MARIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL

UNDER MARIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL TRUST

A Senior Secondary School affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education

“When the mind is stretched by new experiences it can never return to its former dimensions.”

— Dr. Kurt Hahn, German educationist—

Young people growing up in this modern complicated world have many difficulties to face, and opportunities for personal achievements are often limited. At the same time, parents and teachers who recognize their responsibilities towards these young people, also have their challenges. Maria’s Public School, Guwahati, Assam, India, became an ‘YES CENTRE of the International Award for Young People(IAYP) program in 2013 and since then this award program had catered to more than hundred of young students who have taken the challenge to compete with oneself and have successfully been awarded with the Bronze, Silver and Gold Award certificates each year. Under the guidance of our Founder and Managing Trustee, Ms. Nellie Ahmed Tanweer, there has been no looking back for the International Award for Young people – IAYP program, since its inception in our school.

The First IAYP Team with Nellie Ahmed Tanweer at the Maria’s Braveheart Camp, Gelpur, Rajasthan – the School’s own Conservation Education, Adventure Learning & Community Interaction Center.

The school always believes in their vision of “Learning beyond the classroom”. The four tenets of IAYP viz. Physical Recreation, Community Service, Skill Development and Adventure Journey merged seamlessly with the inherent principle of Maria’s Public School. The Award program enables the young people to develop their knowledge, skill and maturity. It develops their sense of self-worth, creates awareness of social and global issues and encourages empathy and responsibility towards others. It also encourages these young people to challenge themselves, experience life and find their purpose, passion and place in the world. But as each student is different, the IAYP program is versatile enough to examine each student’s strength and weaknesses before settling a set of tasks for each individual student’s award program. This award program is all about individual challenges and the most important aspect of the program is that each participant is able to undertake their journey at their own pace, shaped by their own goals.

VISUAL JOURNEY - The IAYP ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY during its years of INCEPTION

MPS – IAYP Adventure trip to Mawlynnong, during the year 2013

IAYP Adventure trip to Mandarmoni, during the year 2014

IAYP Adventure trip to Gelpur, during the year 2015

2015 – The DAWKI Experience!

For the Physical Recreation section, the school encourages students to improve their personal physical performance through training and perseverance in their chosen field. The award leaders, Aparna Khanikar, Binod Baruah, Titas Chakraborty and Sagarika Baruah all ensure that while setting the goals, the activity remain enjoyable for the student. In Community Services section the students select activities that would provide service to others and their communities. It provides an opportunity to the students to make a real difference to the lives of others and also witness and experience the benefits that their service provides to others and this encourages them to become better citizens.

Community Connection & Service is an integral part of the IAYP Adventurous Journey

In Skill Development section the students are encouraged to stimulate new interests or improve existing ones. They may be hobbies, vocational or job-related skills, social, individual or social skills. For Adventure Journey the school organizes adventure trips every year to help them understand themselves better and to further hone their talents. These trips also improve the students’ leadership capabilities, their ability to overcome unexpected and difficult situations that may occur any time in their lives.

LIST OF ADVENTURE TRIPS & EVENTS CONDUCTED FROM 2013-2019!

Student participants -Average 80 students per year.

Minimum -2 trips Max -3 every year.

SL.No	Year of adventure journey	Destination
1.	2013	Mawlynong (Meghalaya)
2.	2014	Mandarmoni (West Bengal)
3.	2015	Brave-Heart camp (Gailpur), Nameri (Assam) and Dawki (Meghalaya)
4.	2016	Dzuku Valley, Zulekema (Nagaland)
5.	2017	Mawlyngbana (Meghalaya)
6.	2018	Sangti Valley (Arunachal Pradesh)
7.	2019	Nameri and Chandubi (Assam)

IAYP 2016 – Adventure Trip to Dzukou Valley

IAYP 2017 – Adventurous Journey to Mawlyngbana

Over the years quite a number of students have completed their Bronze, Silver and Gold levels from our school. While the Community Service and the Adventure camps have mostly been under the aegis of the school authority, physical recreation as well as skill development programs were being done by the students in their own time and pace, sometimes even beyond school hours. It is my pleasure to report that the ex-student of our school undergoing IAYP training during their tenure here have done exceptionally well in the real world – be it in the Corporate sector, Hospitality sector, Creative fields or environment and social awareness programs.

