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| (From top) A student of Guru Nanak Public School, Rourkela, participates in the Global Vote to decide who will receive the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child award based on the United Nations Child Convention; CBSE school teachers attend a teachers’ enrichment programme at Mother's Public School, Bhubaneswar and file picture of author Ruskin Bond, the chief editor of the recently-launched national magazine for school children, Kloud9, with students of KIIT International School, Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati and Uttam Kumar Pal |
Bond with the best
Kloud9, a national magazine for school children, was launched in the capital by noted author and social activist Mahasweta Devi on Wednesday evening. The quarterly publication would feature creative writings by children from different parts of the country.
Children’s author Ruskin Bond is the chief editor of the magazine, which is a literary venture of the KIIT International School, Bhubaneswar.
“The purpose of this magazine is to nurture creativity among students through reading and writing,” said Bond, who is also the ambassador of the school.
He said with a limited number of publishers willing to provide a window to the burgeoning literary works of school children, the magazine would be the perfect forum for children and young adults to unleash their creative potential.
“Teachers and parents have a great role to play in bringing forth the creativity in a child,” Bond said. He added that there was no dearth of literary talent among children and teenagers in the country at present.
Kloud9 is being hailed as the first-of-its-kind magazine in the country where students would be the readers as well as authors.
It is a 68-page all-colour publication, the maiden edition containing an eclectic selection of short stories, poems, articles, folktales, plays, jokes, puzzles and mind games. A total of 3,000 copies have been set aside for free distribution. The editor of the magazine, Monalisa Bal, said they had received an overwhelming number of contributions for the first issue.
“Literary work poured in from schools in Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Indore, Calcutta, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and other cities. A few foreign contributions are also featured in the issue,” she said.
Three thousand copies of the first issue would be given complementary, said publisher Surendra Mohanty. He added that in-house staff members were involved in composing, layout and designing of the magazine.
Budding artists
Bhubaneswar-based organisation Soumya Memorial Trust conducted a painting contest titled Kuni Chitrakara for little artists on April 29. Around 100 children from various schools participated at the event in three different categories at the Odisha Modern Art Gallery. Eminent artists of the state judged the children, who’s works will be on display at the gallery on May 12 and 13. The trust will award nine kuni chitrakars or little artists.
Chairman of the trust Kanhu Charan Parida said the main objective of the competition was to identify creative students, increase their competency, create conditions for their creative development and preserve Odia culture and tradition through art.
Teachers’ training
A two-day teachers’ enrichment programme organised by Mother’s Public School, Bhubaneswar, concluded on May 3. Titled ‘A step forward’, the event aimed at upgrading the proficiency of classroom teachers and imparting skills to make learning a joyful process. A total of 65 teachers from schools in the capital and other places such as Berhampur, Rayagada and Nayagarh participated at the workshop. A group of resource persons, including IIM-Ahmedabad professor Neharika Vohra, XIMB faculty Snigdha Pattnaik, education consultant Ritu Narang and others, conducted the workshop. A variety of games were conducted for the teachers, which were followed by interactive sessions focusing on challenges in the field of education.
Polly Patnaik, principal of the host school, exhorted teachers to make students their priority and spoke about the concept of continuous and comprehensive evaluation system introduced by the CBSE. The event was held in collaboration with Oxford Press, Ratna Sagar and Britannica.
MY TAKE
A psalm
Forgive me, I am sorry. I was lost in a fake world, I was voracious but tenuous, You made me subdue the torment.
I confess and confide in you, I became
mendacious to you. I was forlorn in an
enmeshed land, But today you have shown me the right path. At present and also will do in the future. I am and I will be in a serene world, For me, you are priceless,
You embolden me for a good turn, You are
venerable, you are an enigma, You know for whom this psalm is
This psalm is for you…My god.
Swaprada Pattanayak,
Class XI,
DAV Public School (Pokhariput),
Bhubaneswar
Autumn’s Beauty
The rains, which once showered, are now silent, Quenching the thirst of the landscape, Parched by the rays of the hot summer sun, The song of the bird is now silenced.
The petals of a once brilliant flower have faded, Replaced by the chill of the season… The caressing breeze of
summer, Has turned into the blustering winds of fall, Leaves, once proudly perched on the limbs of trees, Now dance in the warm tones of autumn.
The soft, comforting glow of candlelight, Bringing with it serenity and the quiet thoughts. I sit in amazement
watching the air that is around me.
Yes, there is God, I will accept the solitude and difference in winter, So, I may anticipate and
appreciate, The return of spring…
Akankshya Chandam
Class X,
DAV Public School
(Unit-VIII), Bhubaneswar
Shilpi Sampad |
