Sri Sri Academy
Panel discussions, virtual campus tours and representatives of foreign universities — students of Sri Sri Academy did all that and more at a virtual career fair organised for classes VIII to XII last December. The event was organised by the school’s career guidance cell to help students make informed decisions about the courses that they can take up in college. The fair saw participation from 13 Indian universities such as Ashoka University, Flame University, International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), ISDI school of Design and Innovation, Indian School of Hospitality (ISH), Krea University, Sri Sri University and others.
More than 550 students from the host school as well as sister schools such as SSRVM Bangalore South, VGN and Mulund, DPS Ruby Park and DPS New Town had registered for the event.
The next hour had three panel discussions conducted simultaneously to cater to students from science, commerce and humanities streams. The discussions were on various issues such as The 21st Century Skills Required for being Successful in the Field of Science and Technology; Foothold of Liberal Arts, Design or a Hospitality Degree in the Corporate Sector; Great businesses Thrive on Three Pillars — Law, Finance and Management.
The students also had an opportunity to look into the courses and opportunities up for grabs at the University of Waterloo, University of Windsor and Brock University from Canada, Queen Mary University, Queen’s University Belfast, Keele University from UK and Trinity College, Dublin. After a preliminary introduction, the university representatives were sent to different breakout rooms. Students moved between the breakout rooms to have one-on-one interaction with the university representatives.
“There is a plethora of options available for today’s children. The complexity of making the right choice has also increased manifold. It’s important for students to gather as much information as possible from the panel discussions, the webinar and through networking with the university representatives,” said principal Suvina Shunglu.
Vivekananda Mission School, Joka
The 159th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated at Vivekananda Mission School on January 12. The school was decorated with various seasonal flowers on the occasion. Students, alumni, parents and others joined in to celebrate the day online. The teachers and staff members were present in school to perform a puja in the morning following Covid protocols. A group of teachers prepared the main bhog. Sacred hymns were chanted on the occasion. The teachers also sang devotional songs as the puja continued.
“We consider Swami Vivekananda as our mentor, philosopher and guiding star. His thoughts and teachings are distinctly reflected in the vision and mission of the institution. Naturally, his birth anniversary is a sacred day for us. It is celebrated by all members of the VMS family with complete dedication. Puja, yajna, devotional songs, distribution of prasad — we offer our homage to Swamiji through all these activities. The more children get to know his personality and teaching, the more they can enrich their lives and values,” said principal Sharmistha Banerjee.
Sushila Birla Girls’ School
Students from India and Malaysia exchanged ideas and shared cultural notes during an exchange programme between Sushila Birla Girls’ School and SK Tiara Permai School, Kuala Lumpur, recently. The aim was to create awareness and develop self-confidence and leadership qualities in the students. Eight students of Class IV from Calcutta got to interact with six Class VI students from Kuala Lumpur. The children were told to research the festivals celebrated in both the nations and make PowerPoint presentations on them. The project culminated in an interactive session, where children spoke about festivals such as rath yatra, Id and Durga Puja celebrated in India and Thaipusam, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and the Chinese New Year celebrated in Malaysia. There were videos and storytelling to spice it up. The students learnt various traditions and realised the importance of tolerance and the need to respect other cultures. Many friendships were also formed across the border. “Such events allow our students to experience different cultures and meet new people. Overall, it was an enriching experience for them,” said headmistress Vidisha Panja.
Birla High School
Who is Srinivasa Ramanujan? What is the most important contribution of the Indian mathematician?
Class V students of Birla High School answered all that and more in a special assembly organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Since 2012, December 22 has been observed as National Mathematics Day to pay tribute to the man, who had no formal training in pure mathematics, yet he made a significant contribution to mathematical analysis, number theory, continued fractions and solved many difficult math problems.
The special assembly began with the students highlighting the life and contributions of Ramanujan who lived between 1887 and 1920. They also went on to explain the famous Ramanujan Magic Square — square grids that always add up to a fixed number — which displayed the mathematician’s genius. Two students even sang a song on the various functions and techniques of mathematics in an effort to motivate classmates towards taking an interest in the subject.
