Greetings from the Academic Director’s desk!
Great institutions are not born in a day. They primarily need a vision and the wherewithal to execute it; the infrastructure and resources. The leadership provides the vision and the staff, middle managers and other team leaders provide the pathway to execute it, both of which are required for creating a great institution.
If the school simply wanted hundred percent pass results, it would run more like the coaching classes, with tests, exams all the way and drill practice. Can such a school fit in today, with all the challenges our children face? The school will fail them miserably even if they score high marks. Parents will need to chip in to prepare them for life. But if the school thinks of itself as a pathway to university and career, then activities and opportunities will abound. There are some who need sports, some who need MUNs, others an IAYP. So is it with the Boards. Some need CBSE and some an international board like Cambridge. There is no dearth of choices these days. But we must first get this straight: completing school is not the end but just the beginning.
This vision is like the intent, or the purpose. We need ways of expressing it, platforms for students to do things and learn. A host of such activities are available like never before, but to run it and coordinate we need manpower - teachers who are interested and who are resourceful enough to handle the challenges. Ted Talks, IAYP, MUN, Sahodaya, RAIS, clubs, theatre, music, dance drama; you have it, it’s yours for the asking. Is the student making the choice by design and not by default? To ensure that they plan ahead of time, we have a department that helps make the connection between their dreams and their choices. That is the job of our Career Development Service.
Finally, last but not the least, the varied departments need the autonomy to function and take instant decisions where they need to, and those departments in turn must provide the autonomy to students. This has a trickle-down effect. Without this autonomy, there is no capacity building, nor growth. This is fundamental to achieving a growth mindset. We need students who are good decision-makers and these skills do not come overnight when they have to go to college. They need to practise it. This is possible only when they get the leeway to make mistakes and learn. That makes their learning sustainable and not lopsided.
I am very proud of our staff and students who have become trailblazers. This newsletter is spearheaded by the Student Council and serves as a classic example of the result of autonomy provided to the team, the fruits of which are presented to you. Congratulations to the students and all the very best.
Clean-Up Day teaches kindergarteners to care for the environment. LKG and UKG children wore red to celebrate the theme “My Body, Good Habits & Good Manners.” This was held on the 19th of June.
Students from CS Academy celebrated International Yoga Day on June 21st with enthusiasm, practising yoga asanas like Vrikshasana, Bhujangasana, and more.
Stressing on the holistic development of students, the academic year 2024-25 started with a three day session in the month of June on meditation and art of living for the students of CS.
In honour of National Reading Day on June 19, 2024, the Department of English invited everyone to participate in D.E.A.R (Drop Everything and Read). This initiative aimed to cultivate a deep appreciation
Apart from academic achievements, leadership qualities are also equally acknowledged at CS Academy. One such event is the Investiture ceremony which was held at CS Academy on Friday, 28th June,
In celebration of International Yoga Day, our students engaged in a yoga session, led by our grade 5 students and PE staff. During the session, the students learned a few asanas.
CS Academy International's middle school launched its new reading initiative, Get Lit. This programme aims to cultivate a love for reading among students in grades 6 to 8 by setting reading challenges
The investiture ceremony is the first and one of the most celebrated events that kick starts the new academic year. It is significant as the ceremony introduces the members of the student council.
What if I am invisible, unseen by every eye, A phantom in the world, passing by? No glance or nod in my direction, No reflection of my silent affection.
Would I wander through bustling streets, Or find solace in quiet retreats? To explore unseen corners of this earth, A ghostly traveller from birth.
No need for masks or walls to hide, Invisible, my presence would glide. Observing lives without intrusion, A silent witness to each confusion.
But would loneliness be my constant friend, Invisible, with no beginning or end? To yearn for touch, a gentle hand, In the unseen realm where I stand.
Yet in this invisibility, a gift may bloom, To see beyond the surface gloom. To cherish solitude's quiet embrace, And find peace in the hidden space.
Night before the zonal debate competition. It was cloudy, as usual, and the world was plunged in a Stygian darkness, misty, greyish. Everyone was fast asleep, while I was still awake, practising. It was a case of the last-minute jitters, something we all suffer from, I suppose.
I went over my notes one last time. Motivated by some mysterious impulse, I looked out the window. The clouds should have been the only thing there. We, who had once been given the responsibility to care for this world, had instead filled its air with noxious fumes. We had passed the death sentence on the hundreds who could not get to somewhere safe to protect against the pollution.
But the clouds weren’t there. The stars were... indescribably beautiful. I had never thought to see the night sky, the true night sky, like this. They were glimmers in a darkness that was far more whole, far more vast, far more… unknowable than the dull grey of the clouds of noxious fumes constantly reflecting the vague, blurred glow of streetlights in the mist. I could see constellations whose patterns I had only ever seen in textbooks before. The Pleiades. Orion the Hunter. Polaris. And of course, there shone, like a reflection on a still pool of water, the moon.
And I knew, at that moment, where I truly belonged. Up there, among the stars. I heard a faint ring. It was getting louder. I turned around to locate it. I was no longer in that room. I was lying on a bed, while a holographic emoji smiled at me. “Good morning, Hugh.” it said. “Morning, A.R.T. What’s today’s agenda?” “You’ve been assigned a spacewalk. There is something wrong with the A.E.35 radar on the starboard side. Captain Stevens has assigned you to fix it.” “I see.” I said, only half-listening. I wondered why I had had that dream. That night had happened 30 years ago. I had a quick breakfast with the crew, and discussed the radar array with Yevgeny, our tech officer.
