Slamming of the doors 

No, the mother bird did not offer any food to the young bird.

He stood on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing. He closed one eye, then the other and pretended to be falling asleep. This was done by the bird to seek the attention of his parents.

The young seagull tried to fly. But he was too scared to do so. His parents, brothers and sister persuaded him to fly. They also motivated him. But the young seagull felt that his wings would not support him.

Prose	The Attic
Author	Satyajit Ray
Theme	Mistakes should be atoned and rectified

People are interested by talent; God is impressed by character.

Sasanka Sanyal was a talented boy in the school days. Aditya always stood second next to Sasanka. He received Special Prize for Recitation of Tagore's Panraksha. He was a generous student. His friend Aditya asked him to lend the medal to be shown to the father to impress him. He did not have a second thought. He blindly lent him though he knew that Aditya was jealous of him. When Aditya did not return the medal he would have felt bad. Another interesting aspect of his character was when he recognised Aditya by the mole on his right cheek, he recited the same verses of Tagore to make him realize and repent for the betrayal of trust. Moreover, though he lost his wife and son and sold the lands, he did pay the bill everyday at the tea shop. He was a man of self-respect. When Aditya came to meet him and gave him one hundred and fifty rupees for the medal, he refused to accept it, although the price of the medal was only five rupees. This aspect of his character really makes us love and adore him, because he was not interested in money. Thus right from the tea shop to the end, he is found to be a lovable character in the story.

He had an acute sense of self-respect.

Prose	The Attic
Author	Satyajit Ray
Theme	Mistakes should be atoned and rectified

Give up what appears to be doubtful of what is certain; truth brings peace of mind and deception doubt

'The Attic' is a short story written by Satyajit Ray. The writer with his friend and business partner Aditya was driving back from their factory at Deodarganj. As they reached a point of bifurcation, the author asked his friend about his willingness to take the road, that deviated to the right. That road led to the ancestral home of Aditya, at Bramhapur. His father was a landlord there and later shifted to business at Calcutta. He was born and brought up at Bramhapur. After passing matriculation from the local school, he had left for Calcutta to continue his further studies. The question in the mind of the narrator was whether Aditya would get back his old memories. When they met Sasanka Sanyal, Aditya was a little stressed to meet him. When he heard the details about Sasnska Sanyal the narrator saw a change in the expression of Aditya. This brought many questions in his mind like why Aditya was interested to meet Sasanka Sanyal. When he asked him what it was, he replied that he would get to know very soon. On reaching the house of Jogesh Kabiraj, he was a little curious, but he didn't ask him anything. But at the end he got answers for all his questions.

His nerves seemed overwrought for some reason.

Prose	Empowered Women Navigating the World
Theme	Adventure is synonymous with woman

Women of the past stayed indoors unless allowed to go out with an escort. But today things have changed in such a way that the real power of women is being projected to the world by the advancement of technology and media. Currently women's achievements are tremendous in many fields. One such achievement is the All-women Indian Navy crew who sailed around the world for 254 days, in a sailboat called INSV Tarini. As the sea does not discriminate between genders, the crew undertook this expedition to boost the morale in the country and for more women to take to adventures like sailing. The crew members worked as a team, with each one doing different tasks. Vartika Joshi, as the head of the crew, would discuss different ways of solving a problem and chose the best one. Payal Gupta added that teamwork is the most important in the middle of the crisis. This team effort helped in navigating through the 20 hours long storm. These factors motivated the crew to undergo this expedition.

The boat was named after the famous 'Tara-Tarini' temple in Ganjam district in Odisha

Prose	The Night the Ghost Got In
Author	James Grover Thurber
Theme	Dramatic fuss about mysterious sounds

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not yet understood

‘The Night the Ghost Got In’, is a short story written by James Thurber. It is a fictionalized account of a night in his childhood. The author was in the bathroom and around I in the morning he heard some steps. He and his brother searched here and there but no one was seen. So they closed their room doors with a bang. The sound of the bang woke up the mother. When she heard about the footsteps she thought there must be some burglars. Somehow with the help of the neighbour she called the police and they came in a short time. The police broke open the door and entered the house. They could not find anybody. They opened all the drawers and windows and searched everywhere. They pulled beds from the walls and they removed the clothes from the closets. They saw the zither which was used by guinea pig to sleep. The cops were reluctant to leave without getting their hand on somebody besides grandfather; the night had been distinctly a defeat for them. Finally they could not find anybody.

Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity.

The young seagull was afraid of flying. His parents tried their level best their level best to teach the young seagull to fly. The parents, brothers and sister thought of a plan to teach him to fly. They flew away to another rock and left him alone. They did not give him anything to eat. He stood there on one leg and closed his eyes. He was very hungry. He searched for food everywhere. He even chewed the dried pieces of the eggshells. He saw his mother tearing a piece of fish. He begged his mother to give him food. So the mother flew with the piece of fish to the young seagull. When she reached him, she became motionless in the air. She did not get down on the rock. She wanted to give the young seagull an incentive to fly. The seagull bent forward and jumped at the fish. He was very frightened. But he began to flap his wings to save himself.

