Awards and cheers
The auditorium of the new school at Rajarhat burst into applause as Srijan Garai went up to receive the award as the ICSE topper of National English School on December 14.
It was a proud moment for him as chief guest Gerry Arathoon, former chief executive and secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, did the honours.
Two milestones marked the day for the National English School (NES) group of institutions. First, they inaugurated the school, NES World Academy, at Rajarhat. It will offer the CBSE curriculum. Second, they hosted their annual award ceremony for 2024-2025. The day began with Arathoon inaugurating the school. A fusion dance show by the junior students of the NES, VIP Road, followed.
There were awards aplenty for subject toppers, students with 100 per cent attendance and the class toppers. Ishan Das of Class XII was also recognised for coming third at the CISCE National Chess Championship (boys’ Under-19) category. NES Juniors, Deshbandhu Nagar branch, presented an adaptation of the film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. The event concluded with a dance by the senior section of the VIP road branch, marking 150 years of Vande Mataram.
“We inaugurated the NES World School today. While our schools follow the ICSE board, introducing CBSE offers students greater choice,” said Mousumi Saha, founder-principal of the National English School (CISCE).
“NES World School envisions an ecosystem of learning that goes beyond textbooks — where curiosity is nurtured,” said Samir Kumar Saha, director of the NES group and founder-principal of the NES World School.
Tech power
Three days and multiple challenges — two Class XI students of Pramila Memorial Advanced School — used creativity and logic to overcome the given tasks and win the Technothlon 2025, an international school meet organised by IIT Guwahati recently.
The competition had students participating from 450 cities from all over the world, each task testing the logical and creative thinking.
Swarnasish and Sourya Majumder were one of the 50 teams to qualify for the main event. They were invited to IIT Guwahati to take part in the three-day festival. The first day's event was Risk and Rialto, a game of trading and management based on mathematical reasoning. Swarnasish and Sourya came first in this round. The second task was to make a model of a spaceship docking yard using Arduino Uno. The Calcutta boys finished second. On the third day, the participants were involved in a different form of chess.
"We are proud of our boys. Creative and logical thinking is encouraged among students from an early age," said headmistress Srabani Adhikary.
Safety first
For Darshit Chandak of Class I, it was an important day as he was speaking on stage, as part of a special assembly, and learning life lessons all along.
“The session taught that we should never accept gifts, treats or anything else from strangers and must always protect ourselves from unsafe situations,” said Darshit, excited to learn new things through performance.
The Birla High School prayer hall buzzed like a mini theatre as Section B of Class I used storytelling to spread important lessons on safety. The lights brightened as the children presented the popular tale, The Three Little Pigs, with a twist. The little performers trotted on the stage — their faces glowing with mischief and earnestness. Between giggles, the pigs explained why trusting a stranger, even a polite one, might lead to trouble.
Placards popped up as the children performed the safety rules chant: “Don’t talk to strangers” and “Never go anywhere alone”. The children chanted some dos and don’ts with actions. Then came a dance performance. The young performers invited the audience to join them in a “safety pledge”. The assembly was live-streamed.
“Our little ones won every heart. Through innocent voices and confident expressions, they carried forward a message that is so vital for every child,” said headmistress Panchali Chattopadhyay.
Carnival fun
Aditi Mohta of Class V was excited at the sight of so many game stalls on her school grounds. “I had to buy the tokens five times," gushed the student of Sri Sri Academy as she made a beeline for the game, Chakravyuh.
Her friends and peers were as excited as the school hosted a carnival, Sri Time 4 – Carnival for a Cause, on December 12 and 13. The school was decked up for the event, meant for Pre-primary to Class V. Its gates had cut-outs of Ray's famous fictional duo, Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne, in keeping with the theme — Carnival of Tales.
Storyteller Priyanka Chatterjee, popularly called Golpodidi, was the guest of honour on December 12 and storyteller-educator Arna Seal, the next day. Class V students welcomed them with a song composed by their teachers.