I slipped into my spacesuit and after going through the depressurizing, floated over to the array. “Danton to Mission Control, over,” I said. ”Danton, this is Mission Control. What seems to be the issue? Over.” ”I’m currently hovering over the array. Officer Polyakov suspects a wire disconnect in the AE.35 radar array. Over.” As always, the shrewd Yevgeny was proven right. I quickly soldered it. For a moment I stepped back and looked at the spaceship. The Lothlorien was indeed beautiful. A craft that Galadriel would have been proud of, dauntless in its exploration, graceful like a silver tree of light, like Telperion of Tolkien’s fable, as it floated among the stars, under constellations that no man had ever seen before. ”Mission Control to Danton, is there something wrong? Over.” ”No, nothing at all,” I replied. “I’m… just watching the brilliant stars.”
Stepping into the unknown is a common fear for many. That’s why so often, we find ourselves in self-doubt, unable to move forward to make new beginnings. One of the scariest things to face is the transition to middle school, especially if it’s into a school or an area you’re not accustomed to.
There are several challenges that come along with such a huge step forward. Besides having to deal with the intensely different culture and customs, one immensely tough challenge which is crucial to help with adjusting, is to make new friends. At the beginning, for everyone - including me, talking to people seems awkward or even dreadful. It does take quite a lot of effort to push to have a conversation with someone, or just talk. However, once you push yourself, those people will become the friends who will help guide you through this new adventure. They are the ones who will help you face the challenges of new teachers and new classes.
Eventually, the fear and pressure of middle school slowly melts away, soon to be replaced with excitement and wonder. Then is when I started to embrace new opportunities and discovered a lot. While engaging in competitions, group projects and co-curricular activities is when I discovered new passions and skills. If I were to mention just a couple, I’d say it’d have to be time-management skills as well as a passion for mathematics and writing. When I started to build on these new abilities, I gradually began building confidence, too.
Over the course of the year, I began to notice my own growth and development from when I was in primary. I had been able to learn more, both academically and personally. I’d also become more adapted to the environment, which earlier had seemed overwhelming. Now I realise how important it was to delve into new opportunities, even if I was hesitant. Experiencing the drastic change was something which, when I reflect on it, has definitely helped me to see both the positives and negatives of any given opportunity, and has helped me to push further to try things which I might’ve before been too hesitant to try.
I never imagined the day I would be in tenth grade, but here I am; after an eventful summer break, I was quite eager to start the school year, and I knew what to expect - a sort of "continuation" of 9th grade, and with board exams on the near horizon, rigorous preparation so we could excel in all our subjects. Even so, I was still pleasantly surprised with subtle changes in what I thought would stay the same. There are new initiatives, new programs, and new opportunities like the CS Broadway. I'm thrilled about it - theatre shows are an exciting experience to be a part of, working with a team behind the scenes as well as onstage, to bring forth a show that brings cheers from the crowds. It's a highly rewarding and invigorating endeavour, and I'm grateful to have gotten a chance to be a part of this initiative.
Though it's only been two months, that in itself has been a rich experience as I got to collaborate with different people and branch out to try different things that pique my interest, more than the previous years. It has been an interesting two months of school so far, and I'm looking forward to what the next months ahead will hold in store for all of us!
We take immense pleasure to announce that Vettri A of 2C has made us proud by winning a gold medal in Eratai Kambu Vechu - Silambam competition conducted by Coimbatore District Silambam Association on 06.07.2024.
Congratulations to Our Swimming Champions! We are thrilled to announce that Ilampiri (3rd), Karthiga Sree (3rd), Dhansi (3rd), and Katie have secured Gold in the Tamilnadu State Non-Medalist Swimming Championship 2024, conducted by the Tirunelveli Aquatic Association.
Dushyanth of 3A got placed in the Indian Book of Records by solving 5 Rubik’s cube and identifying the flags of 150 countries simultaneously.
Thanin 3D won 3rd position in National level dirt bike racing held at Codissia, Coimbatore. He received an award from Honourable Leader Annamalai K.
Harshini of Grade 10 received a full scholarship for "The Lodha Genius Programme," a prestigious and rare summer program by Ashoka University. Congratulations to her!
Meenakshi of Grade 10 participated in PROMYS (Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists), a prestigious and rare summer program, and received a full scholarship for her participation.
Rudresh , a promising athlete from grade 4, secured the gold medal in the sub-junior boys under 22 kg category at the South Zone Taekwondo Championship 2024. The event was held in Bangalore and organised by the Kempegowda Sarovara Taekwondo Training Center. Rudresh's dedication and hard work have brought immense pride to our school.
Dhev, a 7th grade student of CS Academy, has been consistently winning tennis championships for the last two years. His latest achievement includes a gold medal in the doubles tennis tournament in the under 14 category which was conducted by the All India Tennis Association in Coimbatore.
Aadya, from AS level of the school, won the inter-school dance competition conducted by RUH Continuum School, Coimbatore.
Clean-Up Day teaches kindergarteners to care for the environment. LKG and UKG children wore red to celebrate the theme “My Body, Good Habits & Good Manners.” This was held on the 19th of June. They learned about healthy eating, hygiene, sharing, and cleanliness. The day featured warm-up exercises, a freeze dance, story enactments, and rhymes. They made crafts on sense organs and body parts, learning crucial lessons while having fun.
CS Academy International’s middle school launched its new reading initiative, Get Lit. This programme aims to cultivate a love for reading among students in grades 6 to 8 by setting reading challenges each month that includes diverse genres, themes and authors.
The programme goes beyond simply reading books. It encourages students to express their creativity through book tweets and bookmarks. These student-created materials create a vibrant space that celebrates middle school’s reading culture.
The programme launched in June with a focus on the works of celebrated children’s author, Neil Gaiman. Students enthusiastically participated, and the flannel board showcased a variety of creative book tweets and bookmarks.
