Birla High School, Mukundapur
Birla High School, Mukundapur, hosted a week-long cultural exchange virtually on the harvest festival Makar Sankranti recently. Classes from Nursery to VIII showcased various activities pertaining to the celebration.
The participating schools were Sprouts Montessori High School, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Birla Public School, Ganganagar (Rajasthan), Birla Sishu Vihar, Pilani (Rajasthan), RD International School, Erode (Tamil Nadu), Amity International School, Mohali (Punjab) and the host school in Bengal.
The one-hour event had students discussing the importance of community participation in festivals and the relevance of rituals associated with Makar Sankranti.
The narration of myths and legends associated with the occasion enthralled the audience consisting of teachers and students. The participants witnessed a graphic display of the movement of sun and its position during Makar Sankranti through phet simulation.
It was an educative and entertaining event. Students showcased the cuisine, clothing, folk music, art (especially alpona and rangoli decorations) and learned how different parts of the Indian subcontinent welcome the new season of harvest in their own indigenous manners.
“Birla High School, Mukundapur, launched Connecting Classrooms to help students go beyond the confines of their classrooms and interact with their counterparts in other places of the country. The aim is to commemorate the 75th anniversary of our Independence by promoting respect and tolerance for diverse cultures amongst the students. The week-long Makar Sankranti exchange programme helped the students of all the partner schools understand the importance of unity in diversity through real-life examples of Incredible India,” said principal Hira Prasad.
Lakshmipat Singhania Academy
Students from the food nutrition and dietetics class of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy went to a Mahavirtala slum community to undertake a food distribution campaign recently.
They fed over 350 individuals. It was a joint endeavour with the Apni Roti organisation. The foundation works for the upliftment of the impoverished and destitute populations in both rural and urban regions.
At 9am, the students began preparing the meal by chopping up nutritious vegetables. Up next, they cooked the food with the assistance of the support staff members. They used a food truck provided by the foundation to transport it to the scheduled site, the Bidhan Sangha club, at Mahavirtala around noon. Then they began the much-anticipated food distribution campaign by setting up the food truck and erecting makeshift tables with the aid of volunteers from the foundation. People from the neighbourhood sat in the queue and were given a nutritious lunch of potato sabzi, boondi, pickle and rotis.
“It was an experience worth remembering for a very long time as it is not every day that you get the opportunity to take time out of your normal schedule and not only just prepare the food, but also serve it to the people who need it. It feels good to do a selfless deed once in a while only to see the smile on the people for whom even a full-course meal is a luxury,” said Shivaang Tyagi of Class XI. “Being a part of such a social service activity gives me immense pleasure,” said Class XI student Meghal Jain.
“Such events motivate students to do something for the less privileged. They also understand that they have certain social responsibilities as the privileged section of society. It brings a sense of empathy in them,” said school director Meena Kak.
Hind Motor High School
Hind Motor High School launched its annual school magazine, Spark, on March 16. The event was organised on the school premises in the presence of rector-cum-manager Sudipta Bose, principal Nitu Chattopadhyay, principal of H.M. Education Centre Sonita Roy and others.
The inauguration ceremony was aired online, where H.M. Education Trust chairman Uttam Bose and H.M. Schools’ managing committee chairman B.C. Mishra joined the event, along with other teachers.
The idea to launch an e-magazine came up during the pandemic to help students showcase their talents on the virtual platform. The first one came out in 2021.
The event started with a speech by the magazine’s chief editor Sayantani Mukherjee. “The school magazine is the mirror of a school. It reflects the school’s achievements and reveals the creative genius of the students,” said Mukherjee.
Rector Sudipta Bose was full of encouragement for the team. “Even during the pandemic, the team was high on energy. I am very happy that H.M. High School is keeping pace with the educational environment,” she said.
“It was a pleasure to inaugurate the e-magazine of our school this year. This project is a combined effort of the students and faculty members of the department. Its aim is to get the students actively involved and develop skills outside the classroom. The magazine is an example of how we should not limit ourselves even in a difficult situation,” said principal Nitu Chattopadhyay.
South City International School
Models and charts on Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future were the high points of a science exhibition, Science-A-Fare, recently organised by South City International School. The exhibition marked the students’ celebration of National Science Day.
The event began with founder-principal John Andrew Bagul addressing the gathering and welcoming chief guest Jyoti Sekhar Banerjee, assistant professor at Bengal Institute of Technology. Banerjee enumerated artificial intelligence and the concept of smart cities. He also explained why science and technology were so important for the development of India. The principal used the occasion to announce the setting up of a tinkering lab in the school for students to innovate and experiment with their ideas under supervision.
Class III students prepared models and charts on topics ranging from water cycle to structure of teeth to the process of digestion. The students of Classes IV and V were busy explaining concepts such as density, friction and molecular structure to the guests. Students of Classes VI to IX put up various models of the heart and its function to a dynamo. The school’s ground floor presented a busy scene as guests moved in groups from one exhibit to another.
“The real role of leadership in education…is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control — creating a climate of possibility. If you do that, people will rise to it and achieve things that you completely did not anticipate and couldn’t have expected. I strongly advocate creativity in education in all aspects and aim to create a conducive climate for children to explore their depths of imagination,” said founder-principal John Andrew Bagul.
St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar
A craft bazaar, food stalls and music — they were the focus of a fair on Activity Based Curriculum (ABC) organised by St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar, on March 15 and 16. Students and parents from pre-primary to middle school, assembled in the school playground at 4:30pm for the inauguration.
The mela aimed to spread awareness on how learning could be more effective when it was done actively and practically. It also included a cultural programme. Several crafts and items handmade by students were on sale. Food stalls sold bakery items, among other things. The amount collected from the mela was handed over to NGO Uttaran Welfare Society. The fete kicked off with a musical tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Bappi Lahiri. Principal Rev. Rodney Borneo presented the annual report on the Activity Based Curriculum. The programme also included yoga and karate shows.
“Knowledge is boundless, whether it is acquired from the pages of the books or the zestful activities. We are proud to reopen the ABC with a grand mela for the session 2022-2023, a curriculum which facilitates learning through playing. The constant support of our students and guardians is what made this event a grand success,” said the principal