos passed on increases aggression and several social networking sites cause cyber-crime. The choice is in our hands.
Technology is surely a boon if used correctly. It can make learning extremely fast, efficient, enjoyable and easy. It can help store a large amount of material in a small amount of space. Further, it facilitates rapid communication, through video conferencing, so that students in different locations and even cultures can interact and learn from each other.
Jash Jobalia, VIII Utpal Shanghvi Global School, Mumbai
Niharika Chokhani, VIII Utpal Shanghvi Global School, Mumbai
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Cover Story
1 2 Is technology diminishing the creativity in students?
How can school encourage creativity in students?
Mr. D.P. Sivasakti Balan Principal KRM Public School Chennai
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Looking holistically, technology seems to curb the creativity among students. Everything is available ready-made, and most of their time is being consumed by video games and other digital entertainment, in fact technology help them in saving their time in data and information collection and redirecting them for other constructive process. Technological advancement cannot be stopped. Hence changing our attitude from conventional to adaptive will only help us to swim with the stream. Moreover an invention in the field of technology proves that, creativity is increasing.
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Every aspect of schooling integrates and encourages the creativity of the children. Good schooling maybe in providing enough platforms to the children for divergent thinking. Allowing them to construct stories, poems, essays are few of the creativity exercises in language learning. Instead of repeating the same experiments in science, students need to be stretched for something new. The Activities has to be designed in such a way to give space for their high order thinking.
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Technology is actually reducing the distance between people. We can contact anyone from any part of the world for sharing, collaborating and connecting for sharing knowledge. We could be updated with the global trends all the time. Sometimes the dominance of technology is trying to make barriers within the family circle. Again it is the responsibility of the elders to make them understand the importance of maintaining family values.
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Does technology affect the social interaction among students?
Ms. S. Poorna Prabha Teacher KRM Public School Chennai
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I don’t think that technology is reducing the creativity of the students. Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. In that way, advancement in technology in fact increased the creativity of the students to explore and visualise.
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Creativity is innate, it can’t really be lost. But it needs to be nurtured. In that way schools can increase the creativity and critical thinking of the students by engaging them in multiple intelligence active learning activities by providing open ended questions and projects.
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No, in fact technology has widened the social interaction among the students by providing them different opportunities to interact with other country students through International Collaborative projects like British Council ISA, TED Ed Club, World Scholars Club USA. But we can’t deny this fact that this opportunities has created a communication gap between friends and neighbourhood.
1 2 Is technology diminishing the creativity in students?
Bijal Mehta Executive – Educational Development, Utpal Shanghvi Global School, Mumbai
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I oppose that technology diminishes the creativity in students because it actually enhances the mind to ignite creativity and innovative ideas for students to think differently and create things which are unique. It brings an enormous amount of information to the fingertips of students, which has the potential to arouse more ideas. All good things have a flip side, so I believe that overuse of technology may hinder their thinking and make them work robotically.
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In order to encourage creativity and critical thinking, it is important to foster the use of technology as they are the digital natives of today. Schools need to introduce students to a set of free and friendly technological tools to empower them to create their own cartoon animations. These tools help students to enhance their creativity through blogging, mind mapping and brainstorming in which learners are inspired to think out of the box.
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Yes, it affects social interaction dramatically. Students may become better friends with their phones, who work according to their orders and soon forget the face to face interaction with true friends, the real fun. Even interacting with their own family sitting next to them, has become shockingly rare. Technology also leads to them indulging into a lot of addictive and mostly useless games, eating up their time and brains, in turn affecting social interaction. Social media, as we all know, may bring faraway acquaintances closer, but send closer acquaintances further away.
How can school encourage creativity in students?
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Does technology affect the social interaction among students?
Saumya Shrivastava, Teacher Utpal Shanghvi Global School, Mumbai
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When students resort to technology as simple as a search engine for a clear understanding of a concept which they wish to know for their general understanding, it boosts their knowledge and perhaps it could even help them come up with ideas pertaining to that knowledge. I am afraid that this resorting to technology soon becomes dependency when the quick solutions make students consider technology as their first teacher. It isn’t completely wrong but for students this could make it difficult for them in future to come up with solutions from Scratch.
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In this world of rapid change, schools need to cope with the speed of change. So while we help them get abreast with modern syllabus, technological usage and advantages, we also need to help them realise the importance of thinking through observations, through arts and various non academic forms which often get neglected or subsided by academics. A very important part of that can be achieved by making the students believe that nothing they come up originally with is incorrect.
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That depends on how a student makes use of technology. If I as a student use technologies like interaction apps to simply keep in touch or reconnect with peers, solve immediate doubts, etc. that seems no harm at all. The same tool can be over used and exploited to the point of different ranges of problems from plagiarism to bullying and even go to the extent of negative cyber activities. december 16
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Do you ? KNOW GIANT PANDAS can live
Interesting Facts The Oldest Panda ‘no more’
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in the wild for years and in captivity for 30 years.
J
ia Jia meaning ‘excellence’ is the oldest giant panda in the world. She was born in the wild in Sichuan, China, in 1978 and was given to Hong Kong in 1999. In July 2015, Jia Jia was presented with a towering birthday cake made from ice and fruit juice. She picked up fruit slices and bamboo around the ice cake and ate it. At the age of 37, she was recognized as the world’s oldest giant panda in captivity by the Guinness World Records. From October, 2016, Jia Jia was ill for two weeks during which she was unable to walk and did not show interest to eat. At the age of 38, on October 16, 2016 she was euthanized because of health problems. Previously the oldest giant panda in captivity was Du Du, who was born in 1962 and died in 1999.
Some interesting Christmas Facts • Christmas trees were first decorated with food items such as apples, nuts and dates. • Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895. • The tallest Christmas tree ever displayed was in Seattle, Washington in 1950.
The Christmas tree was 221 feet tall.
• Listen to the song “Twelve Days of Christmas”, and count the number of gifts in the song. You will realise that the gifts were exchanged 364 times. Thus the gifts are exchanged everyday of the year. • The names of 8 reindeer of Santa Claus are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner , Blitzen. The 9th reindeer included in the 20th century is Rudolf and not to forget one more addition, the Olive.
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Reindeer
Personality trait
Skill
Dasher
He loves to go fast!
Sewing
Dancer
Completely extroverted
All kinds of dance
Prancer
A bit vain, though affectionate
Prancing
Vixen
Slightly tricky
Magic
Comet
Handsome and easy-going
Good with kids
Cupid
Affectionate
Bringing people together
Donner
Loud
Singing
Blitzen
Fast as a bolt!
