School Notes

Inter-school Hindi elocution

An inter-school Hindi elocution contest was organised by SPM English School in memory of Late HS Sane (Ex-principal of SP College). Seven schools participated in the competition. Students were given five topics to choose from; Sunehra Bachpan,Jal Hai Anmol,Vigyapan: Ek Kala,Man ki Sundarta,Hamare Padosi.

Mrs. Ghorpade,former head of the Hindi Department,SP College and Mrs Ranade,senior Hindi teacher,judge the competition. The winners were Parmesh Mahajan of Muktangan English School,Akshay Joglekar SPM English School Akshada Falle of MV Girls School won the third prize,and Ketaki Kulkarni SPM English School.

Rucha Dhekne of MS Golwalkar School and Kulkarni Dhanashree HHCP School were given consolation prizes.

RIMS students wow all with art,at exhibition

Budding artists of RIMS International School & Junior College participated in the ‘WOW India Photo and Painting Exhibition 2012’ organised by Pune Expat Club at Ista Hotel on September 16. The event showcased photographs and paintings by students on the cultural heritage of India. Haris Khan,Siddharth Khurana,Ali Akbar,Cherin Cho and Heyrin Cho of RIMS International School and Junior College demonstrated their talent. Khan’ work,’The Dark Horse’,won appreciation and was auctioned at the event. Khan drew a portrait of a on the spot. Exhibits were put up for sale and the proceeds collected were donated to NGO Muskaan Project that works for welfare of women and children.

Fourteen students from Classes 5 to 9 from RIMS participated in South Asia’s largest inter-school cultural and literary fiesta,Horlicks Wiz Kids 2012,by Krayon on September 10. The competitions included English essay ,painting,comic strip making and Horlicks Little Chef. The students showcased their talent in various fields.

KVS National Incentive Award for 2 teachers

CP Prashanth of KV Ganeshkhind Pune and PM Bindu of KV BEG Pune have been named for the KVS National Incentive Award 2012. They will receive the award at a felicitation ceremony in mid-December in New Delhi. Prashanth has been appreciated for his diligent,dedicated and devoted work for pioneering distance learning teaching and virtual classrooms in KV and coming up with innovative ways of using technology in teaching. He also won the Think Quest Award in 2011 in which he competed against more than 33,000 participants from 52 countries. “It is a great honour and has inspired me to work even more. It is a responsibility to keep up the high expectations. I hope this serves as a motivation for others,” said Prashnath. After receiving the KVS Innovation and Experimentation Award for her project on mind mapping,Bindu implemented her methods throughout KVs of Mumbai region. She is MSc Mathematics gold medallist from Hyderabad Central University.

Father’s Day in school,at Leapbridge International

Leapbridge International Pre-School organised a Sing with Paa Day on September 18 with an objective to provide fathers some quality time with their children on a weekday at school.

Professional musicians were invited to perform some nursery rhymes. Fathers attended classroom sessions along with their kids as the teachers conducted regular school activities. “The fact that fathers took a day off their busy work schedules to not only visit their children in school but also participate in their activities shows parents are becoming more supportive to their children. They also realise the importance of these initial pre-school years in the child’s education and overall development,” said Ms Prriety Gosalia,COO & Chief Academics,Leapbridge Education

Annual Concert of Bishop’s School

The students of Bishop’s School,Camp presented a lively musical compilation for their annual concert on September 15 in the new hall,BW Roberts Building. Boys of Classes 1 and 2 charmed the audience with their rhythmic dance steps and melodious songs as they staged a musical adaptation titled ‘Pandora’s Box’. The students of Classes 3,4 and 5 brought the characters of classic tales from the Arabian Nights to life in their play Sindbad the Sailor. The students enacted the roles of pirates,tribals,Arabian dancers and ghosts. Their costumes and props were exquisite and the backdrop was beautifully painted. The music and lighting effects were scintillating.

Workshop for parents on schoolbus safety

While school transporters have always been at the receiving end for being reluctant to comply with safety norms,a newly floated body of schoolbus owners organised a special workshop for parents of schoolchildren to raise awareness on school transport safety.

The workshop,in which about 300 parents of students from various schools participated,was conducted by the regional transport officer (RTO),activist Mahesh Nerkar of Pune District School Transport Union and cartoonist Mangesh Tendulkar.

“Many people allege that most school van operators flout safety norms specified by the state government. The school transport safety norms have been in place for more than a year now but few school transporters actually follow them. But transport authorities and schools are not taking any measures to make all school transport operators follow norms. To correct this and improve co-ordination and understanding between parents,schools and busowners,we organsied this workshop,” said Nerkar.

“The focus was to persuade parents to stop sending wards to school in unsafe vehicles and insist that bus owners follow all safety norms.

Pune District School Transport Union (PDSTU) was formed by 300 van operators who modified their vans according to norms specified in the resolution.

Of the over 5,000 vans in the city that transport schoolchildren,around 1,000 are registered with Regional Transport Office (RTO) as others do not comply with safety norms specified in the government resolution regarding school transport.

Subhas Ramchandra,a parent who participated in the workshop,said,”That was a very positive initiative on behalf of schoolbus owners and the RTO. It made me realise my responsibility as a parent in ensuring that my child’s transport was safe and secure.”

Students’ talent displayed at Muktangan exhibition

Extra-curricular activities stimulate children to think and develop their creative powers. The Annual Exhibition held on September 25 at Muktangan English School and Junior College was aimed at this. Students of Classes I to 5 showcased their creative talent at the exhibition.

Advocate Mrs. Rupali Patil Thombare inaugurated the exhibition.

Math exhibition as tribute to Ramanujan

Cadets of Sainiki School held an exhibition,’Ganitayaayan’,on mathematics. The year being the 125th birth anniversary of famous mathematician Srinivas Ramanujan,the school decided to observe 2012 as the Year of Mathamatics and held the exhibition with the subject as the central idea.

Chandrakant Nimale,joint director,vocational training,Maharashtra Government,inaugurated the event in presence of principal Mrs. Shraddha Walimbe.

Schoolbus fares go up by 15 per cent

From October 1,parents will have to pay additional Rs 100 to 200 to ferry wards to and from schools. The School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA) has decided to increase monthly fares by 15% owing to recent hike in diesel prices. Tushar Jagtap of the association said a meeting of the governing body of the association was held in which the decision was taken.

“The recent hike is a huge burden on transporters. All our buses run on diesel. There was no choice but revise fares ,” said Jagtap.

Currently,monthly fares range between Rs 600 and 1,200.