National Science Day
by Suhasini (Coordinator of Science Forum)
St. John's School of Pallavaram organized a Science Exhibition in the event of National Science Day for the members of the forum on 28th February 2020. The purpose of this event was to commemorate and honour Sir C. V. Raman for his legacy. He had discovered Raman Effect on the 28th February 1928. All the members of this forum and the students from nearby schools were invited to have a glance at the science exhibition. The Chief Guest for this event was Mr. Natesan, Professor of S.G. Arts & Science College, Vellore. He gave some motivational tips and guidelines to promote our Forum and Science department. The event came to an end with the National Anthem.

Poem	The Ant and the Cricket
Poet	Aesop
Theme	Forewarned is forearmed

A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring

‘Aesop’s fables’ is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and a story teller believed to have lived in Greece between 620 and 564 B.C.E. These fables became popular when they emerged in print.
Through the story of the lazy cricket and the hardworking ant, the poet teaches us the virtue of hard work. The cricket was foolish enough not to see the future. He made no plans or provisions for the future. He lived in the present moment. The ant, on the other hand, was wise and hardworking. He worked hard so that he could enjoy the future. The poet wants us to learn an important lesson in life. One must always save for the future. One should not be foolish enough to just enjoy the present moment. ‘As you sow, so shall you reap.’ is a popular proverb that fits this story. We must be fare sighted enough to see our future and make plans accordingly. One should be ready for the good as well as the bad times ahead. This attitude of the ant is not only an eye-opener for the cricket but also for the human beings. We should not be like the cricket and ruin our future.

But we ants never Borrow; we ants never lend

A family lives in the Street of Complaining. Nobody likes them, as they are always complaining. They find fault with everything. They are never satisfied with anything. They growl at everything whether they are in a good position or a low position, they find fault with it and complain about it. When the weather is too hot or cold, they complain about it. They scold alike if it is winter or summer. Everything goes wrong with the people living down on that sad complaining street. It is a fact that their growling never gets completed or stopped. And if everything pleased them, there is no doubt, that they would grumble that there is nothing to grumble about.

Poem	I am Every Woman
Poet	Rakhi Nariani Shirke
Theme	Multi-faceted nature of modern woman

Strong is she in her faith and beliefs "Persistence is the key to everything,"

Rakhi Nariani Shirke is an academician with a passion for writing poems as a medium of self expression. Her poem talks about the multi-faced nature of women. The poet Rakhi Nariani Shirke describes the qualities of today's women. They are empowered, brave, strong and resolute. They are always ready to take up new ventures. They are persistent and work tirelessly to prove what they are capable of Women have to be treated respectfully for the growth of a nation. Every woman has innate beauty in her. She is a symbol of power and strength. She is willing to put her life at stake. She is ready to take risk in her life courageously. She is a down-to-earth- real human being. She is not fake. She is ready to sacrifice her whims and fancy for the happiness of the loved ones. According to her, others' happiness is more important than hers. The woman is strongly and inseparably rooted in her faith and beliefs. Nothing can shake up. The poet goes on to say that she is a lioness. She should not be taken for granted. She will not spare anyone who plays pranks on her. She will fight for equality in all spheres.

She knows how to thaw you, saw you so beware!

Poem	I am Every Woman
Poet	Rakhi Nariani Shirke
Theme	Multi-faceted nature of modern woman

A woman is beauty innate, A symbol of poser and strength.

Rakhi Nariani Shirke is an academician with a passion for writing poems as a medium of self expression. Her poem talks about the multi-faced nature of women. She portrays that every woman is beautiful  innate. She is the symbol of power and strength. She is willing to put her life at risk. Every woman is true in expressing her love and she is never fake. She is very dignified in her approach. Even at times of adversity, she finds a ray of hope and she continues to care for her near ones. She is very courageous and she has no fear. She is strong in her faith and beliefs. She is never a quitter and she is optimistic. She is ferocious like a lioness. It is better for the prankster to stay away from her. Never should one try to bring disgrace to her pride and self-respect, for she knows how to thaw and saw them. She is today's woman. It is healthier to love her, respect her and to keep her near.

She's today's woman. Today's woman dear, Love her, respect her, keep her near .....

Title	Life
Poet	Henry Van Dyke
Theme	Optimism makes the journey of life cheerful

Life is very important so take it seriously.

