Playing Holi sensibly - Lawrence High School

Today, as we celebrate Holi, the festival of colours, it is a good idea to exercise caution and enjoy the festival in its true sense and spirit. We urge you to pay heed to incorporate these pointers, so that we do not cause harm to ourselves or others knowingly or unknowingly.

The synthetic colours used in the festival are extremely harmful to the skin, eye and teeth.  Make sure that you play with natural colours this year. There are a few outlets that provide herbal colours. These do not harm in any way and are easily washed away too.

Image: http://aryaniwashotels.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/4939-holi_group.jpg

We are fighting a losing battle with water scarcity as the years go by hence it is a crime to use more water than required. On festivals like Holi, a lot of water tends to get used and wasted and we need to curb this practice at once. Using only dry colours and avoiding drenching and soaking in buckets of water are something that can be easily done. Again by not using synthetic colours, one can get rid of the colours with lesser water; spare a thought for people who go without a drop of water before you drain that bucket of water on someone’s head.

Say no to water balloons. These can not only hurt a person badly but also the material is not degradable and pollutes the environment.

Festivals are celebrated to induce a spirit of brotherhood and bring in joy, so pay heed to the other person’s feelings. If a person does not want to participate, respect his/her feelings. Also, keep a strict vigil on children and do not let them stray alone into lonely streets.

Misbehaving in public is a crime on all occasions and festivals like Holi should not be used as a pretext to indulge in teasing women or causing harm to anyone physically or mentally. The adults must use restraint on the consumption of the traditional Bhang and sweets and also advise their children accordingly.As a responsibly citizen, we must not let a festive mood turn to a period of destruction and unfortunate happenings. 

We, at Lawrence school, hope that these pointers would be implemented and the festival is celebrated in its true colour. So, go ahead and have a happy and safe Holi!

To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Places to visit in Bangalore this summer - Lawrence High School

With the summer holidays just a couple of weeks away, taking a break from the routine and mundane will be on the minds of many children and parents.  While, it may not be possible for everyone to afford a luxurious holiday, this is no time to mop and fret, for namma Bengaluru itself offers plenty of options in terms of fun and entertainment. 

Here are top ten places that you can visit in Bangalore this summer:

HAL aerospace museum: Anyone with little boys at home will know that boys and planes go hand in hand. This place situated on the old airport road has a lovely display of aircrafts with flight simulators too. There is also a toy store that sells cars and planes of all sizes-surely every child’s delight!

Lal Bagh: Escape into the lush green lawns and soak up the nature’s beauty under wide canopied trees this summer. Spread over a vast expanse, this well-maintained botanical garden is surely among the jewels of Bangalore.

Banerghatta Zoo: A zoo holds a special place in the heart for adults and children alike. A safari that takes you up close to the magnificent lions and tigers will send up a thrill and be worth the ride. There is also a beautiful butterfly park nearby that is worth seeing.

Image: http://bangalore.clickindia.com/images/bannerghattanationalpark.jpg

Gerry Martin farm: An ideal place for a picnic or even a birthday celebration, this small farm, off Sarjapur road,  houses cows, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and even turtles and a couple of Emus. Young children would definitely enjoy their time feeding and watching these animals in their natural habitat.

Rangashankara: The place houses some of the best plays for kids. There is an age limit for the plays and parents need to take a call for age-suitability; it’s a perfect place to give wings to the creative side.

WonderLa and innovative film city: Amusement parks always hold their charm with kids of all age groups. These places are a perfect place to pump up the adrenalin and drown in the madness.

Image: http://www.anandway.com/Media/307/2038112110102985419S425x425Q85.jpg

Nandi Hills: The place offers a panoramic view and is a perfect spot for picnics, treks and bird watching.  It can get very crowded on weekends, so it’s better to plan a trip during the week.

Cubbon Park: Bangalore is known for its sprawling parks and this is one of them. It also offers a few joy rides and a place for boating: perfect to spend a day with children who will have plenty to choose from.

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum: A museum that will hold interest for science aficionados. There is a comprehensive range of exhibits on electronics, motor power and the uses and properties of wood and metal.

Hippocampus: This is an experience centre for kids with plenty of books and traditional games.  They also host children-centric carnivals and workshops; a fun place to read and introduce the child to the world of books and activities.

      Image: http://getshotreading.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/hippocampus-logo.jpg

We, at Lawrence School, hope that you find these pointers useful and come back refreshed after a wonderful and rejuvenating vacation. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

 

Get a perspective this summer - Lawrence High School

Summer is here and soon the exams will be all over to expose the unlimited time on hands. After spending the last few stressful months studying, it is only natural and justified to take a break to chill out and do nothing. However, even doing nothing can be refreshing only for some time. So, how best can you make use of the vacation?

