In a world that rushes, we must teach children to be still.

This International Yoga Day, our learners explored peace and patience. We welcomed Yoga experts, Dhara Kotecha and Khushi S.They taught us that yoga is not about doing, it is about being.

It is not easy for children to sit still. Yet, the campus became quiet. Learners focused on their breath. They stayed patient with their bodies. They found a soft, steady peace.

By the end, they were not just doing movements. They were experiencing the present moment. They learned to just be.

Every new academic year begins long before the learners arrive on campus.
This past week, both our campuses opened their doors for the Parent Orientation 2026. These orientations are not merely administrative routines, they are the moments where we align our perspective with the families who entrust us with their children.

For the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year, this system is expanding. We are welcoming a significant number of new learners into our classrooms, and with them comes a fresh wave of curiosity and energy. Education cannot happen in isolation. It requires a shared understanding between the home and the classroom. Seeing parents fill our spaces, engage with our educators, and participate in these foundational conversations reminds us of the collective dream that builds Northstar.

Welcome to the new academic year.

A school without learners is a strange place. The corridors are silent. The whiteboards are blank. Yet, for the past two weeks, Northstar has been alive with a different kind of energy.

We hosted True North Foundations 2026.

TNF is our annual gathering. It is a space where educational philosophy meets everyday classroom reality. It is an intentional pause. In the rush of an academic year, it is easy to focus entirely on how to get things done. TNF forces us to ask a more demanding question: Why do we teach?

Teaching is not an automated delivery of content. It is a human discipline. During True North Foundations every year, our focus is toward a deliberate convergence of philosophy, evidence, and deep commitment. Through collaboration and reflection, we engaged ourselves in workshops that challenge and shape how we teach such as: Teaching Thinking, Blended Learning and ICT Tools, Facilitating Learning Through Worksheets, Cultivating a Healthy Reading Habit, Creative Assessment Workshop, Collaborative Work & Group Protocols, Social and Emotional Learning, 10 Learnings of 10 Years, Story Jam, From Story to Solutions and many more such enriching workshops were conducted during these 2 weeks.

We dream of a school that nurtures independent, resilient individuals. But to build that space, we must first inhabit it ourselves. The classrooms will soon fill up again, and we are ready.

As we look back on the academic year, we are proud to mark two years of Northstar Neemods.

Northstar Neemods are trans-curricular programs, offering new learning experiences. What makes these programs truly unique is that they are fully integrated into our school timings. They are a core part of the day, ensuring every child has the time and energy to engage in hands-on discovery without the pressure of extra hours. It is an incredibly vast and diverse range of co-curriculars offerings. The variety of these offerings is unique, providing experiences and skills that are hard to find elsewhere. 

This year, our learners stepped beyond traditional subjects to build skills, spark curiosity, and engage in hands-on discovery.

We thank our educators and parents for your continued support in making these experiences possible.

Here are some examples of the incredible variety of Neemods offered at school.

The Northstar School is excited to host True North Foundations 2026.Northstar’s annual pedagogical and learning symposium designed exclusively for Northstar educators.

TNF is our annual gathering at the intersection of educational philosophy, theory, and living classroom practice. Over the course of two weeks, TNF 2026 invites Northstar Educators to examine not just how we teach, but why we teach. It is a dedicated space for grounding reflective inquiry in the real challenges, and possibilities of our everyday classrooms.

What to Expect This Year

Through a curated mix of hands-on workshops, facilitated dialogue, and collaborative exploration, we will celebrate the craft of teaching as a true discipline. This year, our focus centers on the powerful convergence of three pillars:

• Philosophical Curiosity: Questioning and refining our core beliefs about education.
• Evidence-Informed Practice: Bringing data, research, and proven strategies into our daily routines.
• Deep Commitment to Student Learning: Ensuring every breakthrough we have translates directly to the student experience.

TNF is a time to pause, grow, and reconnect with our practice, our purpose, and each other.

