Choir Singing Competition

SUBLIME ELOQUENCE- GRADE 6

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver”.

Elocution is an impressive medium of expression where an orator dynamically voices his/her opinions on any particular topic. Keeping this in mind, the students of grade 6 were given this platform and exposure to unearth their hidden oratorical skills and talent. Under able guidance and inspiration, students displayed their skills in memorization, clarity of diction and expression. Tremendous enthusiasm and vigour was visible; truly mesmerizing and enthralling everyone. Students proved their versatility of language, delighting both the judges and the audience. The competition was intense and the judges had a tough time choosing the best.
WINNERS :

Ipshita ( grade 6A)- 1st
Varun  Agarwal ( 6c) -2nd
Charvi Shah (6 B )- 3rd

Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling us how rainbows are made and why they go away.

It is a spontaneous overflow of emotions and reflects the inner most feelings of a poet. It truly embraces ubiquitous situations in a magical manner and never fails to appease turbulent minds. With the novel idea of making poetry come alive, the students of grade 8 enacted the various characters of different poems and left a profound impression on everyone's minds and hearts. All the four sections had put assiduous efforts to give life to poems. Each poem delivered a magnificent message and the performances were spectacular.

Grade 8 B presented the poem -"The Highway Man" and bagged the first position. Grade 8 D students certainly deserve accolades as they performed the poem "Unsolved", a beautiful poem composed by a student ,Dev Desai, a student of 8 D. The poem revolves around today's fast paced modern life and how materialistic people have become. The class stood second. Grade 8A presented "Hymn to Hymn" - a stupendous comedy and Grade 8C performed " Lord Ullin's Daughter. Overall, the competition was above praise and was a great learning and enriching platform for the students.

SECONDARY SECTION-SPECIAL ASSEMBLIES

The Power of the Youth
                                                 - Siddharth Singh

"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.", said the great musician Stevie Wonder.
 
The students of R.N. Podar School recently showcased their sublime skills, and indeed made a difference, via the congregations organised by their respective classes.
 

“Racism is something that people can transcend through friendship”. -  Vincent F Rchhio

Racism is an issue that is playing on many Indian minds at the moment; what with the string of events that took place not so long ago Down Under. Grade IX A chose racism as the topic of discussion for their convention, and opened our otherwise ignorant eyes to the stark reality, to the plight of the Indians in the Outback. With appalling photographs and videos, they made the students aware of the Weltschmerz our fellow countrymen went through, in a most accurate manner. A heart-warming and eye opening skit portrayed a bleak, stark but true message - “Every individual is equal irrespective of the caste, creed and colour.”

Ragging, was the subject taken up by grade IX B. Ragging in a sense is racism against one's own countrymen. A casual glance at the increasing number of ragging cases, even at prestigious and acclaimed institutions, should be enough to buttress the claim. Using statistics, skits and a slightly explicit video, IX B successfully conveyed their message. They delved into the human mind and discovered the reasons for these absurd activities carried out by people suffering from low self esteem and indeed gave a solution to the conundrum.

Decision making was the thesis taken up by grade IX C. With a clever compendium of slides and a rather popular music video, it would be fair to say that they captured the onlookers' attention and explained how an organ as complex as the brain actually functions. The memorable composition by Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken” highlighted the dilemma faced by today’s youth in making life’s crucial decisions. They made their message quite clear by means of catchy abbreviations and some clichéd slogans. All in all, a positive, noteworthy congregation.

Grade IX D chose our country, India, as the theme for their assembly. With remarkable efficiency and a medley of the varied spheres of the Indian terrain , they managed to depict the positive and negative developments that have taken place in India, post Independence, not without considerable success. A portrayal of the Indian federal structure, what it was and the present scenario was one of the aspects discussed. The much talked about controversy regarding Kasab was taken up as an example to delineate the judicial system in India. It was indeed a stimulating discussion.

Grade X A chose a topic of great depth and substance. 'The Dreams and Visions of the Youth", a topic that the entire audience could relate to. With effective, thought provoking speeches, a skit depicting harsh realities of Indian society and general interaction with the audience, they successfully conveyed their deep message. Furthermore, a hilarious portrayal of a corrupt and narrow minded politician added levity to such a serious subject. An emotional ending added to the opulence.
 
“Child labour must not become the nation's social safety net”. - Kailash Satyarthi

Child labour, with its ramifications for India was the topic chosen by X B. Passionate speeches, shocking videos and pitiable photographs left an indelible impact on the audience. The students even ventured into the real deal, if you will, by actually visiting an organisation for such forlorn progeny. The initiative, though in essence a simple matter of spending an hour or two emphasised the importance of sustaining the gesture. A truly heart warming assembly.

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.  ~Albert Einstein

Grade X C chose Revolutions in Education as their topic and touched upon Kapil Sibal's proposal regarding the CBSE Board Exams and various other related issues. Through a miscellany of elaborate slides, brilliantly coordinated and researched material, a refreshingly clear view-point and powerful speeches, the students were made aware of Sibal's remarkable proposal which might change the structure of the Indian education system. The unique fact about this assembly was, unlike most discussions on the topic, it was to a great extent completely unbiased.

Last, but by no means the least, was Grade X D's assembly regarding the widely predicted 2012 geomagnetic reversal, which will supposedly lead to a string of natural disasters, ending with the extinction of mankind. A rather heavy topic to digest, but one the students explained in great detail, with a fine collection of slides and thought provoking speeches. Its trump card was the entirely new and different idea. What could have been a monotonous blur of facts and science was brilliantly presented and efficiently explained. More importantly, it taught the students to live life to the fullest and make most of the time we have. On the whole, an outstanding assembly.