IAYP 2018 – Sangti Valley, Hrishikesh & Maria’s Braveheart Camp

THE GOLD AWARD CEREMONY FOR IAYP AWARD ACHIEVERS

Achieving a Gold Award is one of the biggest milestones in the life of Gold participants. It shows their ability, focus and determination to achieve their set goals and as well as their passion, perseverance and single-minded devotion to the purpose. While the Gold Award journey promotes the overall development of the participants, it also gives them immense opportunities to learn from their experiences so that they can deal with the challenges that the future might pose. The Gold Award Ceremony is organized every year at India International Centre, New Delhi to salute the successful students’ indomitable spirit and perseverance.

Maria’s Public school had its first Gold Award achievers in the year 2016and is still continuing its

success story.

List of The Gold Award certificate achievers

Sl.No	Year of achievement	Total number of students	Name of the award achievers	Award felicitated by
1.	2016	4	Prastuti Rajkhowa Priyadarshini Kaman Aakashi kakoti Nikita Thakuria	Mr Abbas Ali Baig, Former cricketer Indian Team
2.	2017	3	Pratiksha Bora Prince Bharali Angikar D Das	Sue Walker Asia Pacific Regional Director
3.	2018	5	Upasana Patgiri Marlee Mazumder Meghna Bhattacharyya Mohit Ranjan Dutt Jasfique Rahman.	Sir Dominic Asquith the British High Commissioner to India.
4.	2019	3	Pallabi Misra Harshali Kemprai Sayantan Choudhury	Justice (Retd) Madan B Lokur
5.	2020	Pending due to Lockdown Total no – 21	Shreya Saikia Aakarshita Bharadwaj Ayushi Roy Rhea Khakhlary Gamini Gogoi Anand Dutta Kritisha Deka Tanaz Hussain Naina Sharma Pinky Nath Shivangi Bordoloi Bhairavi Handique Nirmita Bhattacharyya Sristi Sharma Nonosa Sangma Reeshav Das Chinmoy Das Anand Dutta Preetom Bungrung Shresth Maheshwari Isha Barman

Visual Journey of the Award Ceremonies : 2016-2019

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Award Ceremony – 2016

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Award Ceremony – 2017

Award Ceremony – 2018

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Award Ceremony – 2019

Students receive IAYP gold level certificates

Kristi Kaushik, Tehzeeb Choudhury, Faiza Belal, Kritika Iyer, Shreeya Saikia and Tamanna Dutta have been awarded Gold level certificates by the International Award for Young People (IAYP) for successful completion of Gold Level Award journey in 2020-21. They also received award pins as part of the certification

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: STUDENTS OF BIJOYPUR HIGH SCHOOL, LAKHIMPUR VISIT MARIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL. 19th January 2024

The day started with a special community collaborative assembly with the morning prayer service conducted by Principal Mausumi Mahanta, followed by the thought of the day and current affairs by the students of Maria’s Public School.

A melodious Assamese number was sung by a group of students from MPS which brought in an aura of warm welcome note to our guest school students and teachers

( Headmaster and Assistant faculty) from Bijoypur High School, Lakhimpur.

Thereafter, there was a spellbinding dance drama performance by our guest school students which captivated the entire audience. The performance showcased a glimpse of culture and tradition of our state, Assam.

To make this collaborative venture meaningful, various activities had been designed with an objective for better learning and sharing amongst the two schools where students enjoyed to the fullest and learnt from each other and it led to a wonderful and noticeable bonding.

Activities carried out as part of Environmental stewardship are as follows:

* Plant therapy

* Art work

* Making of vertical garden

* Herbarium

*Leaf printing

Making of brochures was another activity which was carried out.

Moreover, students visited:

* ATL

*Library

* Maths Lab

Arrangement was made for three meals in our school campus

It was amazing to see the interaction, learning and sharing that took place amongst the students of both the schools. Such initiatives would definitely go a long way in building strong collaboration and at the same time pave its way for community bonding which would help our future generation to learn and nurture our culture and tradition.

