CLUBS

Clubs“Man must rise above the earth – to the top of the atmosphere and beyond – for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.”

Socrates

One of the most enriching aspects of life at Bal Bharati is the eclectic variety of clubs that learners can choose to be a part of. These allow students to explore their varied interests while gaining hands on experience in activities that make learning fun. The clubs range from caring for the environment, learning photography, exploring mysteries of the universe to enriching life through the world of literature etc. These help to develop multi-dimensional skills and promote creativity by unleashing the imagination and interest of students beyond the realms of the ordinary and pre-defined curriculum. The clubs envisage to give wings to the dreams of learners, such as these . . .

I dream of floating away on a cloudI dream of catching falling starsI dream of exploring the seaI dream of playing at Mars…

Astronomy Club“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.”

Bishop T.D. JakesSince its inception in 2004, the Astronomy Club through its multifarious activities continues to inculcate a spirit of inquiry and scientific temper amongst the young learners.

• Astronomy Day was celebrated on 11 April 2013 at the school to mark the end of the club activities for the session 2012-13. The members showcased the knowledge and skills acquired by them during the session. Mr Amit Verma CEO, SPACE was the Chief Guest for the occasion. Club members gave Presentations on- Rocket Launch; Finding Time and direction using sundial, gnomon; Safe Solar Observation; Kit Display; Planisphere; Solar Walk; Comet Kitchen and Stellarium. An open Quiz on Astronomy was conducted and a film, ‘Doomsday’ was also shown to the students.

Astronomy Club• On 20 April 2013, an Award Ceremony was

organized by Orange Education at The Lalit, Connaught Place to honour the top scoring students of National Astronomy Olympiad (NSO). Mr Vineet Joshi, Chairman CBSE was the Chief Guest. Ananya Gupta (VII B) had ranked first in the NSO among class VI students at an All-India level. She won an all expense paid trip to NASA for ten days. The Headmistress, Ms Anita Garg and Club Coordinator, Ms Anjali Virmani, attended the Ceremony. A Plaque of Appreciation was presented to the Principal and the club coordinator, each.

Astronomy Club

• NASA Space Settlement Contest - This annual contest was organized by NASA Ames Research Centre and National Space Society (NSS), California, USA on the theme, ‘Orbital Settlement’. Rimpa Samanta (X A) was adjudged second in the Art category (Individual) and was awarded a Certificate for the same. The coordinator, Ms Anjali Virmani, also received a Teacher Award certificate.

Astronomy Club

• In the introductory session held for Module I members on 7 August 2013, 57 students from class VI to IX were enrolled for the program. Office bearers were selected and briefed about their duties. An Introductory Astronomy kit was given to each member. Students were apprised about - Size of the Universe, Types of the Celestial Objects, Our Cosmic Address, Speed of light and light year - using a PowerPoint Presentation ‘Journey on the Beam of Light’.

• NASA Astronomy Olympiad was conducted for selected students of classes V to X in the school on 25 July 2013. 510 students appeared. 23 students received gold/silver/bronze medals and qualified for the Final round, held on 30 & 31 January 2014. The International Rank of our students was between 181 to 1663. On 28 & 29 January, Mock examination for Olympiad finals was conducted in the school.

Astronomy Club

• Astronomy club students of IIIT Delhi in association with SPACE organized ‘The Big Bang, a Celestial Quest’ at their Campus in Okhla on Saturday, 17 August 2013. Two teams consisting of two students each participated in a Quiz competition.

• Second session for Module I members was held on 19 August 2013 on ‘Comets and Asteroids’. Through a PowerPoint Presentation, topics such as, historical milestones, major comets and asteroids, important discoveries, deep impact mission etc were explained. It was followed by a practical session in which students used sand, dry ice and ammonia to make a model of comet.

• In the first session of Module II held on 6 September 2013, twenty students enrolled for the program. They were briefed about the club activities and office bearers were appointed. Students were taught to use available tools through World Wide Web for learning, exploring, and research in the field of astronomy. Concepts like-occultation, conjunction etc were introduced. Astronomy kits were distributed.

