3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV

Issue #254, 20th May 2025

What is it to be brave? What does it look like in situations and what it is not? Mothers day just went by and as I reflected upon myself as a mother, my mother in law, my grand mother and quite a few other mothers that I have known and known of over the years and found many shades of bravery in a whole range of events that happened to happen in our-their lives. Here’s to bravery! Don’t miss the powerful ted talk in this issue to get some more perspective on the shades of ‘brave’.

“Kelly Corrigan’s TED talk “To Love Is to Be Brave” highlights the essence of bravery in family life. She recounts personal and observed moments of immense courage, emphasizing the importance of compassion, listening, and staying present amidst difficult circumstances. The ultimate act of bravery, she suggests, is letting go and allowing loved ones to navigate their own paths. The reward for such bravery is a profound human experience filled with selfless love and humble awe.”

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Three Images of the Week

Two Thoughts of the Week

“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” Thomas Paine

“There isn’t a perfect mom, a perfect house, a perfect kid, a perfect life.

There’s just real.

And real is one mom after another after another after another who wakes in the morning and see those kids who call her mom and pulls herself up and tries.

She stumbles, but stands up.

She worries, but gives.

She loves.

She mothers.”
― Rachel Marie Martin

One Video of the Week

Family life often requires extraordinary bravery, from navigating the daily challenges to surviving the unexpected crises. Author and podcaster Kelly Corrigan offers profound wisdom (and seven key words) to help you focus in on what matters most.

Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week

A StoryWalk is a way to publish student writing:

You are already finding ways for your students to publish and share their writing and now you have another way to showcase their work. Plan to have each student select a poem from their poetry writing unit to post as a celebratory culmination. Or have them write silly short stories and display them outdoors. Just think of student generated story experiences as other ways to celebrate and enjoy their finished pieces outdoors or even down long school hallways or the wall of the school facing a playground. By doing this you are acknowledging the hard work of your student writers, getting kids outside and experiencing new connections between writing and setting.

StoryWalk connections to literacy development:

In addition to providing the authentic purposes for writing, revision and editing described above, other ways to develop reading and writing strategies and skills will emerge based on your student’s needs and interest.

·         Reading aloud/fluency practice: Students who would benefit from repeated reading aloud might take groups of younger children on a guided tour of a StoryWalk. The repeated readings to a real audience would keep the experience fresh and authentic and help build fluency and expression for the host reader. This experience allows students to practice reading aloud, with focus on fluency and prosody, with an authentic purpose. They might read to families, their favorite adults in school, younger students or even friends and classmates.

·         Ubiquitous sticky notes: The StoryWalk version! It has been a normal practice for a lot of librarians to use sticky note questions on some of the pages from any of their books. This is always done just to engage the readers in the story. Some of their notes ask readers to dive deeper into the story, and others ask them to apply what is happening in the story to their own lives. For example, At the end of a StoryWalk featuring “Mama Built a Little Nest” there might be hints for finding nests in nearby trees, or suggestions and materials for building your own.

Happy Reading!

Meenu Gera 

Consulting home and school librarian reading guide

Career assessment, guidance, and placement strategies:

If you’re a student currently in Grade 11 and planning to apply to universities abroad, you’re at a critical point in your academic journey. With around 4 months before applications open, this is your window to showcase who you are beyond your grades. College admissions teams are not just looking for academic scores—they’re looking for potential, personality, and purpose.

Here are 8 things students can do to strengthen their profile for college admissions:

1. Make a list of all co-curricular activities the student has participated in since Grade 9.
   
2. Categorize these activities into hobbies and skills to better understand areas of interest and development.
   
3. Identify the purpose of each activity—whether it stems from interest, showcases leadership, reflects passion, or highlights academic achievement.
   
4. Focus on long-term engagement, as consistency and sustained involvement demonstrate commitment and depth.
   
5. Pursue meaningful activities, such as:
   
   • Learning a skill (e.g., baking, writing)
     
   • Nurturing a talent (e.g., music, art, sports)
     
   • Completing online courses to deepen academic goals
     
   • Giving back to the community through volunteering or service
     
6. Shortlist key activities—especially if the list is long—that showcase academic interest, leadership, and community service. Aim to develop these over the next 25 weeks.
   
7. Create a LinkedIn profile to begin building a personal brand and professional presence online.
   
8. Demonstrate key traits that universities value, such as problem-solving, risk-taking, leadership, perseverance, and consistency.

Building your profile is not about doing “more”—it’s about doing things that matter, and doing them with purpose and consistency. You already have a story—now is the time to sharpen it and show the world who you are and who you’re becoming.

For career guidance, connect with Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com

Showcase: Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.

Samyuktha (7 years old) and Tara (5.9 years old) took part in a series of hands-on experiments, including float and sink testing, exploring volume through water displacement, and creating a density column. Through these activities, they learned that density and volume help explain why some objects float and others sink.

In the float and sink experiment, they noticed that lighter materials like plastic or wood tend to float, while heavier materials like metal usually sink. When learning about volume using the water displacement method, they discovered that even oddly shaped objects take up space, and this space can be measured by the amount of water the object displaces. In the density column activity, Samyuktha and Tara were excited to see how liquids such as honey, water, and oil formed separate layers. They understood that this happened because some liquids are denser than others meaning they are heavier for the same amount of space. These experiments helped them build a clearer understanding of scientific concepts in a fun and visual way.

And finally… against all odds

Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.

3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.