The school grounds were dotted with thematic games and food stalls aligned with the sustainable development goals. The Bin Sort game highlighted SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) while the Thirsty Crow Challenge depicted SDG 15 through the story of the thirsty crow.
The popular photobooth featured cut-outs of fairy tale characters. The Ferris wheel and horse carousel kept the little ones engrossed, while the older ones enjoyed bowling and basketball.
Parents also helped to set up the food stalls, offering treats such as pasta, noodles, momos and brownies, among other delectables.
Several in-house clubs sold handmade resin coasters, tote bags and trinket holders. The school’s art faculty showcased wall hangings, lamps, photo frames and painted T-shirts created by students during art classes. Senior students offered face painting and tattoo art to the kids.
The proceeds of the carnival will support Sri Kripa Learning Centre, a free community outreach programme run by the school, and the school chain, Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir. Children from both organisations were invited on the second day of the carnival.
"A carnival is a moment of shared emotions, joy and merriment, a time to set aside worries and simply enjoy life. It encourages children to step away from the digital world, interact with one another and laugh freely," said headmistress Debadrita Sarkar.
Teachers twist and turn
Adrija Das of Class VI kept on smiling as she entered her school gates in coloured clothes on Children’s Day. She was happy she could ignore the school bell for lessons on this day.
Instead, she was looking forward to being surprised by her teachers. Adrija and her peers at Delhi Public School, Howrah, were not disappointed. “It was a day of happiness and laughs,” said the Class VI student, referring to a skit, Millennials vs Gen Z, performed by the teachers, who brought out the generational gap through fun banter.
Peppy tracks spiced up the play. The millennials danced to Choti choti khushiyan, Neend churayi meri and the timeless Saiyaara, while Gen Z took over with Your bestie, my bestie and the newer version of Saiyaara.
Laughter erupted as Millennials teased Gen Z for their love of abbreviations and poked fun at the “new” Saiyaara, reminding them it belonged to an earlier era before breaking into an old-school dance. There were other performances too. Biology teacher Swati Shrabani Pal and music teacher presented Aaoge jab tum o sajna and Jaane kya baat hain.
A dance performance to crowd-favourite Ae meri zohra jabeen had the students clapping. Students also took part in games such as treasure hunts, tug of war, dumb charades and more.
Principal Sunita Arora said: “Children’s Day reminds us that every child is a reservoir of infinite potential. We believe in nurturing that potential with love and creativity. This celebration is our way of telling our students how precious they are to us.”
Students were also treated to chocolate and soft drinks.
Every step counts
Parno Sarkar paused briefly before racing towards the finish line. Until a few weeks ago, the Class VIII student avoided the playground, convinced she was “not sporty enough”. She pushed past that hesitation at the 36th Annual Sports Meet of M.P. Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School on December 20.
For Parno, participation itself was a milestone. “I was scared of failing in front of people,” she said. Her story was one among many that unfolded on the school grounds. The meet opened with the hoisting of the school flag, with Lieutenant Biva Samadder as the chief guest. A march past by the four houses — Nalanda (green), Takshila (yellow), Vikramshila (blue) and Ujjaini (red) — started the day.
Track events dominated the early hours, with 75m, 100m, 200m and 400m races. Relay races tested teamwork while field events such as spoon and marble and matka race drew large crowds.
Team events like tug of war became crowd-pullers. Fun races, including the Lady Bird Race and Winnie the Pooh Bear for Kindergarten students, ensured participation across age groups.
“With increasing academic pressure and screen exposure, physical activity is no longer optional. Sports help students build balance,” said principal Purnima Chattopadhyay.
CEO S.K. Singh said:“Such platforms are essential for shaping confident, value-driven individuals,” he said.
Nalanda House emerged champions while Vikramshila won the march past cup.
Last updated on 01 Jan 2026