Can electrify others
Rudolph
A little down on himself
Nose glows
Olive
Admits when she’s wrong
Good at hide-and- seek
TRIBUTE
Karuna Raj LISTEN
SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN R
amanujan continues to be an inspiration for mathematicians across the world. His work has inspired a lot of research over the years. His birth anniversary is celebrated as National Mathematics Day. On his 125th birth anniversary Google honoured him by replacing its logo with a doodle on his home page.
among the mathematical fraternity in India. Ramanujan worked with English mathematician Godfrey Hardy for further research. Hardy got him a scholarship from Madras University and a grant from Trinity College Cambridge. Ramanujan with astonishing knowledge of mathematics, no formal training, effortlessly worked out the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, hyper geometric series, and the functional equations of the zeta function, partition of numbers. He got a Bachelor of Science degree in March 1916. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity College— the first Indian to be honoured.
e youngest One of th d a second fellows an be inducted as Indian to f the eminent a Fellow o ty in 1918 at Royal Socie 31. the age of He was a brilliant school student, excelled in mathematics, won several merit certificates and awards, mastered a book on advanced trigonometry by S. L. Loney at 13. The book ‘A Synopsis of Elementary in Pure and Applied Mathematics’ awakened his mathematical genius. He worked on Bernoulli numbers and Euler– Mascheroni constant up to 15 decimal places.
Srinivasa Ramanujan son of K. Srinivasa Iyengar and Komalatammal was born on December 22, 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. His life was short but very productive. Ramanujan is recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians with significant contributions and extraordinary achievements to mathematical analysis, number theory and continued fractions.
He did not focus on any other subject thus could not complete his degree. His first paper was published in the ‘Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society ‘gave him recognition and popularity
He compiled 3,900 identities and equations. His most celebrated findings were his infinite . series for
Ramanujan used to jot down his ideas in notebooks. One known as the ‘lost
He got a Bachelor of Science degree in March 1916. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity College—the first Indian to be honoured. notebook’, was discovered in the Trinity College library by mathematician George Andrews in 1976, was published as a book later.
Many of his discoveries were based on pure intuition. His brilliant career was cut short due to his untimely death at the age of 32. december 16
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Sports
P V Seshubabu
The teams start at each end of the pool with one hand on the wall. The puck is in the middle of the pool. When the referee sounds the buzzer, both teams race to get possession of the puck.
Underwater
HOCKEY
The Underwater Hockey is also known as ‘OCTOPUSH’ which is a supreme aerobic game.
Before the start of the game, the puck is placed in the middle of the pool and players wait in the water whilst touching the wall above the goal they are defending.
T
he British Navy introduced ‘Underwater Hockey’ to keep their divers fit and to improve their ability to move and work efficiently under water. The game is very popular in Australia, Newzealand, South Africa and Canada. It was invented in the early 1950s by sub-aqua in South Sea who got disinterested in just swimming up and down pool lanes to get fit. The game is now played worldwide. The game is played between two teams. Each team has 12 players and only 10 of them play in any one game.
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The game consists of 15 minutes halves and a three minutes half time. Each team is allowed 60 seconds time out per half. During the game 6 players are in the pool with 4 inter-change players on the side who can substitute at any time.
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There is a goal tray at each end of the playing area. It is 3m long with a slope from the front into a shallow trough at the back wall. The puck must pass through the goal volume for a team to score the goal.
The players wear large fins, a diving mask and snorkel and thick glove made from latex to protect the hand from the pool bottom and the puck.
The top players can flick the puck well over 3 m and it comes off the bottom enough to go over another player. The puck is made of lead and is coated with plastic. It weighs about 1.5 kg.
At the start of the play signal, the in-play members of both teams are free to swim anywhere in the play area and try to score by manoevuring the puck into the opponent’s goal. Players hold their breath as they dive to the bottom of the pool. Play continues until either a goal is scored when players return to their wall to start a new point or a break in play is signaled by a referee.
Eureka
Vanalatha
Toothpaste
The Art of Beautiful Smiles Hmmmm…Brushing teeth, a great task for everyone! But to have a perfect smile this task is really valuable. We are very selective about our tooth paste as we have ‘n’ number of flavours and brands. What about past? When did people start brushing their teeth? It may come as a surprise, but brushing teeth was a rather common practice in some parts of the ancient world. The tube you either squeeze from the middle or carefully roll up from the bottom has a history of its own.
Let us have a look at the toothpaste timeline 5000 BC: The ancient Egyptians invented some of the first toothpastes, but these were powders made from ox-hoof ashes, crushed rock salt, dried iris flowers, pepper, mint, and burnt eggshells.
1800: Betel nut was a common ingredient used in toothpastes in England.
1,766 BC: The ancient Chinese used abrasive materials for toothpaste, which they flavored with herbal mints, ginseng, and salt
1824: A dentist named Peabody added soap to toothpaste for added cleanliness. Soap was later replaced by sodium lauryn sulphate to create a smooth paste.
1892: Dr. Washington Sheffield was the first person to put toothpaste in a collapsible tube. It has been suggested that this version of toothpaste is the most similar to today’s version.
1989: Rembrandt invented the first toothpaste that claimed to whiten and brighten the teeth.
700 BC: The ancient Romans used toothpaste made from crushed bone, oyster shells, charcoal, and bark.
1850: Chalk was added to toothpaste as an abrasive. It was also during this era that toothpaste was sold as a cream for the first time.
1914: Fluoride was added to toothpastes after discovering it significantly decreased dental cavities.
1780: People were known to scrub their teeth with a powder that was made up of mainly burnt bread.
1873: The first commercially produced, nicesmelling toothpaste was launched by Colgate and was sold in a jar.
1975: Herbal toothpastes, without fluoride was introduced. These toothpastes included ingredients like peppermint oil, myrrh and plant extracts.
1987: Edible toothpaste was invented.
Now in continuation of it, we get ‘n’ number of mouthwashes and different flavours of toothpastes. Each major ingredient in modern toothpaste makes brushing teeth easy, comfortable, effective and tasty. So the next time you squeeze the tube of toothpaste onto your toothbrush, smile and remember how far this dental history has come. So take care of your oral health and have a perfect smile! december 16
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Phobia
Y
eee… I am frightened of cockroaches! I am frightened of lizards! You might have heard such expressions from many people. Am I right? Are you frightened of any particular thing? Come, let us know about different phobias. We all have fears of certain situations, places or things. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, defined by a persistent fear of an object or situation.
Vanalatha
KNOW YOUR PHOBIA
Here are some common Acrophobia fear of heights Astraphobia fear of thunder/ lightning Thanatophobia fear of death Glossophobia fear of public speaking
PHOBIAS
Atychiphobia fear of failure Aquaphobia fear of water Aerophobia fear of flying
Tips to overcome your fears Tip 1: Face your fears, one step at a time Tip 3: Practice relaxation techniques
1.
(simple phobia) A person with specific phobia involves a disproportionate fear about specific situations, living creatures, places, activities, or things.
Phobias can be managed and cured. Self-help strategies and therapy can help you overcome your fears and start living the life you want.
Tip 2: Learn to calm down quickly
There are three types of phobias and they are divided into two categories - simple and complex.
