Sunday, 1 March 2026

My Good School 1st March 2026


Sunday School

To read and discuss two books, focusing on themes of ambition and school life.

Key Takeaways

  • Low Attendance Due to Exams: Final exams for classes 9 & 11 (home) and 10 & 12 (board) significantly reduced student attendance.

  • Dual-Book Format: The session featured two books: a Japanese novel, What You’re Looking For in the Library, and a Hindi story, “The Whistling Schoolboy” from Kabhi Kabhi School Masti Ka Adda Lagta Tha.

  • Core Themes: The English novel explored ambition vs. responsibility through protagonist Ryo’s dream of opening an antique shop. The Hindi story used humour to highlight the fun, non-academic parts of school life, like plays and food.

  • “Parallel Career” Concept: A key idea from the English novel, a “parallel career” (coined by Peter Drucker), was introduced as a way to pursue two complementary careers without one being secondary.

Topics

Context: Low Attendance & New Participant

  • Low student attendance was attributed to ongoing final exams across many schools.

  • Shailaja from Holi Sai International School (Chennai, IGCSE) joined for the first time to observe the session.

  • Jugjiv Singh provided an overview of the program’s goal: using books to spark dialogues on life skills and socio-emotional learning.

English Book: What You’re Looking For in the Library

  • Recap: The session began by reading student blog reflections to recap the story.

    • Plot: Ryo, stuck in a finance job, dreams of opening an antique shop.

    • Librarian’s Role: Ms Komachi gives Ryo a book on worms and a felted cat, prompting him to discover a cat-themed bookshop, “Cats Now Books.”

  • Reading & Discussion:

    • Ryo’s Work Stress: Ryo is burdened by his boss’s lack of software skills and an unmotivated assistant.

    • Hina’s Family Pressure: Hina’s parents see Ryo as a “steady chap” and hint at marriage, creating pressure that conflicts with his dream of running an antique shop.

    • “Parallel Career” Concept: Ryo learns this term from Peter Drucker, defined as two complementary careers in which neither is secondary.

Hindi Book: Ekanki Swang - Natak

  • Pre-Reading Quiz: A quiz on “fun school moments” served as a warm-up, with students identifying activities like sharing jokes and playing during free periods as key to enjoyment.

  • Reading: The story, read by Manisha Khanna, used humour to describe the author’s experiences at boarding school.

    • Plays: Rehearsals were a fun escape from mandatory study.

    • Food: The author would intentionally finish last in races to stop at a tikki/samosa stall, highlighting the importance of food in school life.

    • Library: The library was a favourite place, made lively by the senior master, Mr Knight.

  • Discussion: The story sparked a discussion on the importance of food in boarding schools, with participants sharing anecdotes about hunger and the quality of school meals.

Program Calendar & Logistics

  • Manisha Khanna shared the March calendar to provide context for new participants.

  • Weekly Schedule:

    • Sundays: Dual book readings (English & Hindi).

    • Saturdays: Professional learning for teachers and a masterclass for students.

    • Fridays: “Brewing Knowledge” meet-and-greets with published authors.

  • Upcoming Event: A retreat is scheduled for April 10–14 at Mayoor School Jaipur.

Next Steps

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Learning to Write Book Reviews - Lotus Petal Foundation

In today’s session, Kartik Sir taught us how to write a book review. He explained that a good review should clearly explain what the book is about, including both facts (what actually happened in the book) and opinions (what we think about it). Sir told us that a review should not leave the reader confused and that it should help the reader understand the story better. We learned that facts and opinions are different, and our opinions should be expressed clearly without being mistaken for facts. This session helped me understand how to write my thoughts more confidently and clearly. I enjoyed learning and will use these tips in future writing.

Thank you 😊
Akrit Tiwari – 5C

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Today’s session with Kartik Sir was very interesting. He taught us how to write a book review. We learned that while writing a review, we should be careful that the reader does not get confused about what is fact and what is our opinion. Sir told us that a good review contains both a clear summary of the book and our honest views about it. We also learned how to confidently express our opinions without confusing them with facts. This session was very helpful and enjoyable, and I learned how to write better feedback on stories.

Thanks ✨
Disha – 5A

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In today’s session, Kartik Sir explained how to write a book review correctly. He told us that when writing a review, we should be clear so that the reader does not misunderstand our writing. We learned the difference between fact and opinion — facts are information from the book, and opinions are our personal ideas about it. Sir also encouraged us to express our thoughts confidently in the review. The session was fun and useful, and it helped me understand how to think and write more clearly.

