St Xavier’s Collegiate School has been involved in an exchange programme with Belvedere College, Dublin, Ireland for the last 10 years. Every year, 15 students from Class X are selected after a screening session to participate in community service at a few institutions in the birthplace of James Joyce. Before going for the programme, the boys took part in 30 hours of community service at Little Sisters of the Poor and Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta as part of preparations for the trip. In the Irish capital, the students discovered ‘the wonders of lending a helping hand’.

The boys (in picture above by Abhisek Banerjee) reached Dublin on May 20. They stayed with the families of the students from Dublin who had travelled to India during the India leg of the exchange. Shayan Roy Chowdhury, one of the students who went to Dublin this year felt: “We met a completely different set of people there.” Shayan had to help physically and mentally disabled students of Sandymount School with their studies.

Fr Jerome Francis, headmaster of the school, expressed hope that ‘the experience will transform them into committed and compassionate students’.

Naman Shah, one of those who participated in the programme, said: “At the end of the day, we would write about our daily experiences in the form of a journal.”

Sugato Mukherjee of the school’s old boys’ association (ALSOC), one of the conveners of the student-exchange programme, said: “During the two-week stay at Ireland, they were showered with genuine warmth and affection by the Irish host families.”

The students came back on June 3, 2007.

Abhisek Banerjee,
First yr, MA, Journalism & Mass Communication,
Calcutta University

Go... statue! Is the policeman at Swabhumi real? Our little friend is not too sure. In the first picture, the stick falls off the taller man’s hand as the child tries to shake it. In the second picture, he puts the stick back in place and in the third, tries to plant a goodbye kiss, convinced by now that the man is a statue. No prizes for guessing. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

Lots to learn

It was a riot of colours at a workshop organised by Anandamela on June 8 and 9. More than 70 schoolchildren from different parts of the state flocked to the two-day workshop that took place at the Gokhale Memorial School auditorium. Children between Classes VI and VIII attended the workshop.

From cartoons to magic shows, the workshop was a never-ending fun spot. Eminent cartoonist Debasish Deb conducted the cartoon-drawing session while Prince Sil taught children a few tricks of the trade at the workshop on magic.

On the final day, Ratanu Ghati and Arundhati Sen of Anandamela taught children the basics of copy editing. This was followed by a session on pot-painting and puppet show by Nirapado Mondol.

Sohum Sen, a Class VI student of St Lawrence High School, said: “I have not participated in any workshop before. Apart from learning a lot of new things here, I enjoyed interacting with other children of my age.” The cartooning session was the one Sohum Sen liked the most.

The workshop was a first for Sukanya Sadhukhan, a Class VIII student of Burdwan Municipal Girls’ School as well. “The moment I came to know about the workshop I decided to participate, even though it was a long way from my hometown.” Sukanya has a flair for cartooning and painting.

Her mother, Satarupa, said: “This kind of an exposure is required to nurture a child’s interest in extra-curricular activities. This also encourages children to do what they like most.” She also felt that good workshops help children improve their communication skills.

Sayanti Som, a Class VI student of St John’s Diocesan Girls’ Higher Secondary School, loves dancing. A self-proclaimed ‘Harry Potter freak’, Sayanti said: “I have a thing for magic and enjoyed Sil Sir’s session the most.”