Specific phobia
Simple phobias usually start early during childhood and often go away by the time the person reaches late teens. Complex phobias generally start later on.
Tip 4: Challenge negative thoughts
2.
3.
Agoraphobia
Social phobia
(complex phobia) A person with social phobia finds difficult and sometimes unbearable being in social situations. Going to parties, weddings, functions, or exhibitions cause anxiety; there is fear of being embarrassed or humiliated in public.
Hemophobia fear of blood Vehophobia fear of driving Phobophobia fear of fear
Nosocomephobia fear of hospitals Didaskaleinophobia fear of school Technophobia fear of technology
(complex phobia) A person with agoraphobia is frightened of finding himself/herself in situations where there is no escape; they fear being stuck in a desperate situation with no help.
Ergophobia fear of work Numerophobia fear of numbers Dentophobia fear of dentists
Cynophobia fear of dogs Opidiophobia fear of snakes Anthropophobia fear of people
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliphobia – fear of long words
Find out your ‘PHOBIA’ and try to overcome it. The best way to overcome a phobia is to face the fear again and again in a safe and controlled way. Let your thoughts control the phobia and do not let the phobia control your life.
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Write Right HANDWRITING SECRETS - 08 Y. Mallikarjuna Rao Director National Handwriting Academy, Hyderabad Email:handwriting56@gmail.com
“
E
ach letter of the alphabet is a steadfast loyal soldier in a great army of words, sentences, paragraphs and stories. One letter falls and the entire language falters.” As letters contribute all the essence to make a meaningful word, let us focus more on every single letter we put on the paper to communicate effectively. To check the legibility rate of our letters we need to surf through the previous pages and look keenly into the letters, especially the confusing ones. A letter should make a sense, not because of its previous and next letters, but individually.
Better Letter, Better the Communication When you hide the first three letters, the last letter must be legible on its own or it is better not to write because not in every case, an illegible letter can be read, with the help of its previous or next letter/letters. What is writing without legible letters? There are ‘n’ number of examples which are found in students notebooks and answer booklets wherein because of very few illegible letters, the whole word or sentence goes meaningless. Observe the following examples and correct all your wrong letters, accordingly.
Practice: List out the letters that are wrongly written by you and practice them properly in a row. Then put these letters in the beginning, middle and ending of a word to make future proof and fool proof writing. Write better, get better. december 16
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COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY Awards 2016 Founded by two passionate wildlife photographers, this competition showcases the cute silliness of glorious animal kingdom. The winners of the 2016 awards were announced at a ceremony in the Underdog Gallery in London on November 9, 2016, with the winners collecting trophies in separate categories. Out of thousands of entries, 40 finalists were selected. Later on 14 winners were selected according to the categories. Have a glimpse on some of the selected photographs of the finalists and the winners.
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The awards “hope to share the true playfulness of the animal kingdom with the people.�
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Counselling
F
riends, you must be yawning reading the title above! Students are soft targets of everyone. You must have been told many times not to think negative, always think positive etc. Despite wishing to do the same, you may not be able to do so. What may be the reason? First of all, let us see what positive attitude is. Thinking positively does not mean that everything will happen as per one’s wish, but it means whatever happens, will be accepted gracefully. One will make the best out of it, no matter whether it is ‘good ‘or ’bad’. Positive thinking is the idea that we can enjoy our daily chores by thinking positively about things. Constant negative thinking makes a person anxious, angry, frightened and irritated. Negative thinking is a habit and same is true about positive thinking! The good thing is we can train our brain to think positively!
Ms. Vandana Kalyankar Deshpande Student Counsellor, Hyderabad
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Positive thinking is the idea that we can enjoy our daily chores by thinking positively about things.
Here are some ways to train the brain Meditation - It is a surprise that we all do meditation all the time! Meditation is not that makes our mind thoughtless but it is all about to concentrate on certain or particular thoughts. Many of us think of negative thoughts as small as what if I couldn’t reach on time to school and start to imagine the consequences of it. It is nothing but negative meditation. Instead, we can think that we are going to be on time. Naturally we will start imagining it and it will reflect in our actions too. Likewise we can train our brain to think and imagine positively in areas of our concern. • Mind the words - Replace regularly saying “I can’t..” by “I can…”, “I won’t do..”, by “I will”, “I will never be able to…” by “I will be able to”, “ I have to do…”by “I got to do”.
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• Find something good in everything - At the end of every day, think what good happened to us. Make it a habit. • Display positive thoughts - Write positive thoughts in bold and decorative manner and display them at the places at home where we spend more time. Our subconscious mind definitely registers it. • Mirror Technique - Whenever we see ourselves in mirror; tell ourselves something we like about ourselves. Love ourself. • Celebrate - Share our success, happiness with others, no matter how big or small it is. • Use the power of Humour - Sense of humour is a powerful tool to lift your mood. Humorous perspective will have a positive effect on our attitude.
The Mind is an extremely powerful tool and positive thinking exercise when used consistently; gives us powers to use our mind very effectively. Life gets tough at times for all of us. Know that nothing will be easy. Positive attitude makes us more creative and helps us find the best way out and ultimately leads us to happiness! While practicing above techniques, we can start our day by following these morning Mantras. Thank God for a Beautiful day • I am capable • I am strong • I believe in myself • I can turn my dreams in reality • I am Happy
Kudos
Vanalatha
I
t is rightly said that taking part is more important than winning a competition, but imagine once you achieve something in that competition, that too at the national level, there is no bound for your happiness.
Read on….to see what this national winner says about her achievement…… What prompted you to participate in Doodle 4 Google competition? I had no clue about this competition which started from September 5 to October 21. It was my aunt who told my mom about this competition and insisted that I take part in it as it is a bigger platform. It was because of her I took part even if the contest time period coincided with my exams.
Doodle4Google is an annual competition, for children to create a logo that will be featured on the local Google homepage as a doodle. This year’s theme titled “If I could teach anyone anything, it would be”. Eleven-year-old, Anvita Prashant Telang from Vibgyor High School, Balewadi, Pune has been named as the national winner for her imaginative, thoughtful and inspiring doodle, titled “Enjoy Every Moment”. Anvita’s Doodle was featured on the Google India homepage on November 14 to celebrate Children’s Day. The Doodle represents greeneries, water, water life, balloons, making it a lovely vibrant picture. Anvita’s creativity and vision towards developing ‘a better world and healthy lifestyle’ is well reflected through her colourful doodle where she has showcased how everyone should ‘Enjoy Every Moment’ and appreciate the simple things around us and live stress free life.