• On 30 September 2013, a session was conducted for students of Module I and II. The topics for Module I were Tilt and Orbit of Earth & Seasons. The session for Module II focused on Launching of Space Crafts and Change in their Orbits.

• In the session held on 1 October 2013 Basics of Rocketry and Solar System Walk were covered for Module I. The Life Cycle of a Star from Nebulae to Supernova Explosion was explained alongwith concepts of pulsar and black holes to Module II students.

Astronomy Club

• Astronomy Club celebrated World Space Week from 4-10 October 2013. Following activities were taken up during the period:-

- A Movie ‘How vast is our Universe’ was shown to classes VII- An art work on the theme, Mars, was taken up for class V- Latest updates in the field of astronomy were shared with all classes during

departmental assemblies- Students of Module I prepared bookmarks on the theme of Astronomy.- Students of Module II collected information on ISON comet.

- In the Morning Assembly programme on 26 November 2013, Mr Amit Verma, CEO, SPACE awarded a certificate & Rs 1000/- to Prasun of VIII H for scoring the IInd position in the Drawing competition and the school was awarded 76mm telescope.

Astronomy Club

• On 25 November, students of Module I, had a session on Time & Direction. The concept of measuring time was discussed. Practical time calculation using sundial, finding cardinal directions through gnomon and marking them in the school premises was carried out.

• On 25 October 2013, Vasu Gupta (VIII B) and Janhavi Batra (IX G) participated in ‘Internet Telescope Project’ conducted by SPACE. They remotely controlled a telescope in Ironwood, US and took spectacular images of celestial objects.

• On 28 October 2013, five club members along with teacher escort, Ms Jyotsna Srivastava attended a talk, ‘Technology Need for Future Human Space Mission’ by Dr Kumar Krishen, NASA Scientist. It was organized by SPACE at American Centre, ND.

• Saksham Bhutani (VII A) and Sanchit Gupta (IX G) participated in ‘Earth Master Sample Project’, in October. Rock Samples collected by them were sent to Austria Space Forum, along with the coordinates of the place from where the samples were collected.

Astronomy Club

• From 4 to 7 December 2013, a campaign was carried out in school to collect and send best wishes to ISRO scientists for the successful launch of Mars Orbiter Mission.

• An evening session – Lunar and Planetary Watch was held on 13 December 2013. Club members of Module I attended the session ‘Hands on Telescope’ and those of Module II attended ‘Astrophotography using digital Single Lens Reflector Cameras’. They also got practical experience in handling the same.

Astronomy Club

• In the SPACE Newsletter for December 2013, our school was covered in the section, ‘School in Focus’. The four page coverage included philosophy of the school; messages of the Principal, Mr L V Sehgal, Ms Poonam Sondhi, former club in-charge and Ms Anjali Virmani, club in-charge. Photographs presenting a panorama of various activities of Astronomy club held in the school were also showcased.

Environment Club

Initiated in 2001, the Environment Club, through its various activities continues to sensitize students and develop an environment conducive attitude amongst all so as to protect and preserve our precious environment.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.”

Mahatma Gandhi

• 32 new members from class IX were inducted into the Environment Club at the beginning of the session.

• On 12 April 2013, 17 members of the Club from Middle Department were escorted by Ms Shashi Sahni to visit ‘Science Express’, a mobile exhibition at Pragati Maidan station. The theme was ‘Live Diversity in India’.

• On the occasion of Earth Day on 22 April 2013, TERI organized Inter-School activities. Students of Middle Department made 100 paper bags as a token of their concern for the Earth. Efforts of the students were highly appreciated by TERI.

Environment Club

• Mridul Jain and Udit Vaish of class X participated in ‘Talk on Project’ competition held at BBPS, Brij Vihar as a part of Inter-School event, “Expressions” on 3 May 2013. They made a PowerPoint Presentation ‘Livelihood Generation through Clean Fuel’ which was supported by a working model of a windmill.