Together, we will explore innovative strategies, reflect on our evolving teaching identities, and co-create tangible solutions to enhance student learning. Let’s celebrate what it means to teach with intention, imagination, and impact.

T.S. Eliot once wrote that the end of all our exploring is to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. It is a profound paradox: that after all the wandering, the most significant discovery we make is the one we have carried with us all along.

In the landscape of modern education, we often treat learning as a race toward a distant, unknown finish line. We push children to acquire more, to do more. But at Northstar, we see exploration differently. We believe that true education is not about changing who a child is, but about helping them navigate the unknown, remembered gate of their own potential.

By providing a compass rather than a map, we allow our learners to journey through the complexities of the world only to find that the most beautiful destination is their own authentic self. It is a journey of coming home to one's own skin, with the wisdom to finally recognize the beginning.

Join us in a journey to hear those half-heard melodies of talent and curiosity.

Bidding farewell is never easy. It is a transition that turns daily presence into lasting memory.

The Class of 2026 has already stepped into a world of vast possibilities. At Northstar, we stay behind for a moment, simply reminiscing about the years spent together. The hallways feel different now, yet the essence of this batch remains.

The world outside is wide and filled with sharp challenges. Our hope is that our learners meet these moments with grace. We encourage them to carry the lessons learned here as a steady compass for the road ahead.

Their stories remain within these walls even as they move forward. We look forward to the day their new experiences bring them back to us.

Until then, we hold onto the beautiful moments of Farewell 2026.

Dante Alighieri began his greatest work by speaking of a moment where the road feels lost and the woods grow dark and unfamiliar.

For many children, the traditional path of learning can feel exactly like that, a daunting place where they feel astray from their true potential, lost in a forest of standardized expectations. At Northstar, we believe no child should have to navigate that darkness alone.

Our role as educators isn't to pull the child along our path, but to provide the light and the compass so they can find theirs. We help them navigate the complexities of discovery until the shadows fade, and they find themselves on a road that feels like home. We believe education, at its best, is simply the journey of a child finding their way back to themselves.

Join us in a journey where every child finds their true north.

Read more of Mohit Sir’s thoughts here.

Last year, we introduced the Mulberry Program as an extension of the Northstar experience. Mulberry Program is designed to provide K1 & K2 students of the Northstar School with additional supervised learning and developmental opportunities beyond regular school hours. This program aims to further solidify academic concepts and foster holistic growth within the familiar and secure school environment. 

Watching our first batch of learners progress has been a journey of discovery. We saw children develop a natural rhythm with their meals and rest, while finding joy in completing their tasks at school. Because of this success, we are happy to open registrations for Mulberry 2026.

What we learned from last year

The program is more than just extra hours at school. It is about the quality of those hours. Here is what we observed in our learners:

• Guided Academic Success: We have successfully integrated Extended Learning (Homework) within school hours. By completing tasks under our educator’s supervision, learning becomes more manageable and stress-free, while fostering a strong sense of independence and responsibility in every child.
• Strengthened Core Domains: Beyond the standard curriculum, the extended hours allow for a deeper focus on:
  • Northstar Language Arts & Math Procedural Fluency
  • Creative Expression & Physical Well-being
  • Mindful Habits & Cognitive Development
• Optimal Energy & Engagement: Our curriculum is paced to ensure that learners remain fresh, energetic, and curious right until 3:30 PM. The schedule is meticulously balanced to prevent fatigue while maximizing discovery.
• Quality Family Time: By handling supervised academic work at school, the Mulberry Program reduces the "after-school concerns" for parents. Your evenings at home can remain dedicated to family time.

We are happy to share glimpses of last year’s program. 

Looking Ahead

As we start the new session, we remain committed to providing a safe, familiar environment where curiosity meets structured support. The Mulberry Program continues to be a bridge between school and home, ensuring that every K1 & K2 Northstarian has the space to thrive.

To learn more about the program or to register, 
please call us at +91 90991 95950.