Students of grade VII to X have a golden opportunity to use this time to make the groundwork for their career stronger. Many of you might be still deciding what would be the best career path. Vacation time can be best put to use knowing yourself, your interests and aptitude. Summer jobs may not be very popular among the higher secondary school students but the idea behind a summer job can be well- applied.

Diversifying your areas of interest: do numbers interest you? You can consider learning about how the share markets function.  Getting hands on knowledge will help you cement the fundamental concepts and get familiarized with jargons like share value, premium, net value, redemption, IPO, etc. What’s more, with little help from elders and newspaper reading, you can even make quick bucks.

Taking on different kinds of work: You can consider helping your aunt with her small-scale business. You may probably not be interested in sales or marketing and this may not directly help you in finalizing a career but you can get a feel of whether you are a people’s person. Dealing with customers on a one-to-one basis will train you on important soft skills like communication and confidence to deal with clients.

Expanding your knowledge area: Reading upon different subjects will give you an insight about the various fields and even areas that are directly and indirectly associated with your area of interest. This will definitely open up the erstwhile unknown career opportunities and will help you draw up career plans B and C.

Taking up internship or volunteering work: If you have strong areas of interest, you may consider working as a trainee, even if it means working for free or a small pay, with professionals in the field. This will indeed help you understand the dynamics of a full time job and the nitty-gritty associated. Taking up volunteering work in NGOs can prove handy if you have entrepreneurial inclination.

So, pull up your socks and get ready to get a new perspective this summer. 

Foreign language as a career option - Lawrence High School

While a plethora of new, diverse, interesting and off-beaten tracks as careers have cropped in the last few years, there is still some ambiguity and uncertainty regarding the feasibility of these options in the minds of students. One such track is the foreign language sector. This sector is seeing a steady rise in demand for language professionals in the last few years.

While French and German are touted to be the most popular choices, Spanish, Japanese, Madrid, Italian, Portuguese and even Dutch are scoring high on the popularity charts these days.  There are reputed and internationally recognized institutes offering a basic and advanced level courses for each of these languages. For example, Max Mueller Bhavan affiliated to the Goethe Institute is synonymous with learning German and The JLPT is a certified test offered in many places within India to evaluate the proficiency in Japanese language.

So, if you have a knack of picking up new languages and also love interacting with people from diverse cultures, learning a foreign language can prove to be a very lucrative and interesting career option.  You can opt to learn just the basics of the language to complement your professional degree to gain that extra edge during an onsite opportunity or spread your wings wider to learn the depths of the language and work as a translator or even interpreter depending upon your choice.

An interpreter needs to be open to travelling within and outside the country as the job involves a lot of people interaction, sometimes even with top-notch individuals. One needs to be very fluent in speaking the language and also have good listening skills. A translator on the other hand needs to have a good command on the target and source language while also having an insight into the culture of the foreign land.

Learning a foreign language can throw up the exciting opportunity to visit other countries, understand the culture, observe the people of a foreign land and expand your knowledge and thinking.

Responsible parenting equals responsible next generation - Lawrence High School

Parenting has never been so challenging before today. This is probably what a parent from every generation felt when they compared the teaching patterns, methods and environment with the earlier generation. However, it is true that while this generation is synonymous with more creature comforts and luxuries made available at the drop of a hat, it is more often accompanied by more work, more stress and more scarcity of family time.  Where our parents and grandparents took the time to teach us the values of life, we take to the short-cut method and try to replace quantity time with more outings, gifts, parties and silly pampering.

Whatever is your social and financial scenario, it cannot take away from the fact that children emulate their parents and learn from what is being offered to them. So, instead of succumbing to outside pressures, it is worthwhile to take a pause and look at how we as parents behave when our children are around and what is it that we would like them to imbibe through our stand in certain situations.

A simple example is that of the birthday parties that are making the round these days. Where once children’s parties could be easily translated to a homely affair with a tight guest list of close friends, small snacks, fun and frolic, the same has been replaced with lavish décor, huge guest lists, dinner parties, magic shows, tattoo making and the likes with very fancy return gifts.  The bottom line being, have money, flaunt it! Can you then blame the young impressionable minds who care less about money and throw tantrums for every little wish?

Another common example is that of how parents behave in a social situation, for example in a queue or taking care of the garbage. We as adults do not think twice before jumping a queue or honking without restraint in a traffic snarl. We sit in swanky cars, wolf down a packet of chips and mindlessly throw it out on the roads. What lessons do you think the children get from these acts? It’s a no-brainer, right?

Consciously or unconsciously, we are responsible for how the future generation turns out to be. So, if we wish to see a country of sensible, sensitive, compassionate and responsible citizens, it is time to clean up our acts and be the same.