Shri Shikshayatan School
Under The Sky — the annual camp for the girl guides of Shri Shikshayatan School was organised on March 14 and 15.
The event was part of Bagless Day, as envisaged in the New Education Policy of the CBSE. A whole lot of activities were planned for the guides from 8.30am to 11am.
The events began on Day I with the flag-hoisting ceremony. The guides learnt how to make an improvised shelter. They were given an hour to set up their patrol corners and adapt themselves in the open by using natural material at their disposal. The team activities taught the guides co-operation, how to work in a group and infused in the students a sense of responsibility.
Other activities included non-fire cooking where the guides had to prepare a meal for themselves. Within an allotted time, the girls came up with a variety of dishes such as sandwiches, chaats, biscuit-sandwich, katori chaat, tarts, chocolate balls, chocolate fudge sundae and many other savouries. They shared and ate with their patrol members.
Next day, the enrolment ceremony for the guides started after flag-hoisting. The principal and group leader of Shri Shikshayatan School Guide Company, Sangeeta Tandon, handed over the membership badges to the guides of the Lotus Patrol.
Other guides were enrolled by the guide captains, Ravneet Khurana and Kakoli Mukherjee. Next on the cards were some games, that instilled in the students a spirit of healthy competition, team spirit, alertness, co-ordination and respect for each other’s opinion.
The guides went home with a song on their lips and joy in their hearts.
"Under the able leadership of guide captain Ravneet Khurana, the girl guides of Shri Shikshayatan School are carrying forward the flag of service to mankind. They are trained to perform their duties with integrity and courage. During the bagless days, a camp was held in the school where they received their guide badges," said Bratati Bhattacharyya, secretary-general and CEO of the Shikshayatan Foundation.
"A sustainable future can only be achieved if all work together on the objectives mentioned in the SDGs. However, in order to do so, one must invoke a civic responsibility among the students, so as to encourage change from within. Our girl guides take leadership roles to bring in such change. They conduct different actions that empower and strengthen them from within," said the principal Sangeeta Tandon.
Delhi Public School, Howrah
Saluting all fathers, Delhi Public School, Howrah, celebrated Daddy’s Day Out in a grand style.
Students from Nursery to Class V took part in a series of indoor and outdoor events on the occasion. The day started with an introductory speech by principal Sunita Arora.
The first indoor event was non-fire cooking that saw daddies and kiddos donning the chef's hat. The children helped their dads prepare some tasty dishes within 30 minutes.
Next indoor event was Let's Nacho! that had fathers and children putting on their dancing shoes and grooving to some popular numbers.
Create A Masterpiece saw the two-member teams picking up their brushes and creating some lovely artwork.
The outdoor events started with Tug of War where all participating fathers were divided into two groups. While the children cheered loudly, the fathers gave a tough fight.
Water Volleyball followed. Again the fathers were divided into two groups and the winner was declared after two rounds. Everyone loved the game on the pool. The last event for the day was The Fun Hurdle Race. Here fathers had to run a race by crossing several hurdles to reach the finishing point. The hurdles included arranging beads, throwing balls in bucket, walking with spoon and marble, solving puzzles and collecting balls from the pool.
All the events were thoroughly enjoyed by both the fathers and the students. The prize distribution took place in the amphitheatre.
"There is no job in this world that is more difficult than being a father. Our purpose was to give the children a memorable day with their fathers. We had an array of events lined up for them. The father-child duos explored them and had lots of fun," said the principal.
Lakshmipat Singhania Academy
Body shaming, STEM education, animal rights and various other social issues were given a new twist as classes VI to XI students of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy highlighted them in their Project Citizen presentations.
Project Citizen is an initiative run by the school, in association with the Centre for Civic Education Calabasas, California, to harbour greater political and civic awareness among students.
Project Citizen aims to provide a deeper understanding of a nation's democratic policies. The students have to identify problems in public policy, study the problem area, gather relevant information and finally develop a presentation.
Students of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy showcased four presentations as part of an inter-house competition in the school. Each of the presentations entailed four tasks — explaining the problem, examining the existing policies of the government, proposing public and class policies and developing an action plan based on the proposed public or class policy.
The four houses — Agni, Jal, Vayu and Prithvi — were required to create portfolios, a multi-media presentation and a dossier. Issues such as body shaming, promotion of STEM education amongst women, animal rights and abuse, learning impairment and many others were discussed. Participants created posters on their chosen topics as well.
Many people from different backgrounds and of varied age groups and professions were interviewed to gauge the extent and intricacies of the problems.
The students of classes III to V conducted a Project Citizen session on January 31. Each House spread awareness on social issues through activities such as nukkad natak, interviews and presentations.
"At LSA, the students of classes III to XII are involved with different causes and their primary goal is to develop a sense of commitment and bring about a change," said director Meena Kak.
St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar
St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar, conducted a special fun day for kids — Baby's Day Out — to help parents and children get comfortable with the school rule and ethics.
The guests included Pritpal Singh, administrator of St Augustine’s Day School, Barrackpore. The tiny tots of Nursery, Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten were invited to join in the fun along with their parents and siblings.
Tattoo kiosk, game stalls and many other fun zones were created on the school grounds. A huge trampoline and a giant air slide were also placed. Mascots of favourite cartoon characters greeted the children as they arrived.
There were games for parents too. The latter also took part in a short interaction with headmistresses Sanusree Sarkhel and Antara Chatterjee and Pre-primary co-ordinator Anwesha Roy Chowdhury. The parents were intimated about the school rules and various procedures.
The children were given different time slots to drop in and enjoy the carnival. Many children went back home with gifts and a promise to return to school with the same zeal for their new session. The parents and children got a little more comfortable with their school.
"Baby’s Day Out was meant to bring joy in a child’s life and provide a break from the normal routine. Everybody enjoyed a lot," said headmistress Sanusree Sarkhel.