Dzouku Valley Trip 14th October 2022 to 17th October 2022

The Dzouku valley trip started on the 14^th of October 2022 with 42 students from class XI and XII under the adventure camping banner of IAYP. An overnight train journey took us from Guwahati Railway station to Dimapur. A short bus journey later we were at Kohima and spent the day exploring the city. In the afternoon we moved via bus to our base camp in Zakhama where we rested under the stars for an epic hike up the mountains to Dzouku. The trek took us approximately 4 hours. We Organized a cleanliness drive as part of the student activity. Halted for the night at the top and next morning we made our back to our base camp and from there back to Guwahati via Dimapur bringing the Adventure trip to its rightful conclusion

Three teachers of Maria’s Public School- Arnavi Chakravarty, Biswajit Das and Geetanjali Goswami attended ‘The National Training Workshop for Award Leader’ organised by The International Award for Young People (IAYP), India, held at Hotel Royale de’ Casa, Guwahati from 11.08.2023 to 12.08.2023.

The workshop acquainted the teachers with the philosophy and guiding principles of the award. It focussed on the need for effective goal setting, planning and review of the adventurous journeys and residential projects under IAYP.

Mawsynram Trip 6th November 2022 to 8th November 2022

The Mawsynram adventure trip started on the 6^th of November 2022 with 30 students from class 7 to class 10 under the adventure camping banner of IAYP. Early in the morning of 6^th November, the journey started for Shillong in camper vans and sumos. We reached by the afternoon and camped for the night. Next morning there were lots of activities for the students ranging from river crossing, canoeing, trekking trails etc. On the 8^th we returned from Mawsynram to Guwahati with hearts full of contentment.

Ziro valley Trip 2nd November 2023 to 7th November 2023

The Ziro Valley adventure trip started on the 2nd of November 2023 with 40 students from class 8 to class 11 under the adventure camping banner of IAYP. We took an overnight train from Guwahati to Naharlagun. From Naharlagun we took a few sumos and made our way up the mountains of Arunachal to reach our Ziro valley base camp. Upon reaching we took the students around the base camp to show them the lay of the land, and a few activities like boating on the Seeh Lake and getting a bonfire ready at the camp grounds after dark. The next day was scheduled for a trek through a bamboo garden to a nearby isolated village, where the students were educated on how the Apatani tribal people of Arunachal created farmlands in between hills. The students also learnt a lot of the Apatani tribe, their way of living etc. There were lots of other team building exercises and games for students to immerse themselves in the lap of nature.

In the evening, the local Apatani people showcased a cultural night for us with their traditional dances. They even taught the students the significance of the dances and the dance steps as well. Next day morning we went to some of the significant spots of Ziro and then made our way back to Naharlagun to catch our train to Guwahati.

REPORT - IAYP TRIP TO DOOARS, 2024

“If ever left in the wild, would you know what to do? If ever there is a question of life or death, what would be your first step?” On our four-day trip to the foothills of the Himalayas – Dooars – these are the questions that we were approached with and determined to solve.

Whether on land or water, on moving trains or in the comfort of our resort rooms; we were continuously itching with these questions on our minds and our gracious hosts were kind enough to show us more than a few solutions to them. What we learned in our few days there, we could never learn in any classroom in the world. It was an experience packed with adventure, excitement and most of all – unity, three values that were put to the test during our four days there.

But its bounty didn’t end there, whether we were crawling on top of pools or jumping into them, the air was always filled with life and laughter. During group activities and problem-solving sessions, the tension was always lightened with a few giggles which only bonded us tighter.

Its field activities and rural location provided us an insight into the contrasting lives of those living in areas of our own country that we would’ve never seen, granting us a new perspective on life in different areas. It was a journey that taught us about the importance of alertness, selflessness and practicality. But it could’ve never been as enjoyable as it was if not for the incredible group that hosted us.

The hospitality that the entire delegation was enveloped with by the hosts especially the evergreen Lataguri and the Neowrah in its heart. For this, we have our organisers – The Global Adventures Group – to thank and of course everyone at Maria’s Public School – Arnavi Chakravarty Ma’am, Aparna Khanikar Ma’am, Binod Baruah Sir and Biswajeet Das Sir. And of course our ever-supportive principal, Mausumi Mahanta Ma’am and our Founder and Managing Trustee, Mrs. Nellie Ahmed Tanveer Ma’am for
providing us the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful community.

For the various techniques for survival, for all the memories and laughter, for the patience and utmost care we, the students of Maria’s Public School would like to express our purest gratitude and respect for all those who made our 2024 IAYP trip to Dooars one for the ages.

Attached are a few captured moments of the four days.