As the HEP-TNS collaboration 2026 came to an end, Northstar was filled with a familiar warmth. Their departure was a reminder that while Switzerland and India may be miles apart, the educational philosophy remains the same. 

Reflecting on these two weeks, Mohit Sir shared, "It doesn't feel like you are coming from somewhere else and visiting us, you almost feel like a part of our school. Please keep coming. We hope that this intercultural exchange is for the good of the world." 

Ruth and Lucy, heads of HEP spoke about the beauty of the differences we share and the boundaries we have broken together. In a world that often feels difficult and challenging, they shared their relief and joy in finding a school like Northstar to partner with. 

They were particularly struck by the wisdom they saw in our learners, a reminder that children often understand the world with a clarity that adults sometimes lose. 

"Education is the key,"  they reminded us. Their parting message to the learners was simple and powerful: "Keep asking questions." 

The two weeks passed quickly, as they always do when people are learning with such intensity. As they left, their final words were of care and connection: "We miss you already. Take good care of yourselves." 

This collaboration is more than just an exchange of teaching methods, it is proof that when we open our doors to the world, we find that we are not so different after all.

The world outside often feels loud, hurried, and fragmented. It demands speed. But we believe a child’s environment should be the opposite: slow, intentional, and unhurried.

Charles Baudelaire wrote of an ideal place where there is nothing else but grace and measure. At Northstar, this isn't just poetry, it is our architectural and pedagogical blueprint. We have created a sanctuary of measure.

What does measure mean to us? It means there is room to breathe. There is time to think. There is a natural rhythm to the day that respects the child’s biological and emotional clock. When we remove the noise of the hurry, something remarkable happens: the child finally hears their own inner voice.

Join us in a space where every child finds their inner voice.

Read more of Mohit Sir’s thoughts here.

Every morning, the sun rises on a new set of questions.

The writer Jorge Luis Borges once wrote of a dawn that finds us exactly where we are. It is a beautiful thought, but at Northstar we have observed something slightly different. We believe the dawn finds us a little different than the day before.

In a traditional school, the day is often a repeat of the one prior: same desks, same scripts, same expectations. But for a curious mind, the dawn isn't just another day, it’s a fresh start. We have built Northstar as a space where wonder is valued. When a child walks through our gates, they aren't just arriving at a building they are stepping into a process of constant transformation.

Learning is not a destination we reach, it is the act of becoming someone new every single morning.

Join us on a journey to wonder and wander together.

Read more of Mohit Sir’s thoughts here.

At Northstar, we often talk about the importance of the environment. We carefully curate our physical spaces to be unhurried and safe. But recently, a workshop conducted by one of our educators reminded us that our learners are spending hours every day in an environment which  we cannot keep a track of: the digital one.

Reflections from the session

What we discovered during the workshop was both revealing and alarming. While the session had the practicals of safety, learners provided the raw reality of their digital lives:

• The Gaming Addiction: In Grades 5 and 6, physical outdoor play is being rapidly replaced by platforms like Roblox. Learners mentioned spending 5–6 hours on weekends immersed in these games.
• Talking to Strangers: Most concerning was the revelation that many learners, especially in Grades 7 and 8, frequently talk to strangers online because they feel heard without judgment. 
• The Bullying Trap: We learned that cyberbullying isn't just something that happens to them, it is a cycle. Some learners admitted that after being bullied in a game chat, they fell into the trap of bullying someone else, not realizing the emotional weight of a mean comment until they reflected on it in the classroom.
• The AI Shortcut: There is a growing blind spot regarding ethics. Using AI for English assignments or generating images to submit as their own is largely seen as acceptable, with little awareness of how this easy button might be blurring their original thinking.
• The Privacy: A recurring theme in learner reflections was the discomfort they feel when parents enter or monitor their rooms without consent. They start hiding as they feel it hinders their privacy. 

The Global Context

These observations aren't unique to our school, they reflect a global crisis.

