Archive

Exams finished today! The students have been focused all week on their exams taking one or two per day, according to their schedule. There are have been extra study times carved out of the schedule and the whole school has been focused on academics this week, with the grade 12s taking their exams last week.

We’re off to a movie now to celebrate the end of exams; then we have one day to prepare for our Winter Break. Tomorrow we’ll go to the Golden Temple in the morning, have sports at midday, the students will pack and clean up their rooms in the afternoon before dinner, and then we’ll finish the evening with a meditation. First thing Sunday morning we’ll all be on a train to Rishikesh to enjoy Winter Break.

We wish our family around the world a Happy Holidays!

Here are some of the things the students have been studying this term. Exams started this week for the grade 12 students and will be held next week for the other grades.

Grade5 – Grade 7

How information technology is affecting society

The life of a water droplet & types of energy

Grade 8

Making websites for a chocolate company in html

The kite runner

Punjabi

Grade9

Suggesting solutions to various system challenges

Making boats with motors

Various science – cells, carbon cycle, murine typhus

Grade 10

Developing an advertisement for a product

The gurus, their values and contributions

Religions of the World

Grade 11

Making equations out of real life situations

Various science projects

The history and growth of various businesses

Grade 12

International agreements – the paris agreement & nafta

Grade 12s

Teaching each other key concepts & zero waste

As a last minute change to the schedule (its always fun to challenge the kids like that!) we had a short kickball competition. It was fun, with everyone participating. We rarely play kickball at MPA so everyone was learning the rules and the strategy as we went along. It was short and sweet, and everyone had a great time. White House won this competition, followed by Silver, Blue and Gold.

MPA hosted a basketball tournament at the school on Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday. We invited two local girls teams and two local boys teams to play a round robin tournament. It was a lot of fun and a good way to prepare for the upcoming trip to Delhi and games against the American Embassy School.

Both the girls and boys teams came second in this tournament and gained a lot of valuable experience.  We play sports almost every day at MPA but it’s always advantageous to play outside teams to see where are strengths and weaknesses are.

Girls Team

Boys Team

Off  The Court

Awards

One of the highlights of every student’s experience at MPA is the annual 40 days of parkarma seva at the Golden Temple. For forty days, the students get up around 2am and off to the Golden Temple in time to participate with the community in washing the marble floors of the Harmandir Sahib. It’s a precious seva and one that the Siri Singh Sahib did continuously for many years.

For our students this time of year is a highlight and it’s also very challenging. Everyone has to adjust to a different sleeping schedule – one that is broken up into two parts; one before seva and one after – the daily schedule is altered slightly but for the most part the students are expected to keep up with the normal MPA program and apply themselves fully to academics, sports, yoga and other activities.

Maintaining the spirit of cherdi kala under these conditions can be challenging for the students and staff. It’s a daily battle to keep inspired, to not walk through the day on autopilot, and to  keep up with the various commitments that we’ve made during these forty days. While often difficult, it’s these kinds of pressures that turn our students into diamonds and why we continue this practice year after year. If you have any doubt, just look at the light that shines through their faces.