Henry Van Dyke (1852 – 1933) was an American author, poet, educator and clergyman; His early works, ‘The story of the other Wise Man’ and ‘The First Christians Tree’, were first read aloud to his conjugation in New York as sermons.
The poet wants to live his life looking ahead with a burning desire to accomplish something in his life. He neither wants to hurry nor wants to move away from his goal. He does not want to mourn or cry over the setbacks in the past. Also he does not worry about the future. He instead prefers to live his life with a whole and happy heart which cheerfully travels from youth to old age. Hence, it or smooth. Whatever may be the path, he believes that his journey will be cheerful. He states that he will continue to seek what he wanted as a boy – new friendship, high adventure and a crown (prize). His heart will remain courageous and pursue his desires. He hopes that every turn in his life’s journey will be the best.

My heart will keep the courage of the quest And hope the road’s last turn will be the best.

The crew underwent their basic training in Mumbai at the Indian Naval Waterman ship Training Centre and at various schools in the naval base in Kochi.

On his mother’s suggestion, the farmer made a rope with a twisted straw, and then stretched it upon a row of flat stones and burnt it on a windless night. When the blaze died down, they could see a rope of ashes on the stones.

Mrs. Krishnan said that whatever was given by Somu were nuisances. She gave a sarcastic comment when Arvind praised the boomerang given by Somu

Aditya offered Sanyal one hundred and fifty rupees. It was the price of the medal he had been keeping with him for twenty nine years.

When she fell sick, the doctor went to her tent to attend to her. At that time he came to know about Mulan's real identity. Thus the soldiers came to know about Mulan's identify.

Slamming of the door woke up the mother.

He should be firm to say no

Circumnavigation means to travel all the way around something, especially the earth.

One of the special features of INSV Tarini is that it encouraged use of environment friendly non- conventional renewable energy resources such as the wind. It collected and updated meteorological, ocean and wave data on regular basis for accurate weather forecast by India meteorological Department (IMD) and also collected data for monitoring marine pollution on high seas.

From 
  The Librarian
  Kendriya Vidyalaya,
  Anna Nagar,
  Chennai - 600 040
26^th February 2019
To
  The Manager,
  Anna Nagar Times,
  Anna Nagar,
  Chennai - 600 099.
Sir,
  Subject: Ordering subscription for school library - reg.
This is to bring to your notice that you have not given subscription to our school library. We have been promoting your daily news among our school students for the past five months. Now it is time to subscribe for our school library. Kindly do the needful, as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully.
R.vasanthi
(The Librarian)

From
  Ramesh. S.
  No.4, 1'1 Cross street,
  Peravallur,
  Chennai - 600 082.
2^nd March 2019
To
  The Officer
  PWD Department
  Kolathur,
  Chennai - 600 099.
Dear sir,
  Subject: Complaint about the maintenance of the park - reg.
This is to bring to your notice that the park in our locality at Peravallur is not maintained properly. We used to go to the park to get some fresh air and relax. Most of us walk there from 5.00 a.m. But now we are unable to do so, as the park is littered with cow dung and other wastes. So I humbly request you to take immediate action to maintain cleanliness in this park in our locality. It would be a great help to all the elders and home makers if you take immediate action.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully.
S.Ramesh

a) 'I' refers to the cricket
b) The nature of the cricket was that it indulged in merrymaking in summer. This we can know from the way it spent the summer.

a) Starvation and famine made the cricket bold.
b) It was winter and he had not made his shelter. So he dripped with wet and trembled with cold.

(a) The family lives on Complaining Street.
(b) The street is named as Complaining Street because the people who live there always complain about everything.

a) Summer means adversity, pain or agony.
b) She takes life positively and hopes for the better.
c) She means that difficult times will pass by and new hope and brighter life will come up again.

Title	The Story of Mulan
Author	Robert Daniel San Souci
Theme	A Woman can win a war

Yes, I do agree with Mulan's decision to go to war. Her country China was in the middle of a great war. The Emperor said that one man from each Chinese family must leave his family to join the army. Mulan, a teenage girl who lived in a far away village of China told her father that she would join the army from their family. She had a brother but he was a little boy. She did not want her father who was not well to go to the army. So in this situation her decision to join the army is agreeable. Moreover she had been trained in Kung Fu and use of sword. So she cut her hair, put on her father's dress and disguised herself as a man. It was a big risk because if she were found to be a woman she would be put to death. She joined the army and fought for China. She proved to be a strong soldier. So she was made a leader of soldiers. Finally she became the General. She finally brought an end to the long war. This clearly shows that she was the right person to join the army. Strong will power, and determination will make woman succeed. Hence Mulan's going to war is justified.