How did you feel when you were informed that you are the National Winner? I was in school when my mother got the news from Google India that my doodle has
National Winner “DOODLE FOR GOOGLE”
Contest 2016 “My hobbies are drawing, making greeting cards for my near and dear ones on occasions, dancing, and watching You Tube videos on DIY crafts.”
been the winner of this year’s contest. When I came home my grandmother gave me this good news coz my mother was at work. I couldn’t believe her. I thought it was some kind of joke. I called my mom to confirm and that’s when it sunk in that I have been a national winner for this contest. I was very happy and felt like being on cloud nine :) What made you choose the title ‘Enjoy Every Moment’? How and why did you get this idea? In every household now-a-days, including mine, I have seen people living in fast track. They are so busy with office work and even other work at home. In this process they miss out all those small little things around which could bring happiness in their lives and make their lives less stressful. These small things could be a good sumptuous breakfast, having tea in the balcony, watching the rains etc... all these small happy things are overlooked . Hence I want the people to learn to slow down and cherish these small things which could bring smile on their faces. december 16
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Learn English P. V. Seshubabu
LEARN TO USE CORRECT ENGLISH
English language is one of the most popular languages to learn. Perhaps it is the most
spoken language around the world. People learn English because they are rewarded with a better placement or able to communicate more effectively. Nevertheless, there are many challenges in learning to use correct English.
L
anguage is a very important means of communication. It is very difficult to think of a society without language. In case of mother tongue, the child learns it easily due to the favourable environment and great amount of exposure in the use of the language. However, learning the
Technology has driven students away from reading for pleasure which has robbed them of learning correct English and achieving proficiency. 38
second language requires conscious efforts to learn and in most cases it is very limited. Factors
like attitude, selfconfidence, motivation, duration of exposure to the language, classroom conditions, environment, family background and availability of competent teachers are very crucial. One of the major problems faced while learning English is ungrammatical use of language. Technology has driven students away from reading for pleasure which has robbed them of learning correct English and achieving proficiency. Students generally enjoy communicating sharing their experiences focusing on improving
fluency in the language. Grammar, however, is not their strength. They learn mainly through speaking and correcting mistakes repeatedly enables them to increase their accuracy. In this condition, drilling of grammar exercises becomes a nuisance. Learning grammar is like learning to drive and one would not be able to master unless it becomes one’s second nature. Grammar is extremely important and incorrect usage could confuse anyone. Some common errors in the use of ‘verb’ in English are enlisted in this issue.
INCORRECT
CORRECT
Ram said can he go home.
Ram asked if he could go home.
He does not care for money.
He does not take care of his money.
She informed that she saw me last year.
She informed that she had seen me last year.
I did not stop because he went out before I arrived
I did not stop because he had gone out before I arrived.
I left playing Football.
I stopped playing Football.
I cannot pull on with my work.
I cannot manage my work.
The ship was drowned.
The ship sank.
I filled water in the bucket.
I filled the bucket with water.
My son would not hear me.
My son would not listen to me.
The Council is consisted of ten members.
The Council consists of ten members.
When I went there I found that the lion When I went there I found that the lion was disappeared had disappeared. The Chief Guest gave a speech.
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The Chief Guest made (delivered) a speech.
Technology
Cronzy
the Colours of World in your Pocket
Vanalatha
LISTEN
Pens play an important role in our lives. They help us remember important events, get our creative ideas on paper and help us communicate with others. Imagine a pen that you can carry anywhere, anytime and can sketch out any colour you see. Wonderful isn’t it? Now for writing a story or drawing a picture, no need to carry around dozens of coloured pens with you, one cronzy is all you need.
‘Cronzy’ allows you to write or draw any colour you like. Much like office printers, the pen contains small electromechanical solenoids to eject ink. It has an inbuilt battery and five interchangeable tips, (nib, 0.7mm, 2.0mm, 3.0mm, and a size called a ‘tip’) depending on the thickness people want to write or colour with. It uses a complex algorithm to enable the user to mix between colours. There is a colour scanner built into the body
of the pen and in just a few seconds, you can scan any colour you like. The ‘Cronzy’ pen can be controlled in two ways. The first is an app for iOS, Android, and Windows phones. Simply select the desired colour and the pen will change accordingly. You can even share the colours with others. The second is innovative scanner. Just point the Cronzy pen at the colour you want to recreate and the pen will calculate the shade for you.
Some facts • Pens are 5,000 years old. Ancient Egyptians used reed straws and ink made of soot or red ochre mixed with vegetable gum and beeswax. • In 95% of cases, if a person is given a new pen, the first word they write is their name. • There are 5 main kinds of pens used worldwide: ballpoint, fountain, soft-tip, rolling-ball and specialty pens. • The largest ballpoint pen was made by Acharya Makunuri Srinivasa from India. It is 5.5 m in length and its weight is 37.23 kg. Its casing is engraved with scenes from Indian mythology.
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The ‘Cronzy’ pen, is the brainchild of 26-year-old Alex Leonets, who spent almost a year developing the pen and now has a working prototype. Leonets said, ‘The idea originally came from a moment when I wanted to show a specific shade of colour. However, it wasn’t so simple because the only way to quickly get any shade of colour was on digital devices. This led to the thought of a possibility, where a person, can have quick access to mixing any set of colours, at any precise moment and thus I had the idea to create a smart pen.’ This smart pen allows you to write or draw any colour you like with a selection of more than 16 million colours and is expected in the market by May 2017. high
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Innovation
Vanalatha
From Science Fiction to Real
Life
The duo says, “Our aim is to win Nobel Prize for our country and help in making India a developed nation in the upcoming future.”
Meet the twin brothers, Yashraj Bhardwaj and Yuvraj Bhardwaj who look forward to more research work in the future and are willing to get recognition on an international platform.
I
t is proved by this duo that there is no age limit for doing any research. The brothers spent most of their childhood reading a lot of science fiction, and experimenting with the truth behind all the research going around the world. Right from class 7, Yash and Yuvraj used to read lots of books and study a lot on the internet. Currently studying in class XII, the twins
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have mastered the skill of time management. Keeping the day aside for their schoolwork and coaching classes, it is in the night that the two sit together, brainstorm for ideas, debating and discussing to come up with numerous prototypes that address various environmental concerns. They are the co founders of Zenith Vipers that encourage students to take up research projects
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to come up with their brilliant ideas aimed for the betterment of the society. Till date they own 22 research projects and 7 patents that are being published.
They have presented research papers at multiple conferences, science fairs and represented India at International science fairs. The duo is also recipients of prestigious Karmaveer Chakra Award 2016. The twin brothers are setting an example for all of us out here! It is just a beginning and they have to research a lot to achieve the feat.
Their research projects include ‘Smart Water Purification System’, ‘All in One Medical Assistance Machine’, ‘Brain Controlled Drone’ and a lot more.
Yashraj Bhardwaj Yuvraj Bhardwaj
Here are the experiences of the budding researchers to the Brainfeed readers.