• Members of Environment Club prepared and presented a skit on ‘Conservation of Natural Resources’ on 8 May 2013, as a part of PULSE 2013.

SKIT ON ‘CONSERVATION OF

NATURAL RESOURCES’

Environment Club

• Students of Environment Club participated in the Inter School Poster Making Competition on the topic ‘Make the Earth Green’ organized by Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, on 19 July 2013.

• Club members participated in Inter School Poster Making Competition on the theme, ‘Environment & Sustainable Development: Issues and Concerns in our Lives’ organized by Ozone cell, Ministry of Environment and Forest. Posters were sent to the Ministry on 19 August 2013.

• 200 kg of waste paper was sent to Hindustan Times on 11 September 2013 for the project ‘Read, Recycle Renew’. As a part of the project, waste paper collection continued throughout the session according to a well formulated plan.

• The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) organized the Green Olympiad on 31 August, 2013 in the school premises. Twenty - six students participated in the same.

Environment Club

• The club members enthusiastically worked on the topic Energy Conservation, allotted to the school for the project ‘Greening with Goethe’, an initiative of Goethe Institut. Akshita Goel and Kartik Narula of class X along with other students from India, Germany, Sri Lanka and Czech Republic participated in the Environment Youth Conference held in Bremen - Germany from 27 November to 3 December 2013.

• Ms Shashi Sahni attended a workshop at TERI gram, Gurgaon on ‘Leadership & Innovative Ideas for Sustainable Development’ on 28-30 October 2013.

• Green Olympiad (Junior) organized by TERI was held in the school on 3 December 2013. 53 students of the Primary Department participated out of which 10 students were awarded Certificate of Distinction and 14 received Certificate of Merit each.

• Students of Senior department participated in ‘Paryavaran Jagriti Abhiyan’ orgainsed by Department of Environment & Forests. A film on soil conservation, ‘Timbuktu’ was screened for the Club members of classes IX-XI. As a part of the programme Ms R B Gupta attended a workshop on ‘Environment, Climate Change & Livelihood & Sustainability’ on 5 December 2013.

Environment Club

• Students of class VII prepared Display boards on various Environment related topics while various aspects of the theme Sustainable Development were showcased by Club members of the Senior department.

• A stall on the theme ‘Life Style Changes for a Cleaner, Greener Environment’ was set up in the Winter Carnival. The aim was to spread awareness on how small changes at individual level can contribute towards environmental sustainability.

• Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD) organized an Inter school competition on 11 December 2013. Geetanjali Gakhar and Sehaj Preet Kaur of IX F participated in the Poem Recitation Competition and Article Presentation Competition on the theme, Soil Conservation.

ENVIRONMENT CLUB STALLWINTER CARNIVAL

Environment Club

• 23 students of Primary Department participated in ‘Planting a Tree’ activity on 21 February 2014. Students brought potted saplings and planted these in the school garden. They interacted with the school gardener and learnt about the type of soil, fertilizers and the climatic conditions required for their individual saplings. They are responsible for taking care of their individual plants.

Formula 1 Club

The Formula 1 Club was set up in the school in 2012. The F 1 in School Competitions is one of the biggest STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Competitions in the World. The idea behind the launch of this competition is to engage young minds to promote cross-curricular linkages. Students apply concepts learnt in the school curriculum to design, make and race miniature wooden Formula 1 Car replicas on a 20 meter race track, against other schools.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”Albert Einstein

• The ALOCOR Team of the school consisting of Kartik Pratap Singh, Ashish Bali, Aditya Bansal, Pulkit Garg and Pravar Handa of class IX H worked diligently to design their most efficient car for the National Finals of Formula 1 in Schools that were held in the first week of October 2013. Seven teams of different schools including our team, ALOCOR had qualified from the Junior Category.

Formula 1 Club

• The National Finals of Formula 1 in Schools was divided into two phases. The first phase, Engineering Judging and Verbal Presentation was held in in the school on 4 October 2013. The team members were judged on the basis of their knowledge of the software used in designing the car and various mechanical aspects such as, weight, size, shape of the car etc. The members also gave a verbal presentation about the strategies used for getting the sponsorships, making of portfolio etc.

