M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth
MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth celebrated their silver jubilee with a grand programme, Reflections, at the Science City auditorium on June 18. The event captured the spirit of togetherness among the students, teachers and staff members as they celebrated the cherished moments of the past and welcomed the future. The chief guest was Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. The guests of honour were Ramakrishna Shilpamandira correspondent Swami Vedatitananda and scientist-educator Debiprasad Duari.
The event began with the hoisting of the school flag followed by the National Anthem. School director Neelkanth Gupta gave the welcome address, while its chairman Kishan Kumar Kejriwal took the audience down a 25-year journey. A video presentation on the institution’s journey so far was also shown to the audience.
A cultural programme was next in line. The children of the Foundation Group danced to the Butterfly song. Another group, dressed like little dolls, staged a kathputli dance. Students of Bal Vikash Kendra presented a table recital.
The junior school students staged a performance of the song, My Mother Earth, while another group staged Symphony, an instrumental music performance. The senior school students performed an English skit, Sam, Shame and Shyama, on a person’s redemption as he revisits his past. A group also presented a choreographed dance Tutting which involved body and arm movements based on mathematical or geometric angles.
The chief attraction of the day was the release of Voyage, the school magazine, by the chief guest.
The magazine chronicles the journey of the school since its inception.
“I feel so grateful to have such eminent guests at our silver jubilee celebrations. I thank my entire staff members, my mentors, my family — all my well-wishers and last but not least, my dear students and their parents for making the school what it is today. We still have a long way to go, as the sky is our limit,” said the chairman.
Sri Sri Academy
The career guidance cell of Sri Sri Academy organised a moot court workshop in collaboration with OP Jindal Law School. The hearing was on human rights violation for which a case study was shared with the participants in advance. Four two-member teams of petitioners and four teams of defendants from classes X and XII prepared their arguments after extensive research and participated in a mock court proceeding. It was judged by academicians Virangana Dhillon and Apoorvi Jha of OP Jindal Law School. About 60 law aspirants from Classes IX, X and XII joined in as observers and posed relevant questions to both the petitioners as well as the respondents.
The judges were impressed with the quality of presentation and shared feedback. This event gave the students an insight into how to engage in arguments during court proceedings, communicate with one another using formal and polite language, and understand multiple perspectives around an issue.
“This was our school’s first moot court organised in association with the Jindal Global University. It was quite a milestone for us. It saw the coming of age of young students — passionate about human rights, equality and justice — match their wits and words. A pleasure to see their sincerity and interest in world affairs,” said principal Suvina Shunglu.
Ruby Park Public School
Pre-primary students of Ruby Park Public School recently celebrated Id-ul Fitr, the festival that upholds the spirit of brotherhood, love and secularism. The purpose was to enlighten the students about the spirit of the festival and spread the message of love and brotherhood among the youths.
Teachers discussed the importance of the festival, while the students were involved in card-making activity based on the theme of Id in which they also learnt to draw and colour the moon and stars.
“Festivals mark the union of several cultures. Celebrating Id teaches the young students to uphold the spirit of secularism and fosters brotherhood among all,” said principal Joyeeta Majumdar.
Birla High School
Students of Birla High School celebrated Rabindra Jayanti with a 20-minute virtual programme. The students of Classes VII to X sang, danced and recited poetry to remember Tagore. The event was pre-recorded at the school’s audiovisual room and uploaded on the institute’s website and Facebook page. It began with a presentation on the world of Tagore. Students of Classes VIII and X spoke about the bard in English and Bengali. Students of Classes VII and IX sang Aguner poroshmani and Edin aji kon ghore go and those of Class VIII danced to Darun agniban e re. Finally, there was a recitation presentation of Bharat Tirtha by the students of Class X.
“At Birla High School, we paid homage to the bard through his songs and poetry in a virtual programme. The performances were presented by the students with great enthusiasm,” said principal Loveleen Saigal.
DPS, Howrah
Students of DPS, Howrah, celebrated Rabindra Jayanti with great joy.
Clad in kurta pajama or red and white saris, students of Class X took part in an adda session where they narrated the hallmark phases of Rabindranath Tagore’s life. Some props were also added to give the ambience an authentic look.
Shrestha Dev, Poulastya Bag, Afroza Nasrin, Lina Kulsum, Kanad Pratim and Sanjana Singh of Class X sang Khorobayu boy bege.
Their classmate Lohit Datta Arangi played the guitar. Class X student Nandini Kumar recited Hey nutan, while her classmate Sambit Srimani made a portrait of the bard.
A dance performance by Shreelekha Chatterjee of Class X stood out as it was accompanied by the introduction to Gitanjali, which won the bard the Nobel Prize. The performance left the audience mesmerised. “It gives me pleasure to see our students celebrate the birth anniversary of Tagore. It was really a treat to see them soaked in culture just as Tagore had wished for all of us. I wish all students have that urge to pursue knowledge and truth as Tagore had envisioned,” said principal, Sunita Arora. The programme ended with the national anthem.
Abhinav Bharati High School
In a bid to make students read more fiction, Abhinav Bharati High School celebrated World Book Day on April 22. Storyteller Kavita Gupta dropped in on the school premises, regaling the children with her stories and performances. Gupta told an interesting mix of stories featuring a bear hunt, an immigrating child, a wise tailor and a hungry lion. Every story had a moral. She enacted each tale winning the children’s hearts in the process.
The next day, the students of Classes I to V visited several bookstores and libraries of the city to browse and have fun. The children returned eager to read more. “I was very happy to see the enthusiastic participation of both the students and their parents on World Book Day. Quoting Dr Seuss: ‘The more that you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go’,” said headmistress Moumita Rakshit.
Asian International School
Students of Classes II to V of Asian International School took part in a special assembly to celebrate Rabindra Jayanti on May 4. A cultural programme was staged where the children danced, sang and recited poems to pay the bard a tribute.
The event began with the morning prayers and the routine proceedings. Next on the cards were students’ renditions of Gram chara oi ranga matir poth and Phule phule dhole dhole. They also recited many Tagore poems. The dance performance to Eso he Baishakh and Anondoloke mongolaloke birajo was much appreciated. The assembly concluded with the national anthem.
“Rabindranath Tagore is celebrated as a man of various dimensions — prolific writer, educator and social reformer. Children at Asian International School, Howrah paid homage to him through his work,” said headmistress Simran Sanghera.