When did you start your research work? How did you get the idea to do it? In 2011, while attending a science event in Delhi, the Chief Guest spoke about the inventions and Indian scientists. I and my brother felt strange to know that till that very point of time only 1 Indian citizen had won a Nobel Prize in the field of sciences that too before independence. We lost that competition but we did not lose our confidence. We started reading science fictions, research journals and started thinking of same things from different perspectives. We were very much engaged in watching and reading science fictions, and by questioning ourselves and ended up with answers. How many projects have you completed and which is the most famous project? We own 22 research projects and 7 Patents that are being published. Smart water purification system is one of our major research projects. How do you manage your college work, coaching classes and research work all together? We usually sleep for 3-4 hours. Now we are doing our work according to the best level of ours and also focusing on studies to get good grades.
Did you ever face any failure during your research? How did you overcome it? We faced many problems and failures during the whole tenure of our journey. During Smart Water Purification project, heavy metals entered the water via different sources like atmospheric deposition, mining, agriculture, etc. After about eight months of intensive research we learned that there are 143 plants that can remove heavy metals from water. It was then that we started thinking about water pollution. We narrowed our research in terms of cost effectiveness and efficiency and tested with tomato, banana, apple, etc. Finally, we zeroed down to the pumpkin that showed an efficiency of nearly 74%. But somehow, due to the lack of knowledge about patents, we lost our rights on the pumpkin purifier. It was really a hard time because our work of nearly one and a half years was wasted. But we never gave up. We continued our research, and came up with the best alternative in the form of Bajra (pearl millet). Its efficiency came out to be 98% and it also turned out to be a cost effective and efficient purifier. We prepared a complete paper and prototype and filed a patent.
Why did you name your start up as Zenith Vipers? Zenith means – ‘great heights’ and Vipers means-‘the viper we use at our homes to clean floors’. We call every freelance researcher a Zenith Viper because sky is the limit for them as they only can vipe out bad elements from the society. What do you feel about technology? Is it a bane or boon? Of course, technology is a boon. But we need to use it wisely. Excess use of everything leads to big problem. What advice would you like to give to students? We advise students, to be practical in their life. We need to have a positive aura around us to get some amazing results. That aura can be developed by being positive and respecting our elders. We are the future of India. We need to take care of our mother earth in the best possible ways we can.
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Big Question
Vanalatha
Why do Chamel eons Cha nge t heir Col ours?
Do you KNOW?
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It takes only seconds for a chameleon to change its colour from one to another. ave you ever A chameleon’s Chameleons are heard the saying lizards that are part colourful beauty is ‘don’t change your of the scientific skin deep. Known colour like a chameleon’? family called for their ability People use this expression ‘Chamaeleonidae’. to change colour, because it is believed that they can be seen chameleon changes its colour to changing a variety of colours, match its surroundings similarly including brown, green, blue, some people change their nature yellow, red, black or white. The according to the situation. People chameleon’s outer layer of skin believe that chameleons change is transparent. There are three colours to disguise themselves layers below, each with different and hide from predators. Let us cells containing pigments called find out why chameleons change chromatophores that give them their colours? their colour changing ability. The first layer contains cells with red and yellow pigments called ‘xantrophores’; the second regulates blue tones with ‘guanophores’; and the deepest contains ‘melanophors’ with black pigments. The chameleon’s skin cells expand or contract depending on external light and heat levels and internal chemical reactions.
H
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Communication is an important reason behind these colour changes. Chameleons cannot display limitless colours and do not change colours in a camouflage response to their surroundings. Instead, their skin changes in response to temperature and light. They also change to reflect their moods. By doing so, they send social signals to other chameleons. For example, a calm chameleon may exhibit green, because the contracted yellow cells allow bluereflected light to pass through. An angry chameleon may exhibit yellow or darker, because the yellow cells expand fully, thus blocking off all blue-reflected light from below. A chameleon that gets cold might change to a darker colour to absorb more heat and warm its body. Today, researchers believe that pigments aren’t the only mechanism chameleons use to change their colours. Recent studies have shown that chameleons also have a special layer of cells called ‘iridophores’ under their skin. These special cells contain pigment and reflect light that are made up of hundreds of thousands of guanine crystals. Chameleons can relax or excite their skin, causing these special cells to move and change structure. Researchers found that, when this happens, these cells act like prisms, reflecting different wavelengths of light to create the variety of colours we see. Activity: 1. Find how many different species of chameleon exist? 2. Enlist the special features of chameleon.
Travel
Karuna Raj
Whether you choose to travel to Fiji with your family or friends – your holiday will have everything you expect and more.
DREAM
FIJI VACATIONS F
iji, a South Pacific archipelago of more than 300 islands rising out of deep blue waters with spectacular rock formation, is a picture perfect island. Each island is home to palm-fringed golden and white beaches, coral reefs with clear lagoons, tumbling jungle waterfalls and rugged landscapes. You can relax and unwind in Fiji’s worldclass spas and beaches or indulge in the many activities and experiences that Fiji has to offer – from sky diving to dirt biking to river rafting to scuba diving to trekking to cultural tours.
Viti Levu the largest island situated on the famous Coral coast is home to the capital Suva, a port city with British colonial architecture. It has ‘The Ultimate Undersea Adventure’. Its major islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Viti Levu the largest island situated on the famous Coral coast is home to the capital Suva, a port city with British colonial architecture. It has ‘The Ultimate Undersea Adventure’. you can see crystal clear views of fish, turtles, sharks and a live
coral reef under the water without a mask, scuba equipment or getting wet. After the Sea View you will be taken ashore on Bounty Island with an array of exciting activities including baby turtlefeeding, Dolphin watching, basket weaving, island walks, and beach volleyball. Vanua Levu formerly known as Sandalwood Island is the second largest island, has lots for adventurous travellers. Savusavu town in beautiful surroundings has a protected bay popular mooring for yachts, Wasali Nature Reserve an untouched rainforest with hiking trails, the Snake Temple near Labasa, or just exploring along the Hibiscus highway. What make these islands so enchanting are the people who are truly the friendliest people in the world. december 16
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Career
Vanalatha
Thumbs up for HANDLOOM SECTOR Job responsibility in handloom industry • Research and development in handloom machineries and equipment including processing. he Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on National Handloom Day on August 7, that a weaver weaves a sari just as a mother brings up her daughter. India was and is known for its exquisite handloom and has a rich history.
