An Evening with Emanuel Von Silverhaus

Silver House hosted their dinner on Friday night. The theme was Emanuel von Silverhaus’ travels through Europe. During the evening, we visited the Colosseum in Rome and witnessed an ancient battle between gladiators, Mr. von Silverhaus (Premnath) instructed us in how to draw a portrait, using Hargobind as a model, and he also told us the story of Hansel and Gretel, the German, graphic version!

For dinner they served salad, rosemary breadsticks and fresh-baked bread served with garlic, chilli oil. The main course was ratatouille and dessert was a delicious apple crumble with an apple sorbet. They worked well preparing this evening and like, Gold House, everything ran on schedule. They had the extra challenge of having their dinner scheduled for a Friday night which meant lots of preparation through the week and a shortened prep time on Friday.

Squad leaders, Annika and Premnath, worked closely to pull the evening off. The lead cook for Silver House was Joshua. Joshua loves to cook and plans to become a chef. He has worked in several restaurants back home in Germany. Here’s what he had to say about the evening:

“I thought it went pretty well. We didn’t finish cooking our main dish. The vegetables were cut but not all of them were cooked but overall the squad worked better than I imagined. I’m used to working with professionals so I thought I’d have to be behind everyone and pushing them but people surprised me by working really hard.

We had some problems with ingredients. We weren’t able to get the mozzarella we ordered and we also found out quite late that we couldn’t get dry ice. We were planning on making a sorbet with dry ice. This was also part of our entertainment. When this fell through, we had to figure out how to make a sorbet without dry ice.

So the teamwork went really well and so did coming up with new ideas when something didn’t work; everyone was thinking and putting effort into it. About two hours before the dinner, we found out that Jugat Guru was gluten-free again. Without having the bread and the apple crumble, he wouldn’t have had a lot to eat. Ettore decided to make him risotto but I said that we didn’t have the money for that. We didn’t have the budget for that. You can’t do it. We don’t have the time. But he said he had some risotto from Italy and made the risotto and it was great. Like I said, everyone put effort into it and time.

I really liked how the food tasted in the end and I loved the reaction of all the students and staff members. The favourite dishes were the bread sticks and the bread.

Although I work in a kitchen back home, I haven’t worked 10 hours straight before without drinking a lot of water. After dinner I was just sitting there; I couldn’t stand up anymore. Bao fell asleep in a chair. The squad leaders were just totally dead. But it was so fun! After everyone was gone, we started to eat the rest of the food. We were so happy that it was over and we executed it.”

Budding Poets

Part of the Humanology course for the girls included a morning of writing poetry with Shanti Kaur and myself, Japjeet Kaur. We did a lot of fun exercises that made poetry easy to access. Many of our students write poetry regularly but for some this was a new activity. Everyone that participated did really well, producing really interesting poems and phrases. Here’s a really limited peek into some of the poems produced that day.

Alliterative Sentences

In this exercise, the students wrote the numbers one through five down the left side of the page and followed those numbers with an adjective, a noun, then the rest of a sentence, using alliteration.
One omnipotent otter organized obsessively
Two treacherous tigers taught Taekwondo 
Three traumatized turtles thought tediously
Four flirty fish furiously flipped
Five flexible foxes flew frantically 
One orthodox orangutang opened ovens
Two terrified turtles turn to tarts
Three tortuous tigers tip toe to Tibet
Four ferocious ferrets fart for fun
Five fabulous foxes feast fairies. 

Experimenting with Language

In this exercise, the students made a list of five adjectives, five nouns, and five concrete nouns and then put them together in the following format ‘The + adjective + noun + of + concrete noun’ to produce really interesting combinations that make you think.