The special assembly turned out to be a learning experience for all. “Mathematics brings order to our lives. It’s much more than just numbers and equations. It’s about understanding, reasoning and logic. It was a lot of fun to witness our students celebrate this day by challenging and sharpening their minds,” said headmistress Farida Singh.
MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth
On the occasion of Saraswati Puja, MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth honoured some brave hearts. The award winners included Tumtum Mukherjee, a lecturer at Bankura Jela Saradamoni Mohila Mahavidyapeeth who did not let her physical disability come in the way of her education, Sarita Purohit, a toto driver, Suchetna Roy, a small-time shopkeeper who uses her income to look after street dogs, Pratima Poddar, the first female mini bus driver at the Nimta-Howrah route and Soutrik Goswami, who helped Covid patients with food and medical support. “They are the real heroes of the society and we hope our students imbibe the spirit of giving from them,” said Kishan Kumar Kejriwal, chairman of MCKV Group of Institutions. “This will encourage many others who want to do their bit,” said principal Mallika Mukherjee.
SIP Abacus arithmetic contest
Eight students from the state won the final round of the 6th SIP Abacus All India Online Arithmetic Genius Contest for classes I and V. The state level of the competition was held in association with The Telegraph in Schools. The online math competition was held in three rounds — Locality, State and National. Close to one lakh students registered for the Locality round. Around 25,000 students and 250 schools signed up from Bengal in this round. In the State round, there were around 201 winners from all over India, 35 from the state. In the National round, there were 47 winners, eight from the state. “This event was conducted across India along with 2,000 SIP Abacus instructors and SIP Abacus centre heads,” said Shubhajit Mullick, the regional head, Eastern India, SIP Abacus India.
The chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony was Tessy Thomas, a scientist and director-general (aeronautical systems) of Defence Research and Development Organisation. “We all have natural intelligence. Intelligence quotient will increase when you practice through training and testing,” said Thomas, while addressing the students.
“The competition is held every year to motivate children and parents to take an interest in arithmetic,” said Dinesh Victor, managing director of SIP Academy International.
Young Horizon School
Young Horizons School organised a vaccination camp in collaboration with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation on the school premises on January 18 and 21. The health camp covered students in the age group between 15 and 18 years. The school received an overwhelming response from the parents and had to conduct the camp in two days. All Covid protocols were followed. “We are now waiting for students to return to school and normal classes to resume. The vaccination is a step towards that direction,” said principal Sarmistha Sen.
Mahadevi Birla World Academy
The institute’s middle school had conducted their inter-house elocution contest over three days in last December. The event was held live as well as live-streamed. The session for Class VI was held on December 2. Parents of the participants were also invited. Their theme was School. Two students took part from each house — Emerald, Gold, Royal and Scarlet — and recited self-chosen poems on the theme. Harnoor Kaur of Scarlet House clinched it by reciting Dave Crawley’s Saw My Teacher on a Saturday.
Class VII chose humour as their theme. Verses by Kenn Nesbitt, Lewis Carroll, Dave Crawley, Ogden Nash, Tyler Rager and Shel Silverstein were the highpoints of the event. The students again used creative props to enliven the session. Md Ehtesham Asraf (Scarlet House) won with his rendition of Steve, the Superhero by Kenn Nesbitt. The judges were the school’s own senior English teachers, Devapriya Mukherjee and Sangeeta Ghosh.
The students of Class VIII focused on inspirational speeches on December 9. The best seven entries were selected. From Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai to APJ Abdul Kalam and Mother Teresa, many leaders were remembered on the occasion. Vivaan Gupta won with his rendition of Martin Luther King’s speech, “I have a dream…”
The students were glad to be back on stage. “The students rehearsed laboriously for several days through online platforms and got to perform offline after a long hiatus. Their performance was brilliant which highlights their determination, diligence and tenacity to do well against all odds,” said principal Anjana Saha.