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What makes handloom stand out is the original colours and ethnicity associated. Though time consuming, handloom sector is seeing a major revival and could be a great career option for the ones who love textiles. Textile industry occupies a unique place in our country. It accounts for 14 percent of the total Industrial production, contributes to nearly 30 percent of the total exports and is the second largest employment generator after agriculture
The handloom sector plays a very important role in the country’s economy. This sector contributes nearly 19 percent of the total cloth produced in the country and also adds substantially to export earnings. The strength of handloom lies in the introducing innovative designs, which cannot be replicated by the power loom sector. Thus, handloom forms a part of the heritage of India and exemplifies the richness and diversity of our country and the artistry of the weavers. How to enter the field? Students should have passed 10 +2 with minimum 50 percent with a minimum average percentage in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Different job positions available in Government handloom sector Superintendent Junior Assistant Assistant Manager Deputy Manager Senior Manager Chief Manager and so on
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• Training of weavers by disseminating improved techniques and new designs. • Providing market support by arranging interface between designers, producers and buyers. • Arranging exhibitions, seminars, workshops for the benefit of handloom weavers. • Preserving and documenting traditional skills and revival of traditional skills and revival of traditional designs for production and marketing. Prominent Institutes in India • The Handloom School, Gadikhana, Madhya Pradesh • Institute of Handloom and Texture Technology, Kannur, Kerala • Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Salem, Tamil Nadu • NGF college of Engineering and Technology, New Delhi
What is the role of handloom in the textile industry? Handloom industry is largely household based and is spread across thousands of villages and towns in the country. It exhibits our rich and cultural heritage. It is ancient and plays a very important role in the country’s economy. Handloom industry, being the largest cottage industry in the country provides direct and indirect employment to over 12 million weavers and is the largest economic activity second only to agriculture. The numerous handloom production centres and the implementation of various development and welfare schemes, by government of India have led this sector to compete with power looms and mill sector. What is the scope of handloom sector? Indian weavers impart highest levels of skills and craftsmanship while weaving handloom textiles. With almost one fourth of the local textile production and contributing substantially to the export earnings, the handloom remains dominant industrial segment in the country. National Handloom Development program (NHDP) is being implemented as a centrally sponsored program for development of handlooms. Concerted efforts are being made through the schemes and programmers to enhance production, productivity and efficiency of handloom sector and enhance the income and socio economic status of the weavers by upgrading their skills. Handloom fabric and weavers are an integral part of the
the handloom industry provides livelihood to over 90 million in country. Over the centuries, handlooms have come to be associated with excellence in India’s artistry in fabrics.
Shubha Mahajan, Director, MGM Khadi, Aurangabad, Maharashtra enlightens the readers more about the handloom industry. cultural heritage and tradition of India. What are the benefits of handloom industry? The benefits of the handloom fabrics are many. There is minimum use of power, it is eco-friendly, flexibility of small production, one can create a lot of designs, weavers can adapt to market requirement, there is availability of skilled labour and the most interesting part of the sector is there is a wide range of avaible fabrics. What are the skills required for an aspirant to enter this field? An aspirant should posses literacy, have market exposure, good technological and communication skills. Weavers should have skills and capacities in handloom weaving and should be able to understand designs and technology and translate them into finished products. How has handloom industry developed? August 15, 1947 marked a turning point for the handloom weavers of India. Mahatma Gandhi’s use of charkha was largely responsible for the breakthrough. At the time of independence, there were hardly three million small scale handlooms whereas now
India Handloom Brand is an initiative for branding of high quality handloom products with zero defects and zero effect on the environment. Development Commissioner for Handlooms provide design input to the weavers through their designers, arrange training programmes for the weavers in various pre weaving, weaving and post weaving disciplines. Export of handloom goods also has become the one of the largest economic activity in the country. What advice would you like to give the students who would like to enter this field? Students who would like to enter this field should have creativity for design, an eye for detail and good knowledge of testers, colours and fabric. Students with complete knowledge of handloom weaving, spinning, printing, dyeing can easily implement innovative designs to handloom textile. This way new and better designs can attract local as well as global consumers and handloom industry will be economically profitable. Along with innovation and creativity, students should have business skills, knowledge of advance technology to reduce hard work by weavers and satisfy the demand within timeline. Students can implement new ideas to increase the purchase of handloom products on internet and e- commerce. Today’s youth have capacities and potential to develop handloom sector worldwide. december 16
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Space
Karuna Raj
NATURE’S GIFT
THE SUPER MOON planets of our Solar System impact the orbit of the moon. These gravitational forces on the moon, give opportunities to have these close passes.
n the night of November 14, 2016 the natural satellite of the earth provided a spectacular visual treat to the sky -watchers, astronomers, scientists and space researchers -the ‘Supermoon‘ closest full moon of the year. The stunning spectacle, “undeniably beautiful” was a rare sight to behold countries across the globe.
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Moon’s orbital pattern is affected by the oceans creating tidal variations on the Earth. One interesting aspect of the moon is it is not only pulling on the Earth’s oceans, but the earth’s crust too, which deforms and responds to the moon in a very subtle way.
Noah Petro, deputy scientist of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission NASA explained the science behind the super moons. The distance between the Moon and the Earth changes because the moon does not orbit in a perfect circle. The main reason why the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle is, there are a lot of tidal, or gravitational, forces that are pulling on the moon, adding the gravity of the Earth, Sun and
The super moon was at its perigee or closest point to the Earth during the lunar orbit.
A comparison of the Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) and at apogee ( farthest from earth) makes the full Moon look 14% larger at perigee than at apogee and nearly 30% larger in area. November 14th supermoon was approximately 221,524 miles (356,508 kilometers) from Earth; this is the closest full moon in the 21st century. The supermoon of November 2034 will be even closer. On an average, the moon is about 238,900 miles away from Earth. One interesting aspect of the moon is it is not only pulling on the Earth’s oceans, but the earth’s crust too, which deforms and responds to the moon in a very subtle way.
It was the biggest and brightest super moon in 69
years.
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The next full moon closest to Earth will occur on November 25, 2034.
Story
Fi rst P r i z e
Second Prize
Third Prize
`5,000
`2,500
`1,000
Cogratulations!!!!
There was an overwhelming response for the short story contest. A few entries were shortlisted and the jury finalised the following three positions.
The story of the 3rd prize winner is published below.
1st Prize winner – Hridhima Tyagi, Class: IX, The Shishukunj International School, Indore, MP 2nd Prize winner – Akshaya Gupta, Class: VIII, Tagore International School, New Delhi
A
s usual it was a busy morning for the Sen Family. Papa, mummy and Sumeet; everyone was in a hurry to get ready. With papa already seated at the table, sipping his tea, Sumeet rushed to join him. It all happened in a flash. Sumeet stumbled and landed on papa’s lap. The tea splashed all over their clothes. Seeing the mess, papa got into a frenzy and gave Sumeet a terrible slap. Sumeet too went hysterical. He made a mess of the food on the table and spoiled his school uniform. With the mess all around, mummy too couldn’t control herself and screamed at both son and father. Everyone was screaming and there was complete chaos. It took some time before they realised they were
getting late for their respective work. Papa and Sumeet changed over to fresh dress. But it was too late. The school bus had already left. Mummy had to hire a taxi rather than the bus she usually took. Papa took his bike to drop Sumeet to school. He then hurried for his office. All of a sudden, as papa was speeding his bike near a crossing, another vehicle seemed to cross his path. Sensing danger, papa applied the brakes, but the bike skidded. Papa fell on the road, injuring himself badly. Instead of office, papa was now in a hospital bed, with his arms and legs all bandaged. Sumeet and mummy were beside his bed. Hearing the news, Sumeet’s dadaji came to visit papa. Dadaji enquired how
Ankit Saha, Class: VIII BHEL Public School Ramachandrapuram, Hyderabad it all happened. Papa squarely laid the blame on Sumeet and the cup of tea. Dadaji had a hearty laugh. “A cup of tea!” Dadaji exclaimed. “How can a non-living object be held guilty? Nor should Sumeet be blamed. It appears, you have not heard of the 10/90 rule,” Dadaji reasoned. “What... 10/90 rule? Never heard of it,” it was papa’s turn to be puzzled. “See my son,” Dadaji explained, “10% of the events that happen to us, are not in our control. But 90% of the times, things are in our hands. Say for example, the spilling of tea was not in your control. But the subsequent events, the chaos and the accident that finally landed you in this hospital were your doing. Had you reacted differently at
the first instance, things could have been a lot better. Instead of hitting your son, you could have excused him and immediately changed over to fresh clothes. That way, nothing bad would have happened. Sumeet would have taken his school bus, mummy her bus and you your car pool. There wouldn’t have been any accident. Everything would have ended nicely.” Everyone was dumbstruck by Dadaji’s reasoning. It never occurred to anyone that something called, 10/90 rule, could be so effective. To ease his father’s pain, Sumeet added, “Papa, the next time you feel like slapping me, remember the 10/90 rule and you won’t land up in a hospital.” Everyone had a hearty laugh at papa’s expense.