The empty table of hope
The lucky tree of truth
The scary socks of sadness
The holy blanket of fear
The lovely computer of sadness
The pretty speakers of excitement
The sad water bottle of fear
The extravagant cloak of lust
The fearless river of ecstasy
The wise tree of hope
The therapeutic turban of enlightenment
The radiant sunflower of joy
The brilliant bag of envy
The graceful chola of pity
The joyous jutti of gluttony
The titanic turban of rage
The orthodox apartment of truth
The overwhelming river of anxiety
The beautiful pit of courage
The optimistic rock of shyness
The depressed tree of hope

Structured Poems about an Emotion

For this exercise, the students chose an emotion and then followed the following format: The first line of the poem was open; the second line describes the emotion as a colour; the third line starts with ‘It happens when’; the fourth line starts with ‘It sounds like’ and the final line is open.
Sadness
Sadness is my deepest emotion
Sadness is as black as a hole in your heart
It happens when you close your eyes and remember
It sounds quiet, loud and painful
When you are sad, you are vulnerable like a feather
Joy
The immenseness even the fish long for
Joy is as yellow as a ray of sunshine
It happens when you realize the ecstasy of I am I am
It sounds like giggling wildflowers
Joy dances in all our hearts like leaves in the rain and dragonflies in the sun
We think only of its absence but once we open our eyes, we can’t help but realize its abundance
Joy is in all our hearts, even the lonely fish that got lost from its school
Gratefulness
An important feeling of fulfillment
It is as bright as shocking neon yellow
But warm as the sunset, orange red
It happens when a little child hands me a caramelized candy
It sounds like the deep sound of the sea
Indeed, indeed my heart swells with gratitude. Vast, vast, vast. 
Anxiety
Anxiety is as deep blue as the ocean
It happens when fear of the future and past uses its hands to squeeze your heart in two
It sounds like the tears of an abandoned child
It is a locked door
You just have to let the hope seep through

Black-Out Poetry

Finally we tried our hand at ‘black-out poetry’. The students were given a page from a novel or magazine and then had to circle the words that stood out for them or phrases the liked. Everything else was ‘blacked out’ producing surprisingly interesting poems that often expanded our vocabulary. Luckily, Shanti Kaur was really quick with her iPad, looking up the meaning of complex words.
Chide me
Linger longer
God, I breathe again
In my heart I wish, 
I believe that I will
Think of you, 
You are the hero
A dreamy moonlight lover
Chide me
Timelessly regal
The masterpiece of time
Completely natural
A light-weight dream
Never ending
A scope so warm and integral
The depth, vintage like
The inevitable tradition

Pictures from Humanology Course

Here are some pictures from the Humanology course last month that was featured in our February newsletter.

Boys Humanology Course

Part of the boys Humanology course was an ‘Amazing Race‘ like treasure hunt through Amritsar going to places they wouldn’t normally venture to and trying an array of foods and experiences. They travelled in their squads and worked as a team to complete as many of the tasks as possible including playing kirtan in a gurdwara, teaching a meditation, and feeding dried chana to horses at Baba Naul Singh Gurdwara.

Gold House

Blue House

White House

Silver House

Girls Humanology Course

Here are some pictures of the girls Humanology course. Along with sadhana, lectures and classes, the girls spent time doing physical activities like dancing and boxing, making bliss balls with Ananda Kaur and soaking their feet in the sun.

Classes

Soaking in the Sun

Making Bliss Balls

From Around Dashmesh Sada

Zorba the Greek

The dinner competitions have started early this year with Gold House kicking off the festivities this past Saturday night. The theme: Greece!

The dinner competition is a fantastic competition where each house prepares a themed dinner for the rest of the students and staff. They make invitations, write menus, decorate a dining tent, experiment with recipes, order groceries, chop, cook, serve a gourmet meal, provide entertainment and finally clean up after a wonderful evening. It’s an exercise in planning, budgeting, cooking, performing, service, and teamwork. After a few years of these competitions, the students really understand entertaining and the work that it takes to orchestrate an enjoyable evening.

Gold House chose Greece and Greek food for their special meal. They served a delicious meal starting with paprika-tomato hummus, olive dip, tzatziki and pita bread for an appetizer.  For the main dish, they served greek salad, vegetable casserole and Greek falafel. Dessert was a shared plate with green and purple grapes and Loukoumades (Greek donuts).

The tent was prepared simply with white table clothes with light blue runners, painted ceramic pots, candles and vines. The servers were mostly wearing white garments we might call togas with light blue embellishments. For entertainment, Johanna played Zorba the Greek on the guitar and later, five of the girls performed a traditional Greek folk dance.

