www.queenmira.com 1 2 YAGNA | January 2020 GLOBAL CONNECT “ “ FORMER US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYS PARIS CLIMATE DEAL IS STILL THE WAY FORWARD AT 34, “ FINNISH MINISTER SANNA MARIN BECOMES WORLD’S YOUNGEST PM “ “ SAUDI RESTAURANTS NO LONGER NEED TO SEGREGATE“ WOMEN AND MEN NOSTRADAMUS TIMES JANUARY • Pongal Celebration • Marathon - Project ECO - Q Editor In Chief • Sales Day S.HARITHA FEBRUARY Sub Editors KALPANA KARTHICK • Health Camp AYSHA SIDDIKA FEROZE • Grand Parents Day Student Editors MARCH PRAJITH SELVARAJ SHERBOURN ISSAC.S • Aadukalam ANUSHA THENU SUBRAMANIAN CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR-ACADEMICS ..................................................... 8 Q’S OUTREACH PROGRAM ........................................................ 9 COUNSELLOR’S INSTINCT ................................................ 10 HARAPPAN SCRIPTS .................................................................... 11 CONOISSEUR’S EXHORTATION ...................................... 12 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ................................................... 14 SIXTH SENSE ................................................................................. 16 CAREER CHOICES ...................................................................... 18 PATH THE NAVIGATOR ............................................................ 20 GAITIES & CELEBRITIES ............................................................ 22 AMAZING FACTS & FRESH THOUGHTS ........................ 25 QUASAR KIDS ...................................................................................... 26 TRAILBLAZER ....................................................................................... 27 TRAVELOGUE .................................................................................... 28 CONNEXIONS COLUMN ............................................................. 29 LEARNER’S COLUMN ..................................................................... 30 AGARAM ................................................................................................... 32 STAR OF THE YEAR .......................................................................... 34 JUNIOR JOURNALIST ....................................................................... 38 CHILD HEALTH AND SAFETY ................................................... 39 SPORTS ..................................................................................................... 40 Q’S ACHIEVEMENTS....................................................................... 42 THE EDITOR Hello Readers, I extend my warm greeting to you all with yet another exciting edition of Yagna. As we march towards the closure of another year that was 2019. The theme for this edition is An Inconvenient Truth, PLASTIC apart from which we will recapture a few memorable events / updates from our campus. An Inconvenient Truth is an Oscar-winning documentary about the environment featuring the unlikeliest of movie stars. Former presidential candidate Al Gore holds this film together as, in front of an audience and with few aids beyond photo slides, he explains how humans have messed up the planet. Gore issues an urgent warning on what must be done, and done quickly, to save the earth. I urge all of you to watch this documentary. Why has this turned into such an epic problem that has got all to the edge of their seats and worried? Plastic is a word that originally meant “pliable and easily shaped.” It only recently became a name for a category of materials called polymers. The word polymer means “of many parts,” and polymers are made of long chains of molecules. The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory. The growing popularity of billiards had put a strain on the supply of natural ivory, obtained through the slaughter of wild elephants. In about a 100+ years plastic has entered all arenas and is subconsciously omnipresent. What is the first sight that you come across as you enter any human habitation / city /town? Mounds and mounds of garbage and predominantly multi colored plastic. Plastic has a full life (as in the time it takes to degrade to the natural form) of approximately 50+ years. That means, by the time a plastic can erode, we would have a mass of the dimension of our planet itself. That is the size of the problem, which has got everyone worried and at the edge of their seats. I am petrified when I remember the Chennai floods of 2015, in its aftermath wherever the deluge receded; it left a trail of Plastic on every tree, shrub, building and drain. In this edition, we will have articles educating us on the Pros & Cons and other alternatives you could use to reduce this strain on our fragile environment and help improve sustainability. At this juncture, we thank the people who were the back bone in bringing out this edition of yagna successfully. We thank our subeditors, student editors, column in charges and our external editor Dr.PV.Christi, Associate Professor in English, Research Center of English, Fatima College for extending her help in bringing successful yet another edition. We thank our Designing Partner - Odd Dimension Advertising and our Print Partner - Vinagaya Screens for their unstinting support. Wish you all a Happy Newyear! Haritha.S Editor in Chief 6 YAGNA | January 2020 STUDENT EDITORS We the student editors through this editorial would into a plastic container. The amount of toxins and like to share the various Pros and Cons of Plastic chemicals that leach out from the plastic container into the food is unimaginable. If you have to order Plastic in any form or quality is harmful to health, food from outside, ask the restaurant the grade of period. In a perfect world you would want to avoid plastic being used. Grade one; four and five are safer exposure to all forms of plastic. Considering plastic than grade three and seven. Grade three and seven lurks in every nook and corner of our lives, banishing are the cheapest and most restaurants use them to it completely seems unrealistic and impractical. save on cost. We can start with awareness about the little ways by • Most organic and farmers’ markets offer dry ration which we can reduce our exposure to plastic. This in paper, cartons or cloth bags. But if you are buying can go a long way in reducing toxicity, hormonal groceries from a local shop, transfer all that comes imbalance, cancer, infertility, PCOS, obesity, etc. in plastic packets and bottles (e.g.: cooking oils, Some practical and handy solutions that can help us dals, spices, rice, flours) into glass, steel or clay jars gradually do away with plastic from our lives are: as soon as it reaches your kitchen. If you purchase something bottled in glass, clean it and reuse it. • Discard plastic bottles at home and switch to glass, clay, stainless steel or copper bottles. If you are • Avoid drinking hot liquids in plastic cups. When travelling and have access to only bottled mineral hot liquid goes into them there are chemicals being water (which is plastic), carry your own non-plastic leached into the drink. Instead, opt for glass cups, bottle with water. mason jars or bring your own cup. • If you have plastic water filters, make a change and • Believe it or not there is plastic in some of our clothes switch to clay pots. They are perfect for summer too. The so-called ‘wrinkle free’ fabrics are not and naturally purify the water too. safe and contain Teflon, which is a kind of plastic. Organic and natural fabrics like cotton, wool and • Traditional India ate out of stainless steel, copper, linen may be the safest options when it comes to metal, banana leaf, clay, wooden plates and that’s your health. This is also why Teflon-coated non- how it should be. Change your tiffin boxes right stick cookware should be banned in your kitchen. now! For children, stainless steel is safer. At the same time, no matter how true the claim about Thus we conclude by telling that the use of plastics lunch boxes being microwave safe is, it doesn’t is dangerous for our health and not only harmful to mean it won’t leach chemicals. As we all know, mankind but also to the other organisms that live on microwaving itself is harmful. earth. • Minimize food takeaways and home delivery So let’s say no to plastic and start following the ways services because we have no control over the type which we used earlier that were much healthier for us of plastic they use. Most of the times, restaurants as well as the rest of the life on earth. and cafes transfer the food straight from the pan Prajith Selvaraj Sherbourn Issac.S Anusha Thenu Subramanian Grade 11, QMIS Grade 11, QMIS www.queenmira.com 7 MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR ACADEMICS Dear Readers, With the blessings of Almighty and the support of well wishers QMIS is successfully marching through its 10th year. With a sense of contentment, we retrospect the 10 years of journey. As committed to the society, we had never compromised in developing the leaders of tomorrow by providing a holistic education nurturing body, mind and soul. QMIS is glad to shape the next generation in all dimensions besides making a paradigm shift in the pedagogy. Though a CBSE school, we have consciously integrated components for global mindedness by blending UN sustainable development goals in the day to day lesson plan deliverance. Values are infused as a non negotiable component of every lesson. Collaboration and Critical thinking, the core skills of 21st century learners are