N A LESSO
T N R A E L WELL
10/90 rule
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Picture Story
Christmas
ENGLISH
HINDI
http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-05
http:// www.brainfeedhigh.com/ video-december-06 Follow the link or QR CODE above to watch full animated story.
Santa’s Christmas
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It was a beautiful December day, with clear blue skies and snowcovered treetops. Christmas was in the air!
But up in Santa’s lodge, all was quiet. The usual hustle and bustle of preparing Christmas presents was missing for Santa had fallen ill.
“Oh dear! What will the children say when they don’t receive presents this year?” Santa wondered sadly, as he lay in his bed.
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Suddenly, he heard a noise from outside. He looked out of the window and saw his four reindeer standing patiently as usual. But they seemed quite out of breath, as if they had just finished a long trip.
And as Santa took a closer look, he could not believe what he saw. For, behind the reindeer was a long train of sleds, carrying little children dressed in all sorts of colours.
One by one, they hopped out onto the snow and headed towards Santa’s lodge.
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Soon came a knock on the door. “Come in!” Santa called out, for he was extremely curious.
In came a little girl, hugging something soft in her arms.“I heard that you were sick, Mr. Santa,” she began. “So I’m giving you my teddy bear, to keep you company.”
“Why, thank you, little Emma!” said Santa, for he knew every child by name.
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www.bookbox.com
December
Take part in the monthly thematic contest and win free subscription of Brainfeed High magazine for one year! Write your views about ‘Demonetisation’. Write in 350 to 400 words and mail it to info@brainfeedhigh.com. The entries must reach on or before December 20, 2016. The winner’s name will be announced in the following month.
10 Then entered a young boy with a red package in his arms. “We knew that you were ill, Papa Santa,” he said. “So my family knitted this quilt for you,to keep you warm in the winter days.” “Why, what a wonderful thought, Paul!” beamed Santa, patting him on the head.
13 “Christmas delivered to my doorstep!” exclaimed Santa.
16 “My dear little ones,” Santa replied, smiling. “It is the love and kindness that each of you has shown me today that is the best present of all.”
11 And one by one the children came in through Santa’s door, each with a special gift to wish Santa well.
14 “Come, let us all share these wonderful gifts.” And he gathered the children around him in a big circle.
17 He looked fondly at all the eager faces around him.
12 There were cookies, pies, socks, mittens, books, jigsaw puzzles, and even a small Christmas tree!
15 “Santa, which present do you like the best?” Emma soon piped up.
18 “This, my little ones, is the true meaning of Christmas.” And with that, Santa gave each of the children a big, warm holiday hug. The End december 16
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Language Study LISTEN
VOCABULARY in
DEUTSCH
for BEGINNERS Here is some everyday vocabulary in DEUTSCH (German) language. Listen to the Audio for correct pronunciation.
BOOK
Review Author: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Publisher: Rupa Publications Format: Paperback No. of Pages: 147 ISBN: 9788129124913 Price: `195
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ENGLISH
DEUTSCH
PRONUNCIATION
I will be staying a few days.
Ich bleibe ein paar Tage.
Ish blybe eyn paar taage.
My wife and I have a joint passport.
Meine Frau und ich haben einen gemeinsamen Pass
Myne Frow wund ish haaben eyenen gemynzamen Pass
Do you want me to open my suitcase? Which one?
Soll ich meine Koffer offnen? Welchen?
Zoll ish myne Koffer offnen? Welchen?
They are all personal belongings.
Das sind alles meine personlichen Sacher.
Das zind alle nyne personlishen Sacher
Do you want to see my handbag/ briefcase?
Soll ich meine Handtashe/ Aktenmappe aufmachen.
Zoll ish myne Handtashe/ Aktenmappe aufmachen.
I can’t find my keys.
Ich kann meine Schlussel nicht finden.
Ish kann myne shlulezzal nisht finden
May I leave now?
Kann ich jetzt gehen?
Kan ish yetst gehen?
Where can I find a luggage trolley?
Wo gibt es Gepackwagen?
Wo gibt es Gepackwagen?
You have not marked my suitcase?
Sie haben meinen Koffer nicht markiert
Zee haben mynen Koffer nisht markiert
I need a telephone directory.
Ich brauche ein Telefonbuch.
Ish browtche eyn Telephone book.
My Journey – Transforming Dreams into Actions From a small boy growing up in Rameswaram to becoming the country’s eleventh President, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s life has been a tale of extra-ordinary determination, courage, perseverance and the desire to excel. ‘My Journey’ is an honest take on life and aspirations and how to get to achieving it all. It speaks of a man’s humble beginnings and how he remained grounded till the end. The writing is simple and it can be read by anyone. With warmth and affection the author talks about the people who left a deep impression on him as he was growing up and the lessons he drew from his interactions with them. Dr. Kalam also writes about the times when failure and dejection nearly overtook him and how he prevailed over the obstacles by drawing strength from books and spirituality. Nostalgic, honest and deeply personal, ‘My Journey’ is the story of a life as rich as it is unusual and the beautiful lessons to be learnt from it.
BRITISH COUNCIL
LearnEnglish Teens
Activity 1 Before you read, match the words from the text to their definitions. 1. give up
a. an investigation using questions to find out what people think or do
2. grade
b. stop doing something
3. impress
c. systematic study of a subject
4. research
d. a mark to show someone’s level of achievement
5. survey
e. create a favourable effect in someone else’s mind
6. task
f. a specific job or duty
Languages By Sally Trowbridge
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably studying English. Maybe you speak a couple of other languages too. But what are the British like when it comes to learning languages? According to a survey published by the European Commission, the British are officially the worst language learners in Europe – 62 per cent of them can’t speak any other language apart from their own! While 38 per cent of Britons speak at least one foreign language, only 18 per cent speak two. The European Union average showed that 56 per cent speak at least one foreign language and 28 per cent speak at least two. Moreover, 51 per cent of EU citizens can have a conversation in English.
