Visit to General Post office

Purpose of Field trip:

• Understand the different systems inside GPO
• Understand how the GPO is connected to the various other systems of Bangalore
• Understand the form, function, needs, and challenges of the GPO as a system also the changes that the GPO has gone through during all these years.
• Understand how these changes in the system happen to cater to the needs of the community.
• Understanding how the systems like GPO, BWSSB, BMTC in a city by large are interconnected and affect the community.

Field Trip to GPO

On the way to the General Post-office students made a lot of connection in terms of systems in Bangalore. With the previous discussions and after the study of systems in “NEEV “they were able to identify the Systems on a larger level. They saw BWSSB water supply tankers, BSNL for managing communication, they identified the BBMP for picking up the garbage in the City, they also identified the banking Systems on the way like SBI, ICICI, and the Traffic management office.

They also shared about how fire station, the police station is also a system and they provide services to the community.

Inside the GPO the students saw the sorting department where the mails received were being sorted and separated as per the pin code and area. There were postmen for each area who would pick up the posts from there and go around distributing it.

The mail after being dropped in the letterboxes is picked up and sent to this department for sorting and entry into the system.

Students came to know that earlier when there was no computer and the entry of the mails received was done manually in a register, it was a tedious process. With the use of technology, the mails can be tracked quickly and the status of its delivery or non-delivery can be shared with the customer.

The major challenge the GPO faces is with the incorrect pin codes or addresses which leads to confusion and because of which the mails are not delivered to its intended recipient.

Inside the GPO there were different systems working independently but also interconnected to each other for e.g.: the registered post, the parcel department, the banking services department and the philately department, all working in tandem with each other.

The other connection of systems that students noticed was that the international parcel system inside GPO was using the Air India services for articles to be sent outside the country whereas the ordinary mail services ( within the state or within the country)  was working very closely with the philately department which deals in the collection of stamps.

 Children pointed out that the ordinary mails which are to be dropped in the letterbox also needed stamps to be purchased from the philately department and that they were different stamps for different places for e.g.: outside Karnataka, there were different stamps used and inside Karnataka, there were different stamps to be used.

They were quite surprised to see the banking activities were also part of the GPO. Many of them were not aware of this function of. Students were able to identify the key concepts- form, function, change, and causation to the visit to GPO.

It was good to see children making so many connections and identifying the systems of the city and how the systems are also interdependent to each other. Post field trip a student mentioned about how her father receives his important documents from banks like HDFC through the post. This was a WOW moment where the student established how the banking system is relying on the General Post-office system of the city for delivering the relevant and important documents. 

The field trip to BWSSB

Purpose: Distribution and availability of usable water

             The field trip to BWSSB in Bangalore took place on the 17th of July. The children of Grade 3 visited the facility at HSR layout in two batches. Once there, the person in charge gave us a brief about the different processes and responsibilities of BWSSB. He began the session with some inquiry about water which then led to the uses of BWSSB. He spoke to the children at length about where the water is sourced from, how it is purified, chemically treated, how the tanks are used for storage and supply, what kind of pipelines are laid, and the role of BWSSB in providing household supply of water.

             The children were then taken to the different parts of the unit showing them where the water is collected, how the water was pumped into the water tankers, the pumping stations, where the water flow was regulated by different meters, rainwater harvesting units, the sewage maintenance trucks etc.

            We then discussed what happens to water supply when there is limited rainfall and how it changes the regular schedule of water supply. The resource person also spoke to the children about how domestic meters are installed and how the billing system works. The children were quite fascinated with the different facets of water supply and management with in the city. They had a few questions regarding why BWSSB water is different from the private water suppliers. The resource person then spoke to the children about how the water is sourced from rivers which is a good source of freshwater. It is treated and purified at regular intervals because of which the water is potable and easy to use.

      The overall learning from this field trip was to understand management and supply of freshwater within city limits ensuring that all the people living in the city had access to clean drinking water. The field trip helped the children to connect their learning with the third Line of Inquiry: Distribution and availability of water. 

The Countdown to Our First PYP Exhibition!

The much awaited Neev’s first PYP Exhibition is here, celebrating the students’ learning journey in the PYP years. We are looking forward to an exciting event and certainly another milestone for us. Students will be showcasing their explorations, learning and actions to members within the Neev community and to an audience comprising of other PYP schools. The cynosure will be on all the elements of PYP. The excitement amongst our 5^th graders is palpable. The students are very ebullient and come across as committed and confident learners.

The Exhibition Unit is student led with teachers and mentors facilitating the inquiry. The focus is to build a body of knowledge with skills, disposition and concepts woven in right measures. No learning is complete unless it is put in action. Our young inquirers are definitely doing it and we can have a peek into the same on the 13^th and 14^th of April.

