Author: Nikitha Viralam Viswanath

Trip Organizer – HappyMiles outdoor learning

Ratio for teacher:student – 1:10

24 – hour doctor on call

Tickets are booked in advance

Itenary

Day 1 – bangalore to chikmangalur

Assamble and depart for chikmangalur, brekfast en-route. Ice-breaking and team building activities

Check-in lunch and proceed for the bean cup coffee experience

Walk through coffee estates, observe cultivation and proceeding; hands-on drying, roasting, grinding and brewing.

Visit the Coffee museum to explore exhibits, machinery, and stages of coffee plantation.

Group collage-making on “bean to cup” Evening reflection circle, dinner, and overnight stay. (B,L,D)

Day 2 – chikmangalur

After breakfast at the hotel, head towards – A session on Community service & Study with a local NGO actively working on Rural Development

Step into small farms to try their hand at basic tasks such as planting saplings, watering crops, and learning traditional farming tools and techniques

The walk then leads to a village school, where students and local children paint a wall mural that reflets “My Village, My World”

In the afternoon, they head to a hands-on handicraft workshop, where they’ll learn the traditional art of pottery making under the guide of local artisans

Afternoon community activity: tree plantation/kitchen garden.

Return to hotel for reflections, dinner, and overnight stay (B, L, D)

Day 3 – chikmangalur

Early morning trek to Mullayangiri peak; packed snacks provided

Return for breakfast and freshen up

Participate in a clean-up drive along the Bhadra river bank with NGO volunteers

Lunch at a local restaurant

Post lunch, students will receive an orientation on waste management, including segregation of waste- biogradable and non-biogradable waste, the impact of pollution on aquatic life, and sustainable community practices. (at a local recycling unit)

Evening head back to the hotel and participate in team building sports and engage in a discussion on sustainability, have a reflection session on the activities done during the entire day.

Have dinner and overnight stay in hotel (B, L, D)

Day 4 – chikmangalur to bangalore

Breakfast and checkout

Visit Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi en route to bangalore

Lunch stop will be at a local indian restaurant

Proceed to Bangalore and end the trip with memorable learnings

Inclutions

Accommodation on triple sharing basis

3N accommodation in Chikmangalur at hotel aadrika of similar

Meals as mentioned in the program

Drinking water and dry snacks on all days of the tour

AC coach for transfers and sightseeing visits on all days

10:1 teachers on sharing basis

Check in: 21/01/2026

Check out: 24/10/2026

Goodies

HappyMiles day backpack

Bag Tags

Cap

Metal bottle

The HappyMiles Journal

Recommended things to carry

Comfortable walking shoes

Light sweater, jacket, or shawl

Answers for questions

1. Live (bus) tracking will be available
2. Al least 60 students are expected to come to this trip
3. Kids can bring point and shoot cameras to this trip
4. No phones or electronic devices to this trip
5. A WhatsApp group will be created
6. The students can chose their roommates
7. An extra bed will be provided for a third child
8. Local school students are going to meet candor students, the name will be shared as the travel date comes closer
9. The trek is short and it will take 30 – 40 minutes to complete the trek

Soaring above the sky; Why Wings of Fire is every dragon – fan’s favorite

Wings of fire is a book series written by Tui T Sutherland and the graphic novel of the same is designed by Mike Holmes. The books are about a group of dragons who try – and succeeded – to bring everlasting peace to the dragons world, which is filled with war and hated. The first book was released on 1st July, in 2012 and the average rating of wings of fire in goodreads is 4.63 stars

“It is a truly fascinating story,” Myra, a grade 6 student said “Dragons fighting for peace! Where wars are going on! What a wonderous change”

Chinmayi, a student from the same grade said “Although I enjoyed reading the series full of suspense and fantasy, I think we have outgrown dragons”

The internet told me that the top three liked characters are Quibli, Peril, and Glory, And the most liked book in the collection is “Legends – Darkstaker”, for being the most well – written book, starring early adult dragons Darkstaker, Clearsight, and Fathom.

With all the pros and cons, I still think that wings of fire is an amazing book, for all ages because the story is engaging, not only that, it carries a important message; Peace is important, and we can have it if we set our hearts into it. It also shows a phycological fact about different company, what happens when you have bad company from the start, especially if you have special abilities, and vice versa. I feel like it is important for everyone to get these messages, so we can try to make the world a better place

Day 1 (offline)

I went to school and attended the first three lessons, then it was short break. After short break, I went to Indus block and went to the room next to the open library. First we introduced ourselves, then we saw a detailed article example about the waiting period for counseling and the reason behind it. Then we had some questions about why the writer interviewed these particular people and what questions she might have asked the subjects, in this case, the subjects were two students and a councilor.

Then it was PE , and I went to play the inter – house tournament, my house got third place. Then it was lunch, after eating lunch, I went to Indus block and went to the room next to the open library. Next, mam showed the class an interview between a Bollywood background dancer and a interviewer. After that, mam taught us how to interview people.

Then, we had to fill the review article plan worksheet and write the topic and two sets of questions – one if the interviewee knows the topic, and one if the interviewee didn’t know the topic. then we had to do speed interviewing, each interviewer can take two minutes to interview their partner and vice – versa. I interviewed Aabha and Chinmayi with the topic “Wings of Fire”, and they interviewed me with the topic “Percy Jackson” and the subject math. Then mam gave us homework, those who didn’t complete the third interview has to do it in home with friends, family, etc. Then it was the end of the school day and all the students boarded their buses.

Day 2 (offline)

I went to school and attended the first three lessons, then it was short break. After short break, I went to Indus block and went to the room next to the open library. We discussed how to write a review article and wrote the three parts, 15 minutes for each part, with a 10 minute interval. Then it was lunch, after eating lunch, I went to Indus block and went to the room next to the open library. Next, mam showed the class how to make creative pie charts, filled-up objects, and bar graphs, and we did those in a worksheet mam gave us, on the topic prefects in each house and greenhouse gasses usage. Then, it was the end of the school day, so I went back to class and got ready for afterschool

Day 3 (online)

Today, the meeting was at 10 AM to 11:30 PM. First we did a recap on what a feature article is, then we worked on the first paragraph of the article and reviewed it. Then we did the second paragraph and reviewed it and did the same for the third. Then mam answered some doubts and it was time up.