Thanks 😊
Vansh – 5C

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Today’s session with Kartik Sir was very informative. He explained how to write a proper book review. I learned that a book review is not just about saying whether we liked the book or not, but also about explaining why. Sir told us that we must clearly separate facts from opinions so that the reader does not get confused. Facts are true details from the book, while opinions are our personal thoughts. This session helped me understand how to think carefully before writing. I really enjoyed learning this new skill.

Aditya Yadav – 5C

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In today’s session, we learned about writing book reviews. Kartik Sir guided us step by step and told us that a good review should have a short summary of the story and our honest opinion about it. He also explained that there should not be any ambiguity in our writing. Readers should clearly understand what fact is and what opinion is. I learned that expressing opinions confidently is important, but we should not present them as facts. This session improved my writing skills and confidence.

Adarsh – 5B

GSA Reflections – 15th Feb

Today’s session was very knowledgeable and interesting. Brinda Ma’am read a chapter from My Family and Other Animals titled “A Treasure of Spiders.” The story is about a boy named Gerald who lives in Corfu, Greece. He goes swimming with his dog Roger in a beautiful bay. After swimming, he feels hungry and decides to visit Yanni, an old shepherd. Gerald cleverly wakes Yanni by making his dog bark.

Yanni warmly welcomes him and offers him food and wine. He shows Gerald a scorpion preserved in olive oil and explains that the oil can be used as a remedy for scorpion stings. He also shares a frightening story about a shepherd who died due to a scorpion sting in his ear. The chapter encourages critical thinking as Gerald observes nature and reflects on Yanni’s traditional beliefs about scorpions.

After that, Manisha Ma’am read a Hindi story titled “Shimla Mein Khel Ka Maidan.” The story is about a boy’s experiences in a boarding school in Shimla. It describes the house system and mentions a character named Moni Baba. The narrator talks about his school life and playing football as a goalkeeper.

Thank you 😊
Aditya Yadav – 5C

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Today’s session was very knowledgeable and engaging. Brinda Ma’am read a chapter from My Family and Other Animals titled “A Treasure of Spiders.” The story describes Gerald’s life in Corfu. After swimming with his dog, Roger, he visits an old shepherd named Yanni, who warmly welcomes him and offers him food. Yanni shows Gerald a preserved scorpion in olive oil and explains its medicinal uses. The story also promotes critical thinking, as Gerald balances folklore with observation and reasoning.

Later, Manisha Ma’am read the Hindi story “Shimla Mein Khel Ka Maidan.” It talks about a boy’s boarding school life in Shimla, the house system, and his experience as a football goalkeeper. The story highlights teamwork and discipline.

Thank you 😊
Disha – 5A

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Today’s session was very interesting and enjoyable. Brinda Ma’am read the chapter “A Treasure of Spiders.” Gerald explores life in Corfu, Greece. After swimming with his dog Roger, he visits Yanni, an old shepherd, who warmly welcomes him. Yanni shows him a scorpion preserved in olive oil and explains how it is used as a remedy. He also shares a frightening story that made the chapter memorable.

Later, Manisha Ma’am read the Hindi story “Shimla Mein Khel Ka Maidan.” It described a boy’s boarding school life in Shimla, the house system, and his experience playing football as a goalkeeper. The story highlighted teamwork and discipline.
Overall, the session was fun and helped us learn through stories. 

😊
Adarsh – 5B

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Today’s session was very interesting and enjoyable. Brinda Ma’am read the chapter “A Treasure of Spiders.” After swimming with his dog Roger, Gerald visits an old shepherd named Yanni, who warmly welcomes him. Yanni shows him a scorpion preserved in olive oil and explains how it is used as a remedy. He also shares a frightening story that made the chapter memorable.

Then Manisha Ma’am read the Hindi story “Shimla Mein Khel Ka Maidan.” It discusses life in a boarding school in Shimla, the house system, and the narrator’s experience playing football as a goalkeeper. The story emphasised teamwork and discipline.
Thank you 😊

Akrit Tiwari – 5C

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Today’s session was very interesting and enjoyable. Brinda Ma’am read the chapter “A Treasure of Spiders.” After swimming with his dog Roger, Gerald visits an old shepherd named Yanni, who warmly welcomes him. Yanni shows him a scorpion preserved in olive oil and explains how it is used as a remedy. He also shares a frightening story, which made the chapter memorable.

Then Manisha Ma’am read the Hindi story “Shimla Mein Khel Ka Maidan,” which is about life in a boarding school in Shimla.

Thank you.
Vansh – 5C

Reflections Since 2021