JUNIOR ACHIEVER'S PROGRAMME - CLASS 8

The students of grade 8 were given the opportunity to know more about money. An interesting session was held and the resource person enlightened the students by talking on recession, how the value of money decreases and how the people in USA are selling their houses. The students took keen interest  and it was an enriching experience for them. The session was highly interactive and a great learning.

The discussions in the subsequent sessions focused on the significance of ambitions and goals in one’s life. Stress was laid on professional and personal achievements. A befitting example of Michael Jackson was given to the students. He was famous but not popular for variety of reasons.

In conclusion it was felt that money can buy everything but the precious things in life come free. It is one’s attitude and positive mental outlook that are the basic ingredients of a successful life.

SENIOR SECONDARY SPECIAL ASSEMBLIES

MUMBAI V/S SHANGHAI :XI A

Terror rode throughout Australia as 26 INDIANS in the continent were harassed in the past couple of months" "Indian Government asks students to focus on studies and ignore the happenings." Every Indian heart cringed in agony and fury as this news item appeared in newspapers and on T.V. screens. This very spirit reflected in the eyes of every student sitting in the Podar hall watching the superbly coordinated and well scripted special assembly by class XII-B. 

As the discussion was thrown open to the audience, the mavericks of our school discussed a wide range of reasons as to why Indians were targeted. Some felt it was the "primitive" notions of superiority of skin and others felt that it had everything to do with India’s growth in spite of the clinging recession but some others were mightily silent. At the same time every mind was pondering over the intensity of racism, its causes and consequences and a possible solution to it. Is it that westerners have not gotten over the fact that Indians have outdone them in their own game.....?

At the end of the assembly students observed a moment of silence for those who had lost their lives in this menace. Each heart that left the hall that Friday carried home indelible grief and the lesson of equality and life in its absence.

Enlightening young minds : XII C

Few assemblies can claim to have garnered as much attention as Class 12 C's assembly on the topic of Adolescence Education. The senior secondary was abuzz with debate before and during the presentation. The students of 12 C deftly handled a number of relevant issues, centring around greater student awareness. One of the primary concerns addressed was the confusion prevalent regarding the substance of adolescence education as a school subject. Small technical glitches aside, the assembly started off with quite a bang. Videos and advertisements definitively captured student interest and an open, interactive format to the assembly held this attention firmly. Keeping in mind the status of sex as a 'taboo' topic of discussion, the students of 12 C certainly spoke with great ease and élan. The addition of startling statistics to their presentation, lent credibility and substance to the argument. To conclude, the issue was thrown open to those assembled where merits and demerits of adolescence education were avidly debated. This assembly was especially significant in the wake of the rising levels of exposure adolescents face.

POWER OF WORDS: XII D

Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is - Publilius Syrus

The above quotation was aptly illustrated and brought to life by students of XII D. They brought to the fore the casual approach of the youth towards language and the frivolity with which words are handled. Video clips from popular reality shows like Splitsvilla and Roadies opened the assembly, highlighting the use of abusive language among the youth. Students were made aware about the need to weigh words carefully and the repercussions of shortsighted use of language. A short skit portrayed this message loud and clear.  What ensued was an animated discussion regarding the appropriate use of language. It was very refreshing to witness the students openly accept the suggestions offered by the faculty and embrace this advice whole heartedly.  

FOOTBALL FETISH

Date-25th and 26th June

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” – Bill Shankley

The spirit embodied in the above line was explicitly visible on the Podar ground, in an enthralling inter house football match. The Pioneers managed to defeat the Explorers with a 3-1 score and reach the finals. Two goals were scored by Aakarsh and one by Gareth D’souza .The  semifinal was won by the Challengers with a penalty Scored by Zacarias Joseph.

The next day, the final match was played between Pioneers and Challengers. It was a closely fought battle and an incredibly contested competition. In a nail biting finish, an outside was taken by Aditya Banga. He passed the ball to Suraj Chandrashekharan who headed it into the goal, thus leading his house to victory with a 1-0 score.

COMPETITIONS GALORE

DEBATING MATTERS INDIA

Debating Matters is British schools’ debate programme pioneered by the Institute of Ideas (IOI) UK. Senior secondary students of R N Podar were elated to be a part of this prestigious competition. The aim is to engage students in debating the intricacies of genuine global concerns.

The topic given this year was:

“In this era of Globalization, the IPL could be moved anywhere”

A core team of students, Siddharth Iyer, Dhananjay Singh, Dwiti Mittal, Aishwarya Tiwari, Neeti Bhatt and Noopur Sen, was chosen to partake in the first leg of the debate (Online Elimination Test) which they successfully completed.

REVOLUTION IN TEACHING

R.N Podar School is all set to revolutionize the field of education. This academic year the classes are buzzing with  a lot more thoughtful action. The painstaking planning and strategising seems to be bearing fruits. The fact that this has lent the `aha’ factor to teacing is quite evident from the twinkle in the students’ eyes as each activity unfolds in class. The key is efficient use of technology in classroom interaction. The activities have provided hands on experience and initiated higher order thinking among the students. The students’ response towards these activities has been overwhelming.

Pranjali Bhagwat of Class V – B said, ” Our classes are very interesting now. We use the ICT board every day and we enjoy it a lot.” She added,” Little things like finding locations on Maps are not only simple now but also interesting. Also the experiments that cannot be performed in the laboratory can be seen and understood through videos on ICT board.”

Abhinav Saha of Class VIII – C also seems to enjoy the new face of class room interactions. He said,” The microorganism which was something like a ‘pink dot’ under the microscope feels like a living organism on the pictograph. He further added,” Things like dispersion and bending of rays through the prism would have remained mere imagination if it was not for the ICT presentation before laboratory work. Languages are also much more fun with presentations on different tenses involving animations and cartoons.”