School notes: Billabong International School

GIANTS INTERNATIONAL Award was conferred on Dr Augustine F Pinto,Founding Chairman,Ryan International Group of Institutions,for his incredible contribution to the field of education on 17th September 2012 during 40th GIANTS DAY CELEBRATION held at Regal Room,Trident,Nariman Point,Mumbai.

The award was presented by Shri Harshavardhan Patil,Hon’ble Minister for Cooperation & Parliamentary Affairs,Govt. of Maharashtra,and Padmashree Nana Chudasama,World Chairman,GIANTS International.

GIANTS INTERNATIONAL,under the leadership of Shri Nana Chudasama,has been working for the betterment of society and the uplift of the poor and underprivileged. Giants has been bringing good cheer and hope to the community through projects in various spheres. Every year,GIANTS International honours stalwarts from different fields for their contribution in their respective fields. This year,Chetan Bhagat,Author; Rajju Shroff,Business & Industry; Karan Johar,Cinema; Dr. Sunil Parekh,Medicine; Rahul Kanwal,Electronic Media; Shankar,Ehsaan,Loy,Music; Sindhutai Sapkal,Social Service; and Waheeda Rehman,Films (Lifetime Achievement) were honoured.

Dr Pinto,in his speech,expressed gratitude to GIANTS International and applauded their contribution to society. Quoting Albert Pike,he said,“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

Inter-House Debate Competition held at Hiranandani Foundation School,Thane

On 16th July 2012,an Inter-House Debate took place in the Assembly hall at Hiranandani Foundation School,Thane.

It followed the Frank Anthony Inter-School Debate style wherein the topic is revealed to participants an hour prior to the commencement of the debate,the participants are then taken to the library,they are allowed access to books,magazines,newspapers,periodicals for research.They are also permitted the Internet facility. After an hour of preparation,the team is ready to face the audience and Debate on the topic. The topic being ‘Coaching Classes a Necessary Evil’,one students of today could relate to. Each participant spoke with a lot of conviction and confidence. Stating his/her views,how to deal with Common Entrance competitive Exams,and their take on how competition should be tackled.

Mrs. Yamica Narayanan and Mrs. Sonal Bhatia judged the Debate and both of them came to the unanimous conclusion that Sia Karki was the Best Speaker and Prabhanjan Nilakantan the Runner-up Speaker. However,a mention must be made of Ashwini Pillai who spoke very convincingly,with tremendous composure,presenting his thoughts with absolute logical sequencing,tracing the time frame of the commencement of coaching classes to the present time when they have indeed become a commercial venture,come to stay,receiving autonomy and diluting the education system and the Indian Value Systems.

Hindi Diwas celebrated at Gyan Ganga International School,Thane,on 14th September

Hindi Diwas was celebrated with much fun and fanfare by the students of Gyan Ganga International School – Kasarvadavli (Thane) on 14th September 2012. A cultural programme was organised by the school at its auditorium and students participated in all the events. The theme for the Secondary Section was ‘Education of the Girl Child.’ The theme for the Primary section was ‘Save Environment’.

The programme began with a speech on the importance of Hindi Diwas by the students,followed by drama,skit and dance. The programme was attended by the Academic Head Dr. Madhuri Sagale.

Campaigns for a social cause

In today’s time,there is a dearth of good citizens for noble causes. Also,educational heads advise inclusion of social activities in a student’s curriculum to increase the novelty factor and inculcate values. So,a campaign does wonders when it touches upon lives of students as well as societal populace. Keeping this in mind,many colleges have been conducting campaigns that touch upon society based issues and students work towards spreading the message through various channels.

St Andrews College had its students working for various causes from Anti- Smoking to anti-littering. Students conducted various clean-up drives,met celebrities to spread their message and conducted activities to drive the message home.

PHEK-MAT: An anti-litter initiative

How many of us think twice about littering and its impact? People randomly jiggle with their stuff and throw/Spit in public domain and then complain about BMC’s inadequate measures. While this holds true,even small deeds by every individual would help keep our city clean. This is the motto followed by PHEK MAT group that stands by its motto,“Don’t be a Phekoo”.

Phek mat is an anti-litter campaign conducted by a group of students from Third year BMM at St Andrews College. This campaign aims at creating general awareness among public regarding the ills of throwing garbage and its repercussions. Team member Jyoti Parekh said,“We wanted to keep a very informal tagline that people could relate to,hence used the tagline,we want people to collectively realize their fallacies in not adhering to rules and regulations and remind themselves not to litter.”

In order to drive the message home,they used various social media sites,posters,write-ups and campaign videos that were received well by students and netizens alike. Their Facebook page has garnered positive response and was followed by a video called,“Badmaash Aurat” that spoke about the evils of Littering and its impact on health and community.

Campaign posters,write-ups and on-location events conducted by the group were a massive hit. They interviewed clean-up officials and conducted a cleanliness drive at Marve beach,Malad,on 21st September. Various collegiate events were conducted by group members to inculcate cleanliness values among college peers and visitors alike. They spread book-marks at college theatre festivals like Olio and conducted theme-based games to interact with students and spread the message.

Scream: An anti-eve teasing campaign

Remember Keenan and Reuben,who fought for strong causes and died protecting their female friends. That exactly is the theme followed by this group from TYBMM called “SCREAM”- An anti-eve teasing campaign.