PYP EXHIBITION - NEEV ACADEMY YEMALUR

PYP EXHIBITION - NEEV ACADEMY YEMALUR

PYP EXHIBITION - NEEV ACADEMY YEMALUR

MUN@Neev to WIMUN: A journey

MUN@Neev is an initiative started by the teachers to provide us with the appropriate experience we need to participate in an MUN conference. I was very eager to participate in it. I have taken part in MUN for two years and the experience has been really helpful in developing collaborative, consensus-building and critical thinking skills. Being able to think on the spot, speaking using the information from my research, managing my time and myself, and meeting deadlines, these are just a few things I am proud of being able to do.

This summer, we, the Grade 7 students, will get our first taste of MUN outside Neev. It will be a great way to showcase our learning. The trip will be a real test of our organization skills, keeping track of different events will be hard. The amount of research that has to be completed for this conference is alarming, so far this process has been intensive and very difficult; however, we have received a lot of help from the senior students. I would like to thank them --  they have given us first hand information which really gave us an idea of what to look forward to. Our senior students have provided excellent examples on how to  participate and make our voice heard in these conferences, and we look forward to living up to their expectations.

In this new venture, I aim to define myself as a Munner. My goal is to actively participate and showcase my opinion and my ideas. Personally, I feel honoured to represent Neev at this prestigious conference. I will give my 110% and do my best to make Neev proud.

Tarun Padmanabhan

Grade 7

Words of advice from a senior MUN student

That is how to do it

Eager listeners

We learn from experience

What's happening at MUN@Neev?

Mun@Neev helps us to learn about the world around us, with the decorum and enthusiasm required to succeed at Model United Nations Conferences. We are currently debating the legality of Early and Forced Marriage and its influence on society. Our first topic was the Use of Mercenaries, and we had to come up with solutions, which we drafted into resolutions. The accuracy and quality of the draft resolution was to be determined by vote and the best draft resolution (the one with the highest number of votes) would have been selected as a solution to the issue at hand. We failed to reach a consensus on the proposed solutions, but we did learn a lot - leadership skills, cooperation, social skills and research skills. The application of research skills and leadership skills was clearly evident in the depth of research of the draft resolutions.

    A new chapter started for us in November: we have been given the responsibility of running MUN@Neev. We are becoming more independent and improving our collaboration skills, but it is hard work. We plan to cross our boundaries, pay attention to the tiniest detail, knowing that we will create solutions to what are some of the world’s most contentious issues.

Onkar Kulkarni
MUN@Neev

MUN@Neev: Our last day at HMUN

15th August 2017

Today was the last day of Harvard Model United Nations, India, 2017. All us woke up sad that it was the last committee session for this year’s HMUN conference. It had been a great, learning-filled experience for us. It seemed like these four days had flown by. Nevertheless, the four days had opened a new door for us, leading us to newer worlds.

On this day, we summed up the topic on our agenda by the adopting one resolution, and passing press releases and directives. We had to vote for a resolution that provided the best solution to the issue. The past few days had been about teamwork and collaboration, but voting was individual. Alas, some of our committees were unable to pass any resolution as consensus could not be reached. However, it is to be remembered that we as a committee did still achieve a lot – the ideas and thoughts discussed, and developed to solve the issues will be remembered. And someday we hope the world will imbibe some of the youthful ideals that are embodied in these resolutions. We entered the committee hall as eager children and left the hall as open minded, wiser adolescents.

After all the hard work that we had done, our directors allowed us to let loose! We danced in our committee halls, we played games, we voted on such things as ‘The cutest delegate’ or ‘The most dramatic delegate’.  

Later, the Secretary General, Kelsey Young gave awards to outstanding delegates and declared the end of HMUN India’s 7th session. It was time to bid adieu to friends we had made during our wonderful experience in Hyderabad.  As we looked at our fellow delegates and committee directors for the last time, each of us felt that we had been part of something bigger than ourselves and learnt something other than information and facts. We had learnt how to cooperate. To collaborate. To be diplomatic. We had learnt a little more about the beautiful world we live in and were determined to solve some of its problems.

We later checked out of the hotel and embarked on a one-hour journey to the airport. In the backseat of the bus, we recalled old memories of school trips and listened to music. The time for serious speeches had passed and we were determined to enjoy the last few hours of the trip. In the flight, a few of us proudly wore our maroon Harvard sweatshirts (not just because it was cold, but because we were proud to have attended a conference hosted by an Ivy League institution).

At 8:00 pm, we landed in Bangalore. We were glad to be reunited with our families. And so, ended our HMUN trip. In a way, it was our first taste of reality. In school, there aren’t many people in a class. In HMUN there were over a hundred people in many committees. These huge numbers brought out the importance of making oneself heard. In such a large committee, only a few are noticed, only a few are remembered. Just like it is in the world. There are only a few significant individuals that everyone knows and remembers. They are the ones who speak out. Who make people listen. Who give a little back to the world. In HMUN, the youth of today tried to give a little back to the world. We had had an enriching experience and look forward to more MUN opportunities, after all we are the youth, the ones who make the future.

Mehr Sohal

MUN@Neev