Title	The Aged Mother
Author	Matsuo Basho
Theme	Old is gold

“The Story of the Aged Mother” by Matsuo Basho is a story about a son and his aged widowed mother. He secretly fought against the decree of putting aged people to death. We know the famous saying ‘Old is gold’. They are really gold because of their wisdom. The foundation for all the new things in the present world was laid in the olden days. In the story, we see on two occasions, the old mother guiding her son the young farmer. First when the farmer carried her to the top of the steep and narrow mountain, the old mother saw the paths crossed and re-crossed in many ways which might be very dangerous for the son to get back home. So she broke the twigs to pieces and quietly dropped them all along the way until they reached the summit. When the son bade farewell to his mother, the unselfish and loving mother told him about the path she had made with a handful of broken twigs on the path. She advised him to walk along the path which had the piles of twigs. The other occasion was when the governor passed the order to make a rope of ashes. She gave her son a clever plan to make to rope with a twisted straw, and then stretched it upon a row of flat stones and burnt it on a windless night. When the blaze died down, they could see a rope of ashes. This idea of the old mother abolished the decree that old people should be put to death.

With the crown of snow there cometh wisdom

This story is about a multilingual weird bird, named Zigzag. Dr. Krishnan's clinic usually sounded noisy because of the shouting and crying of children. His friend Dr. Somu requested him to shelter Zigzag, his pet as he was about to leave for Alaska. When Zigzag was brought to his house, it did not speak to anyone. It could sing and talk in 21 different languages. But it did not speak any word to them. Instead he transferred the fruits and nuts given to him to a Chandelier and to the blades of the ceiling fan. It perched on a curtain rod and went off to sleep. When the fan was switched on, all the fruits and nuts fell down. The papaya slice splattered on the painting of Mrs. Krishnan and spoiled it. Mrs. Krishnan was irritated and persuaded Dr. Krishnan to send the bird away to Visu's house. So Dr. Krishnan took the bird to his clinic. There it commanded everyone in an orderly way. He brought peace, calmness and a disciplined atmosphere in the clinic. The painting which had been spoilt by Zigzag was sold out for 5,000. It was bought because the new technique in painting was liked by the buyer. Thus Mr. Krishnan's family invited Zigzag to stay with them for another week.

India got independence in the year 1947

The Lesson of a Spider
Once there was a king called Robert Bruce.
One rainy day, he was lying on the ground in a dejected mood. He was tired and felt sick at heart, ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more.
As he lay thinking, he noticed a spider over his head, which was falling down from the ceiling. The ceiling was far away. The king wondered how it would be reach there. It tried and fell back again and again. It  made nine such attempts, yet it failed. Then it made another attempt to climb up once  more. At last it succeeded in reaching the roof. Bruce got inspired and he imitated what the spider did. He too tried again and he was successful.

Indra Nooyi is an Indian-born American business executive currently serving as the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, one of the largest food and beverage businesses in the world.
Childhood & Early Life
(i) She was born as Indra Krishnamurthy on 28 October 1955, in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil
(ii) She was educated at Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. She graduated in 1974 from Madras Christian College.
(iii) She completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA), in 1976.
Career
(i) Indra Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development.
Awards & Achievements
(i) She has been consistently ranked on 'Forbes' magazine's list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. 'Fortune' magazine named Indra Nooyi No.1 on its annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for five consecutive years from 2006 to 2010.
(ii) She was honored with the Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 2007.
(iii) She was named 2009 CEO of the Year by Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.

Women play a variety of significant roles in the family from their birth till the end of life. Woman's life is more complicated than a man. She has to take care of herself and family members as daughter, grand daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, mother-in law, grandmother, etc. By following such a big responsibility in the family, they come out and do job for the bright future of their family and country.

1. Being satisfied
2. Accepting the life as it is
3. Facing problems in a positive way
4. Treating joy and sadness equally  
5. Accepting the reality  
6. Never complaining 
7. Walk with a smile  
8. See good in everything  
9. Being trust worthy 

A woman is beauty innate,
A symbol of power and strength.
She puts her life at stake,
She's real, she's not fake!
The summer of life she's ready to see in spring.
She says, "Spring will come again, my dear.
Let me care for the ones who're near.”
She's The Woman – she has no fear!
Strong is she in her faith and beliefs.
"Persistence is the key to everything," 
says she. Despite the sighs and groans and moans,
She's strong in her faith, firm in her belief!
She's a lioness; don't mess with her.
She'll not spare you if you're a prankster.
Don't ever try to saw her pride, her self-respect.
She knows how to thaw you, saw you – so beware!
She's today's woman. Today's woman, dear. 
Love her, respect her, keep her near...
                                               -Rakhi Nariani Shirke  

Let me but live my life from year to year, 
With forward face and unreluctantly soul; 
Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal; 
Not mourning for the things that disappear 
In the dim past, nor holding back in fear
From what the future veils; but with a whole 
And happy heart, that pays its toll
To Youth and Age, and travels on with cheer.
So let the way wind up the hill or down,
O'er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy:
Still seeking what I sought when but a boy,
New friendship, high adventure, and a crown, 
My heart will keep the courage of the quest, 
And hope the road's last turn will be the best
                                                         -Henry Van Dyke