The second phase consisting of Final Races was held at Amity University, Noida on 5 October 2013. In the final knock, ALCOR team was adjudged as the first runners up. The team was felicitated with Best Portfolio Award and was given a Plaque for the same.

Formula 1 ClubTod Fod Jod Club“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”

Edward de BonoThe Tod Fod Jod Club under National Innovation Council, Planning Commission, India was initiated in our school on 4 September 2012, following the guidelines of CBSE, to develop analytical & scientific skills among children.

• In the session held on 30 April 2013, students of Tod Fod Jod club made a waterfall using thermocol, pump from a cooler and plastic boxes.

• Anshit Verma of X-G prepared “Beetle Bot” based on the principle of ultrasound sensing and controlled by a micro-controller which acts as its brain. This working model guides itself through obstacles.

Formula 1 ClubTod Fod Jod Club

• In July 2013, Shivansh Sharma of IX-E, designed and created a system that automatically tweets high and low temperature from the school without any human intervention. He named it, “Digital USB Thermometer”. It works on the principle of wireless communication where temperature sensors take analog signals from surroundings and convert them to digital signals, which after being processed through micro-controller, displays the temperature.

• In August 2013, Kunal Kakria of IX-E and Hritik Pore of IX-F made a “Robot” out of waste materials like, used LEDs, cardboards, toy- helicopter wing, and toy car batteries. It’s based on transformation of chemical energy to mechanical energy.

He updated the thermometer such that it could sense the room temperature and then tweet maximum and minimum temperature, as before.

Formula 1 ClubTod Fod Jod Club

• Kunal Kakria of IX-E designed an “Excavator” based on the principle of hydraulic pressure using waste materials like syringes, cardboard, broken spectacles’ box, aluminum foil etc in September 2013.

• On 27 August 2013, students of the club made a wind operated toy three- wheeler by using the wooden frames, a motor, three wooden wheels, a plastic fan, connecting wires and a switch.

• On 26 November 2013 the club members made a rocket using PVC Pipe along with holder, foam, deodorant, lighter and bottle. The rocket made by PVC pipe and foam was fixed with a lighter to start ignition supported by deodorant.

Formula 1 ClubTod Fod Jod Club

• 6 members of the club have made a seismograph using a rigid cardboard box and a marker along with a rolling paper strip to get an impression of the waves felt on a rolling paper strip.

• The club members made a security alarm with electronic components. The alarm was fixed in a wooden box. The alarm starts buzzing whenever the door is opened.

Clubs

Robotics Club

“Minds are like parachutes… They only work when open.” - Anonymous

Set up in collaboration with A-Set Training & Research Institute, the Robotics Club aims to build a strong base in computer programming and artificial intelligence among students.

Robotics club organized various activities for students of Module I, II and III. Students’ scientific skills, in particular, were enriched with hands on learning experience that they gained while working on following electronics projects:

− Fabrication of amplifier circuit diagram− Testing of Amplifier− Digital electronics consisted of

memory circuits with flip-flops, resistors and counters

− Fabrication and designing of shift resistor

− Application of microprocessor in robotics

− Practical applications of sensor based circuit in robotics.

Formula 1 ClubClubs at PR Campus

ECO Club• Depiction of phases of moon• Sensitising the children about

animal care. • Making informative placards in

shapes of animals• Making of compost pit.• Making of posters on endangered

and extinct animals.

HORTICULTURE Club• Planting saplings• Showing videos related to plant life• Issue of books related to plants• Planting of stem/bulbs/ Non flowering

plants

Formula 1 ClubClubs at PR Campus

TECHNOLOGY Club• Introduction to tux paints and its uses• Making New Year Cards using tux paint• Making of drawings on computers

SCIENCE Club

• Activities on air pressure and white light

• Concept of shadow with the help of shadow game.

• Basic properties of water, water as a solvent.

• Basic properties of carbon dioxide

• Making of sun dial

• Session on moon and other heavenly bodies