It may be an ambitious task to change the Brits’ attitude to learning languages but the government is determined to try!
Choose the best answer to complete these sentences. 1. The percentage of Brits who speak a foreign language is……………than the European average.
a. much lower b. much more low
2. Are Brits really……………… language learners in the world?
a. the worse b. the worst
3. Science and history are………………. in British schools than languages.
a. more popular b. most popular
4. The British government wants children to a. earlier start learning languages at an……age. b. more early 5. Some people say that learning Arabic is not………………Chinese.
For more fun activities to help you learn English visit http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org
a. as difficult than b. as difficult as
Answers
Mandarin Chinese is predicted to become the second most popular foreign language learned in UK schools. Gareth from Wales says ‘I am learning Chinese, and find it fun.’ Another student, Thomas from London, says, ‘Just saying that I learn Mandarin impresses people. Even having a very basic level gives you an advantage.’ Brighton College headmaster Richard Cairns says, ‘One of my key tasks is to make sure pupils are equipped for the realities of the 21st century. One of those realities is that China has the fastest-growing economy in the world.’
Activity 2
Activity 2 1. a; 2. b; 3. a; 4. a; 5. b
The government is now looking at different ways to improve language learning. One idea is to start much younger and introduce foreign languages from the age of five. Another plan is to give school children more choice and expand the range of languages taught to include Arabic, Mandarin and Urdu.
© iStockphoto
Activity 1 1. b; 2. d; 3. e; 4. c; 5. a; 6. f
Learning a foreign language is not a popular option at school in Britain; children start studying a foreign language at the age of 11 and many give up completely at 14. So why don’t young people continue with languages at school? Research suggests that students think that it is more difficult to get good grades in languages than in other subjects such as science or history.
© British Council 2012 / C300
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STUDENTS’ COLUMN
W i n n e rs FIRST PRIZE: `500 SECOND PRIZE: `250 THIRD PRIZE: `150
Santa Word Search
- N o v e m b e r c o n t e sts
&
and ONE YEAR FREE subscription of Brainfeed High Magazine
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First Prize – Sushmita. V, Class VII, Bashyam School, Hyderabad, Telangana Second Prize: Neeraja Kulkarni, Class VI, Seedlings High School, Nagpur, Maharashtra Third Prize: Ujwala. M, Harvest Public School, Khammam, Telangana
PHOTOGRAPHY
Chimney Rudolph Elves Sled Fairies Sleigh Jolly Sleigh Bells North Pole St. Nick Reindeer Toys
Find 6 Hidden words First Prize – Moksh Sanghvi, Class VII, The Bishop's School, Pune, Maharashtra Second Prize: Yash Singhania,Class IX, Maheshwari Public School, Rajasthan Third Prize: Shreya.A, JKM Public School, Trivandrum, Kerala
POETRY
First Prize – Saketh Reddy . A, Class VIII, Winfield High School, Khammam, Telangana
Subjects Subjects are helpful objects Chemistry is full of mystery Hindi is a colourful mehandi Telugu is as bright as bulb Physics is full of gimmicks English is an international dish Maths is amazing facts Social is very crucial All the subjects are helpful objects.
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Second Prize: Rutvik Shelar, Class X, Ryan International School, Mumbai, Maharashtra Third Prize: Mrunmayee . T, Class VII, Greenfield Public School, Bengaluru, Karnataka
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1. The theme of 2016 World Savings Day is “Grabbing Hold of Your Financial Future”. 2. “Sampriti-2016” was conducted between India and Bangladesh at Tangail, Dhaka, Bangladesh from November 5 to 18, 2016. 3. The World Vegan Day is observed every year on November 1 by setting up stalls, hosting potlucks and planting memorial trees to benefit the veganism for humans, non-human animals and the natural environment. 4. M Rajeshwar Rao has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India. 5. Indian Army has launched “Operation School Chalo” in South Kashmir. Indian Army will identify areas and provide students with free coaching and make them participate in extra-curricular activities.
6. The Union Minister of HRD, Prakash Javadekar has launched the world’s largest digital national building initiative “Smart India Hackathon 2017” in New Delhi. 7. Ishaat Hussain is the newly appointed interim-chairman of Tata Consultancy Services. He succeeded Cyrus Mistry and shall hold office as chairman of the company until a new chairman is appointed in his place. 8. India’s first banking robot “Lakshmi” has been launched by the Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank, which will become the first on-site bank helper in India. 9. The first Indian National Open Accuracy Paragliding Championship has started at Bir-Billing, Himachal Pradesh. 10. Chhattisgarh has become the first Indian state to adopt a resolution on demonetisation of high-value currency notes.
Answers
ian rst Ind The fi al Open Nation aragliding as acy P Accur pionship h te? m t sa Cha which n i d e start
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8
Which state has become the first Indian state to adopt resolution on demonetisation?
i” India’s “Lakshm g robot kin first ban unched la n has bee bank? h ic h by w
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Who is the newly appointed chairman of Tata Consultancy Services?
Which Union Minister has launched “Smart India Hackathon 2017”?
6 he t is t Wha of 2016 e s them d Saving l Wor Day?
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ian Which Ind e rc o F d e Arm hed c n u la s a h n o ti “Opera alo” h C l o Scho in South Kashmir?
int 2016” a jo “Sampriti- g exercise was ainin military tr between India and d te c condu ntry? which cou
4
Who has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India?
When is World Vegan Day observed?
s r i a f f A t Curren 3
QU I Z
MIND MINE Criss Cross Puzzle 06
SUDOKU 07
FAMOUS INVENTIONS
3
7 9 9 6 1
2 4 1 6
8 4
2 4
2
5
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6
3
9
8 3 4
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2 6
9 7
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1
WHAT NUMBER SHOULD REPLACE THE QUESTION MARK?
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A criss cross is a fun puzzle in which you are presented with an empty grid and a list of words underneath. Each word must be placed into the grid in either an across or down direction in order to fill the grid.
4 letters
6 letters
8 letters
OVEN SOAP TYRE
CAMERA GLIDER LASERS ROCKET TEFLON
AQUALUNG COMPUTER
5 letters CLOCK MODEM RADIO
7 letters
? 4
AIR BAGS BICYCLE FREEZER PLASTIC
11
18
9 letters AEROPLANE GYROSCOPE TELESCOPE
8
5
16
19
SOLUTION FOR LAST MONTH
Criss Cross Puzzle 05
WHAT NUMBER SHOULD REPLACE THE QUESTION MARK?
L I N E A G E T
K I N I
N
F
C
A
Ans: 789
N
T
Solution: 29 + 49 = 78 and 7+2=9
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