• Cyber Grooming: Research indicates that grooming is one of the fastest-growing threats, with predators often using gaming websites and social media to build emotional bonds with unsuspecting teenagers.
• The Reach of Bullying: Worldwide, nearly 37% of young people have been bullied online, and 90% of them do not tell an adult because they fear their devices will be taken away.
• The Identity Mask: Global data shows that 50% of children have talked to a stranger online, and many believe that fake identities are just a normal part of the game, not a potential threat.

Beyond the Screen

At Northstar, we believe that if a child goes astray in this digital world, they don't need a lecture, they need guidance. The workshop focused on practical steps:

1. Privacy is a border: Don't share photographs or private info with random/unknown people.
2. The no-react rule: Never respond aggressively to a bully, it only fuels the fire.
3. Identify and block: We taught learners how to save evidence (screenshots) and block groomers immediately.
4. The open door: The most important step is informing a parent or elder immediately when a message makes them feel weird or uncomfortable.

The Northstar Perspective

We realized through this workshop that Cyber Safety is not a technical subject, it is a social-emotional one. It is about Autonomy and Self-Regulation. As we look at the person our learners are becoming, we must ensure they have the tools to navigate the red flags of the digital world with the same grace and measure they show in our physical corridors. We aren't just protecting their accounts, we are protecting their emotional well-being and their creative spark.

Written by:

1. Pallavi Raval

2. Jinali Mirani

Education at Northstar is a dialogue that extends beyond the classroom. Education is rarely about a single moment, it is about the continuity of ideas.

Since 2018, The Northstar School has maintained a  profound dialogue with HEP Switzerland. What began as an exchange program has evolved into a shared philosophy of how we teach and how we learn.

The Timeline

2018: The First Collaborations

We opened our doors to a new perspective. Our first collaborations were about exploring the distance between Rajkot and Lausanne, only to find how much we had in common.

The Gap Years

During the pandemic, we remained keen on sharing, keeping the partnership alive through a shared commitment to educational growth, even from a distance.

Deepening Roots 

The collaboration matured. It moved from observation to co-creation, where Swiss and Indian educators sat together to reimagine the classroom. Highlight

2026: The dialogue continues.

Why We Practice This Collaboration

We believe that learning is a global endeavor.

For the Learner: It is an exercise in intercultural intelligence, seeing the world through another’s lens. It helps in becoming global citizens.

For the Educator: It is a professional refinement, co-teaching with international experts to sharpen our own craft.

For our Community: It fosters empathy, curiosity, and a lifelong love for diverse perspectives.

As we welcome our colleagues from HEP Switzerland back to campus, we don't just welcome guests, we welcome our colleagues in our pursuit of excellence.

We are excited for the collaboration to begin again.

At Northstar, we have always believed that a school is not just a building or a curriculum. It is a living, breathing philosophy. As we mark our 10th year, a decade of teaching and learning, we find ourselves looking back at the foundation of our vision.

We realized that our True North wasn't built on textbooks. It was shaped by the words of thinkers, the vision of artists, and the quiet wisdom of poets. These voices provided the compass for how we see childhood and the path every learner walks within our walls.

The Voices that Shape Us

Over the coming days and weeks, we will be sharing a series of reflections based on the literary pillars of our school. These are not just quotes, poems, art; they are the containers of our daily experiences at The Northstar School. This celebration is not a look back at milestones, but a look inward at our values. We want to share with you the roots of these 10 years, the small breakthroughs, the sensory details of our campus, and the deep respect we hold for the inner life of the child.

We are not just documenting a decade, we are preparing for the next one. We believe that by returning to these core reflections, we can continue to build a space where learning is as natural as breathing.

We invite you to join us. Whether you are a parent who has been with us since day one, a new educator in our hallways, or a curious observer, we invite you to read, write, and reflect alongside us. Let us look deeper than the surface, past the glass, and into the heart of what education can truly be.