The 20th Anniversary Of Future School In 2023

On February 1st of the year 2023, Future School celebrated its 20 year anniversary. On this momentous occasion we enjoyed a lovely snack prepared by a team of students, teachers and staff. After a delightful feast of sandwiches and potato wedges, we proceeded to the seminar amphitheater where we enjoyed a beautifully presented speech by our school principal on the history of our school.
His speech was followed by the most entertaining event of all, as one of our teachers sang a Hindi song and an English song “if i were a rich man” from fiddler on the roof.
This was followed by another entertaining speech from our school's first graduate.
To conclude our time in the seminar we watched a five minute slideshow containing pictures gathered over the past twenty years.
Finally we left the seminar room for the tree planting ceremony during which it started raining for the first time in a couple months.
We ended our celebration with a delicious lunch of biryani made by our dedicated kitchen team.

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Graduation 2023

Here are few glimpses of the Future School Graduation of 2023.

Graduation 2022

Summer 2022 saw the successful completion of the program by 14 students. Short slideshows were made to commemorate each student's journey through Future school, followed by a short speech from each graduate. Each graduate also received the traditional Future School graduation book and T-shirt, this was followed by the traditional tree planting ceremony.
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Class Picture With Graduation Books
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Tree Planting Ceremony

Movie night and potlucks

It has recently become somewhat of a tradition in Future school, to host a movie night on every second friday. These evenings provide the perfect opportunity for our students to relax and enjoy school in a non academic manner. Movies are voted on by the students and then presented in our seminar room. The movies are hence not school related, but rather the type of movies students choose to watch in their spare time.
Furthermore future school tends to host potlucks at least once every year, this too allows students to hang out with their friends.

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Field Trips

An important element in any learning program, field trips connect classroom topics to real-world experiences. They create an opportunity for closer bonding within the school 'family' and provide a break from routine. This year our field trips included the following:

​Field Trips 2023-24

Dharamshala November 2023
 

During the term break in September 2023, a group of 12th grade students and Future School staff visited Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

The goal was to be exposed to Tibetan culture and religion, as well as the beauty of nature in Himachal Pradesh. The major highlights of the trip included meeting with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, participating in a traditional Tibetan dance program, and visiting the departments of the Tibetan central administration. 

The group also went on the Triund Himalayan Trek which included an overnight stay in tents. Furthermore, the participants gained insight into Buddhist education and campus culture of Sara College where the group stayed. 

It was an unforgettable experience for all.
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Future School September 2023 Field Trip 
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On September 13th, 2023, Future School went on a full day field trip to DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum and The Madras Crocodile Bank. Our day started bright and early at 6:30am when we started our journey from Auroville to Adyar Ananda Bhavan for a delicious breakfast consisting of idli, dosa, puri, coffee, and chai. Then we headed to DakshinaChitra and spent two hours exploring the museum, shopping, and taking lots of photos. Each section of the museum was divided into different regions of South India and covered topics such as agriculture, textiles, art, religion, and architecture. It was a great experience to learn about South Indian heritage and culture.
Afterwards, we headed to Delhi Dhaba for a warm and filling lunch. The next stop was Madras Crocodile Bank where students and teachers were filled with awe looking at the huge crocodiles, turtles, and lizards. After a long day exploring and learning, we headed back to Auroville with big smiles on our faces. During the bus ride home we enjoyed music, oranges, and biscuits. Everyone had a great time and it was a wonderful trip to close out the term.

​Gangaikonda Cholapuram April 2023

On April 15th, 2023 the 10th standard history class went on a day trip to the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple.

The objective of the trip was to get a first hand experience of Medieval South India, Chola architecture, and the ingenuity of water conservation during that time period. The temple is one of the tallest in Southern India and used to be a focal point of Shaivism. Although the city doesn’t exist anymore, its location was chosen in a way where the ancient wells are still able to provide plenty of water. Thanks to the water management system of the Chola Dynasty, the surrounding areas are supported by the wells from thousands of years ago. 

The museum which was next to the site, displayed a wide range of objects from all over the world underlining the international significance of Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Medieval India.

Seeing the actual location connected our students and transformed the academic subject into a lived experience.
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Field Trips 2022-23

Pichavaram School Trip
On Wednesday the 23rd of November 2022, Future School students and staff participated in a whole day outing to the Pichavaram Mangrove forest. After a scenic bus ride through south India, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at Goru Garden along with some chai.

A short bus ride later we reached the Pichavaram Mangrove forest. After a few minutes when everyone had settled into the row boats, we started a beautiful boat ride through the many channels through the forest. The lustrous nature had a calming effect on our whole group. After the boat ride, we were glad to find a man selling coconuts right outside the boat house. After some very welcome and refreshing coconut water, we headed back. 
We had a hearty lunch in Goru Garden before heading back to auroville. The bus ride home contained a lot of dancing to energetic music, and was all in all an incredibly fun experience.

Field Trips 2021-22

Lonavla School Trip
In the summer of 2022 a group consisting of both students and staff went on a week long field trip to visit a beautiful and historically important region called Lonavla. 
Lonavla is famous for its old forts, temple caves and gorgeous waterfalls. On this field trip we visited many ancient temples and forts, we learned about their history and with it got an understanding of these ancient societies, beliefs and their legacy..Sightseeing at tourist attractions however was not the only purpose of the trip, lonavla is not only famous for old structures but also for the lushly vivacious scenery. We spent a lot of time trekking through the vibrant green scenery, over a ground filled with crystals and gemstones, between huge and long waterfalls flowing down the edges of high cliffs. Lonavla is rich in both scenery and culture, and it was a lovely experience for all of us.

Matrimandir Field Trip

We started the morning with a walk to the Matrimandir garden, through the lively forests and over the peaceful cycle paths that exist within auroville. When we came to the Matrimandir gardens we sat under the banyan tree for a while in quiet contemplation. After that we strolled through the lovely Matrimandir gardens, until the time came to head back to school. After walking back at a leisurely pace, we ended the field trip with some ice cream.

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Field Trips 2020-2021

Geography Field Trip Akku Mutt
The Geography 02 class went on a field trip to Akku Muttu temple to observe the local landscape.
Rishi Walker, a forester who has been working on reforestation for the last five years,  talked to us about his work. He described how the natural forests have slowly disappeared due to human pressure on their resources. This deforestation has environmental and socio-economic repercussions on both a regional and international level.
Akku Muttu offered the students a unique perspective into what the original landscape may have looked like due to the small copse of old trees surrounding the temple.  The kolam, a check damn built in an attempt to prevent the runoff problems caused by deforestation, further served to emphasise Rishi's talk.
Noe van Alphen, a colleague of Rishi's and an alumnus of Future School, brought his own expertise to the trip, discussing the characteristics of local trees, and the selection pressures they face.
Due to the pandemic, we took appropriate precautions. The trip was to an outdoor location, all students wore PPE, and travelled individually rather than in a bus.