It was a nice evening with many of the guests participating in the theme. There were gladiators, peasants, nobles and even a few Medusas in attendance!

Up next: Silver House!

Travelling Back in Time

By Himmat Singh

Jaipur is one of the iconic cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Many of the images or videos you might see of India are from this region, and the city of Jaipur is a great example of some of the rich history of Indian Rajput culture. Forts, palaces and mansions are preserved or restored all around the city, making it easy for the mind to travel back in time and imagine what those times might’ve been like. I was fortunate be one of the guides on this trip for the third year.

Some of the highlights of the trip included exploring the Amer Fort (overlooking the city of Jaipur), experiencing Rajasthani culture re-enacted at Chowki Dhani followed by a taste of the unique cuisine, visiting the City Palace and Museum adjacent the residence of the present-day Maharaja of Jaipur, and finally feeding, painting and riding elephants in a nearby village.

In the past, the trip has centered around the annual Jaipur Literature Festival, featuring international best-selling authors, researchers, scholars and academics. Unfortunately, the festival dates were changed last-minute and we weren’t able to attend. However, a new part of the trip was introduced, which was the Barefoot College – a center for uneducated women to be empowered, improve their quality of living and learn vocational trades among many other amazing things.

One of their specialties is teaching women from villages around the world how to build and install solar panels. After a six-month course, the women can either stay on at the college, or return to their villages and set up shop with their new training.

Overall, the trip was a fun bonding experience for the 9th graders. They got to see a new part of India most of them hadn’t seen before and might not otherwise have the opportunity to see.

Photos by Prem Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur and Himmat Singh

Amer Fort

Choki Dhani

Elephant Farm

Barefoot College

 

 

Amritsar’s 2nd Annual half Marathon

This Sunday, some of the students opted to participate in a 10k run for Amritsar’s 2nd Annual Half-Marathon. They were up and on the bus at 5:45am to run the 10km in the early morning cold and fog! Though it was hard to break away from their Sunday morning sleep-in, everyone I spoke to enjoyed and would do it again. This was the first time MPA has participated in this event and we hope that more students will participate next year.

“I was happy that I kept up the whole time. It was nice running in the fresh morning air and running with other people out in town. I didn’t stop the whole time!” – Vega, Grade 9

“I had an adventure. I enjoyed the whole experience and would do it again, if I could. It made me think that I’d like to run a marathon.” – Saribjot Kaur, Grade 12

“This the first time that I’ve run a 10k. The most I’d done in the past was 5km. Our weekly 3km runs are good preparation but this was very different. We kept a faster pace.” – Caterina, Grade 10

Tailored Approaches to Learning

The teachers recently completed a two-day workshop focused on learning how to recognize and effectivity teach students with special needs as well as gifted and talented children. The workshop leaders, Ima Kazmi and Sujatha Ramanam, traveled from The British School in New Delhi to share their expertise. Ima Kazmi’s focus in on gifted and talented children, while Sujatha Ramanam’s specialty is working with children with special needs.
The workshop was well received by all of the teachers. The teachers enjoyed taking time from the usual schedule to increase their skill and understanding and relished the opportunity to sit and learn together. For some of the teachers, this was their first time receiving a workshop of this sort, while others felt like it was a refresher. All of the teachers emerged from the workshop re-energized and motivated to continue tailoring their classes and teaching approaches to the needs of the students. As Kirandeep Kaur said in the newsletter, this workshop and the changes that have been made to help support our English Language Learners are going a long way in helping each student reach their potential.

Republic Day Soccer Tournament

This past Friday was Republic Day in India and we celebrated by having a soccer tournament in the cold winter fog. There were two concurrent, round robin tournaments; the seniors played with full 11 player teams on the big soccer field and the intermediates played with six players on the smaller soccer field. Gold House came first in the senior tournament, followed by Blue, White and Silver. In the intermediate division, Silver House came first, followed by Gold, Blue and White.

Intermediate

Seniors

Off the Field