South City International School
The South City International School held blessing ceremonies for the students of Classes XII and X on February 21 and 22, respectively. The chief guest for the ISC batch - 2022 was Sonia Gidla, principal of Douglas Memorial Higher Secondary School. The event started with founder-principal John Bagul escorting the chief guest to the auditorium, followed by the student council members and the school band. The school song and an inaugural dance set the ball rolling. The students were called upon to light diyas. As teachers extended their blessings, they described each student using unique adjectives and mentioned his or her contributions to the school. This was followed by the all-faith prayer that spoke of the school’s commitment to respecting all cultures and
religions. Next day, the theme for the ICSE batch was unity in diversity. Chief guest Aniket Deb Roy, principal of St Thomas Day’s School, inspired the students through his speech. Students of Class IX performed a dance on different cultures in India. Students of Class X also join in, reciting verses in English, Bengali, Hindi and French.
“We believed in the holistic development of each child much before the National Education Policy came into being. The journey of each student in school should be memorable,” said founder-principal John Andrew Bagul.
Sushila Birla Girls’ School
A number of creative workshops had been conducted online for students of Classes VI to XI of Sushila Birla Girls’ School from March 11 to 25.
Black is back, a charcoal workshop was conducted by Nilanjana De. The session commenced with a brief summary on charcoal as a medium of art. The various tones and techniques of sketching were explained to the students.
A poetry workshop was conducted by Baishali Chatterjee Dutt. The students got to learn various nuances of confessional poetry, among other things.
Reshmi Bose conducted a fun-acting workshop, where the students got to perform physical movement and learn the six main elements of drama.
Vaishali Shah along with chef Vishal Kashyap conducted a food workshop where they prepared five nutrient-rich meals with the parents. The students also got grooming and make-up tips from Jolly Chanda in a session while they got to learn various folk art forms of the state in a session conducted by Tridibesh Das, Aurobindo Pradhan and Daricha Foundation. Ifra Ahmed conducted a workshop on sports nutrition for growing children, Sharmi Chakraborty held a session on music while Pintu Das and Diptanshu Paul conducted workshops on dance and movement, among many others.
“March was made truly magical through these workshops. We are glad our students ended the academic session on a high note enjoying themselves,” said principal Koeli Dey.
Asian International School
An orientation session kicked off Asian International School’s events calendar. It was organised for both parents and students at the newly-built school auditorium from March 25 to 28. Principal Vijaylaxmi Kumar headed the sessions, giving insights to the parents about the school curriculum and methodology. They were also told the annual pedagogical plan, SkillOvation.
The event began with the announcement of the school earning an accreditation from the British Council and also from the central government as the Fit India School. The principal informed the guests about the awards and accolades, webinars, special assemblies, teachers’ training sessions, intra-school competitions, co-scholastic activities, CBSE activities that are on the cards.
The audience also got a peek into the awards won by students, the webinars and plethora of events that have been organised last year and the photographs of cheerful faces of students after school reopened were compiled in a quarterly newsletter drafted Abhraneel Mullick, Aritra Gupta, Ritojit Pramanik and Sanglap Samanta of Class XI. The singing of the National anthem marked the end of the enriching session which followed the report card distribution hour. The brimming crowd at orientation session was a proof of the enthusiasm of students and parents.
“The orientation session for the upcoming academic year is a special one since it marks the return of normal school after a hiatus of two years. It has been assuring to record an attendance percentage of almost 95 per cent for parents and students during the sessions spread over quite a few days,” said principal Vijaylaxmi Kumar.
Indus Valley World Academy
The rights of convicts and the duties of Gen Z in a free country — students of Indus Valley World Academy discussed all that and more during a virtual talk on January 22. Giving them such food for thought was academician Sumit Chakrabarti from the English department, Presidency University. On the occasion of Republic Day, Chakrabarti spoke on the issue — Imagining Oneself within a Republic: What Does My Nation Ask of Me? The hour-long discussion highlighted the ideology behind the workings of a true republic.
Chakrabarti began by explaining to the students how everyone in the modern world is trapped in a monotonous existence. The academician explained the concept and philosophy of ‘discourse’ in a simple manner. He also narrated a few stories, each of which ended with a question.
The first story was about Socrates and Euthyphro. The second story was taken from the 1988 Polish drama series Dekalog by Krzysztof Kieslowski. “The talk by Sumit Chakrabarti was a treat for all of us. His brief presentation was packed with a wealth of information as he drew from a variety of examples ranging from ancient Greece to Nazi Germany to stress on the need to think for oneself,” said school director Amita Prasad.
Ruby Park Public School
The students of Ruby Park Public School celebrated the festival of colours with elan. A Holi assembly was organised in the school auditorium on the occasion, its theme unity. The children were glad to go back to stage and perform live before an audience.
The programme began with the introductory speech by the anchor followed by the lighting of the lamp by principal Joyeeta Mazumder.
To celebrate the spirit of spring the students played a piece by Mozart.
Poetry and western music performances also followed, adding charm to the special assembly. The students also put up a dance performance to welcome the festival of flowers and colours. Not to be left behind the tiny tots of Ruby Park Public School also joined in a dance.
“The students of Ruby Park Public School performed on holi after two years. It was a day full of colours and excitement. To quote Wes Adamson ‘Life is the kaleidoscope of exhilarating colours and breathtaking adventures’,” said principal Joyeeta Mazumder.
BD Memorial School
In keeping with the mood of Holi, the Pre-Primary and Primary students of BD Memorial School were taught to make a wide range of exotic colours through natural methods. They also took part in an exhibition of organic colours inside their school. The children were encouraged to continue the activity at home as well.
The students used organic colours and their paint brushes to get creative on the occasion of Holi. They also staged a cultural programme on the occasion.
“It was heartening to see B.D. Memorial children participating in a non-toxic and organic Holi and leading a safe colour awareness campaign from the forefront. Organic colours made out of turmeric, beetroot peels and other vegetables were prepared by them,” said school director Suman Sood.
Vivekananda Mission School
Vivekananda Mission School, in association with its alumni body, celebrated Saraswati Puja on the school premises on February 5. Students, teachers, alumni members and staff members enthusiastically took part in the celebration, which consisted of cultural programmes, competitions, festivities and so on. The festival marked a grand union of the former students, teachers and staff members.
The Puja theme, this year, was taken from Rabindranath Tagore’s line — Nayan mele dyakh dekhi tui cheye/Debota nai ghore — from his poem Dhulamandir. It means the deity is not confined to the temple.
The event re-imagined the deity as various popular figures from fiction and pop culture (Hermione Granger, Wonder Woman, Elsa and so on) as representatives from different professions (medicine, athletics, as an astronaut or singer) alongside the conventional depiction of Devi as the teacher and the student. The artwork was made in the Kalighat patachitra style. The former students and teachers took part in the bisarjan.
“The gathering seems to be an alumni meet where they can cherish their school days. I appreciate the effort of all, to celebrate the day, maintaining all Covid protocols,” said principal Sarmistha Banerjee.