South Point High School

The Interact Club and Nature Club of South Point High School recently organised the annual inter-school fests Udaan and Vrikkshya in association with The Telegraph Young Metro on a virtual platform. The theme for the fests this year was Mother nature and the new normal. In total, 18 online and offline events were organised for students of classes IX to XII from 10 participating schools. The online inauguration ceremony reflected on the previous years of the fest. A video recording of students from the school choir singing the school song and opening song marked the start of the event. Renowned Kathak exponent Malabika Mitra graced the occasion as the chief guest. The offline events such as Gharana (dance), Jhankar (fusion band), Picturesque (photography), MediaActive (journalism and blogging) and HoopScoop (basketball) required participants to submit video recordings of their performances a day prior to the fest. For the online events, the live performance of the participants was watched by the judges on the digital platform. Some of the online events were VerBattle (debate), Mime-time (dumb charade), S’ watch’-out (poster making), QFiesta (quiz) and A Minute to Win it! (talent show).

The results of all the competitions were announced at the closing ceremony. Actor Riddhi Sen (picture left), an alumnus of the school, was present at the closing ceremony and announced the names of the winning schools. He shared some of his fond memories at the school. “This is a wonderful initiative at a time when we are missing out on social interactions. I appreciate the school’s effort. Whatever education I received from this school is not just conventional education but the teachers and the school have always supported my dream of becoming an actor,” said Riddhi.

The host school was declared the overall winner but according to the tradition, they passed the title onto the first runner-up Patha Bhavan. DPS Ruby Park eventually became the first runner-up and the second runner-up position was secured jointly by M P Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School and Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir. “It is important for us to continue with the usual activities of the school, albeit virtually.

Udaan and Vrrikshya hold a special importance in the school calendar and we were well aware of the excitement that the students enjoy organising it. Therefore, it was decided that they be guided to host the event virtually. Brain storming sessions in virtual meetings led to regular events being customised for the new normal,” said principal Rupa Sanyal
Bhattacharjee.

Calcutta International School

Calcutta International School conducted an online poetry competition for the junior and senior section students recently. The theme for the online competition was This is Now, based on the pandemic and the pandemic-induced changes. The initiative not only motivated the students to exercise their creativity, but also brought forth their perception about the sudden changes in the world. The poems by the participants highlighted stark comparisons of the present with the past, the struggles humans dealt with during the lockdown and curiosity and anxiousness about the future. The competition was divided into two categories for classes VIII and below and from classes IX to XII. The school digitally released an anthology of the poems along with the artwork by the students. “Given the situation where the schoolchildren find themselves locked within the four walls of their home, unable to mingle with the friends and teachers, we thought writing poems will give them that essential platform to encapsulate their emotions and their thoughts. Hence, the poetry competition! As the principal, it gives me enormous joy to read the poems and see the spark of creativity in our students. It assures me that our students are growing up to be thoughtful citizens of the world,” said principal Munmun Nath.

Aditya academy

Come 2021, Aditya School of Sports (ASOS) will become a hub of grassroots development programmes in sports for Bengal. Be it in football, basketball, archery or shooting, the school will provide world class facilities and expert coaching from professionals in all kinds of games.

Its strategic partnership with India On Track, an organisation that creates platforms for training and development of youths to help them achieve sporting excellence, will help the aspiring sportspersons get the scope to learn their game of choice from the best in the business.

India On Track has acquired the rights from LaLiga Football Schools to set up and operate football-training centres in India under the brand of LaLiga Football Schools, India. It has also partnered with the National Basketball Association to set up and operate NBA Basketball School programmes across India.

“Once the pandemic is over, the LaLiga Football Schools and the NBA Basketball School programme will send foreign coaches every three months to train the young players here. This is for all our students at Aditya Academy as well as the students who want to join. We will first conduct the training programmes in our Barasat and Dum Dum compounds and then float it to other districts of Bengal. We will start some facilities in January, and once the schools reopen, we will start the full-fledged training programmes,” said Aditya Group chairman Anirban Aditya.

ASOS has also tied up with Joydeep Karmakar Shooting Academy for shooting and Dola & Rahul Banerjee Sports Foundation for archery. Olympian shooter Joydeep Karmakar will start training the students in the Barasat facility from January. “We shall leave no stone unturned to produce champions of tomorrow. We are excited and sure that these facilities will be exploited by students to live their dreams,” he said.