Smarter than you think: Young minds amaze all

Lakshmipat Singhania Academy

Twenty-four activities, 24 schools and lots of fun — IT fest exe.BIT organised by Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (LSA) was all that and more.

The 13th edition of the fest was held on August 8 and 9. The theme was SynthAI or AI's impact on society.

Four hundred students from across Calcutta took part in various events.

The participating schools were Mahadevi Birla World Academy, The Heritage School, M.P. Birla Foundation Higher Secondary, Sri Sri Academy and others.

The whole school was transformed into an AI-themed wonderland with illustrations, maths formulae and craftworks on apps on the bulletin boards.

Classes III to VIII of LSA presented a fusion dance at the inauguration before the fest was declared open. There were events to suit all.

Class III to V took part in pAInt-it-all, where they created digital 3D art on the future of AI in schools.

ScratchYourHead had students create computer games using Scratch 3.0.

ArtIvate saw Classes VI to VIII decorating their computer mouse while codesCOOKjr had them create a website on AI in Nature.

Students created short films on how AI is taking away creativity and set up
an exhibition.

The next day, students took part in a drone technology workshop and built their machines. There were also moot courts and events on designing and digital illustrations. The food stalls sold dishes from peels of fruits
and vegetables.

"The fest is very close to our heart. Technology is here to stay, but we have to use it responsibly," said director Meena Kak.

"It was wonderful to see so many talents. Many events were a visual delight," said principal Jaya Misra.

M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth

M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth (MCKV) organised a seminar on graphology or the study of handwriting, Write It Right — The Write Therapy, on August 3.

Students' parents and the school's staff members attended the event held at the school auditorium. The school has been educating its staff about the merits of handwriting analysis since 2011.

At the inauguration, chairman Kishan Kumar Kejriwal said how graphology techniques sharpen children’s minds.

Consultant clinical psychologist Rajkumari Basu, graphologist and founder-director of Kolkata Institute of Graphology (KIG) Mohan Bose, director of MCKV Neelkanta Gupta and others, too, attended the event.

Keynote speaker Bose iterated how graphology can be integrated into academics and how one can get an insight into a child's emotional state by understanding handwriting. He peppered his speech with anecdotes.

Rajkumari Basu highlighted how graphology has aided in curbing stress and speech problems in people.

The parents signed on a whiteboard for their writing to be analysed by Bose who presented his observations on the spot.

"The seminar celebrated the improvements we have witnessed in our students, undergoing graphotherapy. Every little change reaffirms our intent to incorporate graphology in our educational framework," said principal Mallika Mukherjee.

Birla High School

Birla High School organised the 14th edition of Quaestio, an inter-school quiz competition for Classes IV and V at the Vidya Bharti Auditorium on August 7.

Students from 20 schools took part in the preliminary rounds with eight teams qualifying for the final round.

The finalists were St Xavier’s Collegiate School, Birla High School, Indus Valley World School, Birla High School, Mukundapur, Shri Shikshayatan School, The Heritage School, Don Bosco, Park Circus and GardenHigh School. The quizmaster was Barry Antunis.

Major General (retd) V.N. Chaturvedi, secretary-general of the Vidya Mandir Society, emphasised the importance of both acquiring and applying knowledge.

The enthusiastic participants did just that as they navigated six rounds of quizzing, including direct, visual, audiovisual, connection and buzzer rounds.

The Brainteasers Round tested their quick-thinking and riddle-solving skills.

The participants connected clues, such as the logo of Rabindra Bharati University, a picture of the Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) and Rabindra Sarobar to name a Nobel Laureate — Rabindranath Tagore, in this case. They also answered questions on Olympicsand cricket.

The host school emerged winner with The Heritage School coming second. Indus Valley World School came third after a tie-breaker with St Xavier’s Collegiate School.

"I am proud of the achievements of our students at Quaestio 2024. It has proven to be an extraordinary platform for the students to showcase their talents, explore and strive for excellence," said headmistress Farida Singh.

Delhi Public School, Newtown

The auditorium of Delhi Public School (DPS), Newtown, buzzed with excitement as the school hosted the ASISC Zonal DebateCompetition for Bengal and Northeast states.

The junior debate (for Classes IX and X) was held on May 3, while the senior round (Classes XI and XII) was conducted the next day.

Chief guest Seema Sapru, principal of The Heritage School, Sonali Sen, principal of the host school, its vice-principal Ambica Mehra, headmistress Rahi Mukhopadhyay and the judges of the event lit theinaugural lamp.

The judges included educators Mini Joseph, Sucharita Basu, Abhishek Sarkar and Saswati Chatterjee.

The motion for the junior category was — “Is it ethical to use technology to manipulate human behaviour”.

Thirteen schools, including Assembly of Christ School, Barrackpore, National English School, VIP Road, Douglas Memorial Higher Secondary School and Delhi Public School, Megacity, took part in this category.

After fierce arguments, speakers Baibhabi Majumdar and Agnijita Chakrabarty of St Augustine’s Day School, Barrackpore, clinched it. Devina Chakraborty and Deboleena Chakraborty of the host school were the first runners-up followed by Ritwika Chakraborty and Vedika Gupta of Calcutta Public School, Bidhan Park.

The motion for the seniors was — “Privatisation of the public sector could be a viable option for modernisation”. Fourteen schools, including National English School, Rajarhat and VIP Road branches, and the host school,took part.

This round also saw an energetic play of arguments and counter-arguments. Finally, Tiirth Deora and Patrali Dutta from National English School, VIP Road, won followed by Sudarshana Ghoshal and Karan Tripathi of St Augustine’s Day School, Barrackpore, and Pushkar Banerjee and Vartika Soni from Delhi Public School, Megacity.

"The topics on both the days were very thought-provoking and relevant. The students put across their views with confidence and poise," said the DPS Newtown principal.